Measle and the Slitherghoul by Ian Ogilvy

This is the fourth of the Measle books by former "The Saint", Ian Ogilvy. The other books are:

• Measle and the Wrathmonk



• Measle and the Dragodon



• Measle and the Mallockee

Measle Stubbs is a young boy who lives with his parents and little baby sister. His dad is a wizard, and Prime Magus of all magic users, his mother, whilst not magical herself, is what is known as a manafount (infinite magical power that can be drawn upon by a wizard) and his sister is a Mallockee - an extremely powerful magic user. Measle has no magical powers (none that have manifested yet, that it) but is a very resourceful youngster.

Measle also shares his life with Tinker, a brave dog, Nanny Flannel, the Stubbs' equivalent of Batman's Albert crossed with Granny Weatherwax from Pratchett books and a Wrathmonk called Iggy. Wrathmonks tend to be insane wizards who are only after world domination, but Iggy is quite harmless as Wrathmonks go.

The story begins way in the past at the beginnings of the Wizard's Guild. A young and powerful wizard known as Sheepshank created a devastating spell that turned a glob of his own snot into a dangerous, sticky monster known as the Slitherghoul. The wizards manage to imprison the Slitherghoul, but not before it has devoured Sheepshank.

In the present day the Wizard's Guild is a secret organisation. In his previous three adventures, Measle has managed to help capture four deadly Wrathmonks and a dastardly Warlock (the hierarchy - powerwise - of magical users goes Wizard - Warlock - Wrathmonk) called Toby Jugg who had been trying to take over the Wizard's Guild by killing Measle's dad, marrying his mum and controlling his baby sister.

Whilst Measle is home alone with Nanny Flannel and Iggy (his parents and baby sister are at the South Pole for a secret, and very boring, Wizard's Guild conference), the Slitherghoul escapes its cell and devours Toby Jugg and the four Wrathmonks. Inside the Slitherghoul, Jugg and the Wrathmonks are still alive and manage to influence the Slitherghoul to make its way to Merlin Manor, the home of the Stubbs family, to take their revenge.

And so begins a very exciting, and often scary story. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although I did feel that there was some padding added to make the story last longer. What I have noticed about these books is that even though most people would think that they were comedies, I would class them as almost horror. Indeed, the third book, Measle and the Mallockee could give the Point Horror books a run for their money. I felt that this book was not as scary as the third, so maybe Ian Ogilvy toned it down a little?

Overall, if you have read the other four Measle Stubbs books, then you really should read this one. It comes in at 358 pages, justifying it's £8.99 price.

Score: 4 out of 5

Measle and the Slitherghoul by Ian Ogilvy

Published: Oxford University Press

ISBN: 0-19-272615-3