Plot:
The United Kingdom is facing a plague of monsters, called cockatrices, of all shapes and sizes that pretty much overran the entire country. But there are the Cockatrice Corps, an army special unit dedicated to fight the monsters. As they ride the train across the country fighting monsters along the way, they are joined by Dakin as a drummer boy and a little later by his cousin Sauna who seems to have a way of knowing things she couldn’t know and who has spent the last few years tied up at her aunts place so she doesn’t break anything. And maybe those two are just what the Corps needed to finally get ahead in the fight.

The Cockatrice Boys didn’t really convince me, unfortunately. I thought it was often confusing and rarely all that funny. It just left me scratching my head.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2016/11/10/the-cockatrice-boys-joan-aiken/ ( )

When I was a kid, I always particularly liked Joan Aiken's books, especially the spooky and grim, 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' and the funny 'Arabel and Mortimer' series. Somehow, I never got around to 'The Cockatrice Boys,' (or, looking at her bibliography, a whole bunch of her other books that I guess weren't at my public library!
I also hadn't heard that Aiken passed away last year... a belated R.I.P.!!!

When England is reduced to a near post-apocalyptic state by a sudden plague of monsters, the military builds a great train to attempt to combat the vicious creatures. Laying track up north, and getting decimated by assorted grotesques at every step of the way, they make their way closer to what may be the source of the problem... Our heroes are young drummer boy Dakin Prestwich and his cousin Sauna, an orphan who's spent the last few years tied up at her aunt's house so that she doesn't break the china. These two kids may be the last best hope of England...

Deftly melds the dark and the funny.... mixing classic legends of England with superstitions regarding Manchester United, etc... Imagine Terry Pratchett with a gothic horror feel... ( )

Joan Aiken wrote my favorite childhood book, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. This one wasn't nearly as good, but the opening scene hooked me. Monsters arrive to invade England via the baggage claim carousel at the Manchester Airport!...

A charming, strange tale in which Britain is overrun by monsters previously thought to be imaginary. It has a definite sort of "War of the Worlds" flavor, with British soldiers complaining about the quality of the tea, then dashing off to perform heroic acts. It's billed on the jacket as Aiken's "first adult fantasy," but I would also recommend it to teens who like a touch of the bizarre. ( )