An Awfully Beastly Business
An Awfully Beastly Business Book 3
Bang Goes a Troll
The Beastly Boys –David Sinden, Matthew Morgan,
Guy Macdonald
Youth/YA Fiction/Pg 208
Ages 8+ – Grades 3+
ISBN: 1416986510
ISBN: 978-1416986515
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster Children’s
Xtra’s: 
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The Beastly Boys, a trio of 30 something writers otherwise known as Matthew Morgan, David Sinden and Guy Macdonald, put their heads together to create a fun, highly imaginative series that’s centered around very real issues. Bang Goes a Troll is the third book in The Awfully Beastly Business series. In the first two installments we were introduced to the main characters, each with reoccurring roles in subsequent books. The cast includes an orphaned werewolf, rescued by Dr. Fielding the RSPCB’s Vet, a fairy, a 15 foot gentle giant, a gargoyle, a twisted face villain and several others. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Beasts (RSPCB) is a worldwide organization dedicated to the welfare and protection of rare and endangered beasts and is the center of the series.
Dragons, ogres and fairies …Oh My!
Part fantasy, but playing on reality, Bang Goes A Troll pits our favorite werewolf, Ulf against an evil, beast hunter that’s trapping trolls to use for sport hunting. The RSPCB is much like our ASPCA and numerous wildlife protection groups, with their main goal being the protection and survival of these fantastical creatures. Ulf’s heart is in the right place, but will he be able to save the trolls?
Although part of a series, you can read this book without having read the previous installments. However, the stories are quite fun, so, if you enjoy this one, by all means pick up the other books…you’ll be glad you did! * Simple storyline, interesting creatures, plus some snot and other grossities…put it all together and the result is a book that younger readers can enjoy independently – especially boys, age 8-10.
Happy Reading!
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An Awfully Beastly Business Book 4
The Jungle Vampire
The Beastly Boys – David Sinden, Matthew Morgan,
Guy Macdonald
ISBN-10: 1416986529
ISBN-13: 9781416986522
Ages: 8 – 12 | Grades: 3 – 7
Aladdin/Simon & Schuster Children’s
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As with previous installments, Ulf and his friends at the RSPCB are forced to go toe to toe with the evil Baron Marackai. Even though the participants are the same, the situation which brings them together is different in each book. (I would liken it to many of our favorite cartoons and TV shows from yesterday – Sylvester is always after Tweety, the Coyote is forever more chasing the Roadrunner and both pursuers fall short every time and pay tremendous prices for their chase and yet, the very next episode, they are at it again!) It is this same type of simple, quick storyline, loaded with action, interesting characters and real world issues that are easy to relate too that make An Awfully Beastly Business a good solid read.
Most of the dialogue takes place in the jungle, where the whole gang is equally involved in the story. (Well, almost, there’s one character we see briefly at the beginning and then again at the end.) Ulf has been invited, as part of his official training, to accompany the other members of the RSPCB, as the journey deep into the jungle in search of the elusive, mythical vampire. Of course, the teams nemesis is never far away, and this time he’s much closer than anyone realizes. Why track and search when he can simply follow the RSPCB team right to the vampire’s den?
Will Baron Marackai kill the legendary creature? Or will the team discover his presence and save the vampire?
Happy Reading!
**Book 5 – Battle of the Zombies is scheduled for 2010 release – ***
Meet the Characters –
Ulf is an orphaned werewolf, raised at Farraway Hall. Dr. Fielding,
the RSPCB veteran, rescued him over ten years ago when he was a
small werecub. On the night of the full moon, Ulf undergoes a complete
physical transformation from boy to wolf. He is brave and kind, and
his best friend is Tiana the fairy. He helps care for the beasts at the
RSPCB, and even assists Orson the giant and Dr. Fielding with mucking
out the enclosures and performing beastly operations.
Tiana is a woodland fairy, the size of a dandelion, with clothes made from
petals and stitched with spiders’ silk. She lives with other fairies in the
Dark Forest just beyond the paddock at Farraway Hall. She’s mischievous
and fun and sparkles as she flies. You’ll often find her in the flower
garden at Farraway Hall, collecting nectar. She’s Ulf’s best friend, and
even though she is a little scared of ghosts and doesn’t like the sight
of blood, she’ll do anything to help him.
Orson is a 15-foot tall mountain giant, who came to Farraway Hall when
he was made homeless in the wild (giant habitats are shrinking). He is
strong but gentle, and works as the RSPCB’s beast handler. He’s too
tall to live in the house, so he sleeps in the feed store on a mound of
grain. He wears baggy trousers made from a ship’s sails and drinks his
tea from a bucket. After a hard day’s work, there’s nothing Orson
likes more than a barrel of apples followed by a snooze
Dr. Helen Fielding is the RSPCB veteran. She has degrees in cryptozoology
and veterinary medicine. She is an exceptional pilot, mountain climber and
scuba diver. She performs all the medical operations at Farraway Hall, as
well as monitoring beast activity in the wild and promoting conservation
campaigns worldwide. She has written scientific papers on griffin flu,
the conductive properties of electrodactyls and the causes of cavern
fever, as well as patenting an anesthetic mask for larger-beaked beasts.
Druce is a gargoyle and can turn from stone to flesh. He has a long yellow
tongue and feeds largely on insects. He lives on the rooftop of Farraway Hall,
and gets into mischief, scuttling down drainpipes, peering in windows,
and blowing raspberries to passers-by. He took up residence on Farraway
Hall soon after it was built, and many years ago he knew Professor Farraway.
Druce likes to scare with his ugly faces and nasty rhymes, but he is very
good-hearted and fiercely loyal to the RSPCB.
Professor Farraway was the world’s first cryptozoologist and founder of
the RSPCB. He dedicated his life to the protection of rare and endangered
beasts, studying them in their natural habitats, pioneering veterinary
procedures, and campaigning for beasts to be protected by law. Farraway
Hall was once his family home, and although he has been dead for many
years, his portrait still hangs in the library. When Professor Farraway
died, he left everything he owned to the RSPCB, but there are dark
secrets that prevented him from resting in peace!
Baron Marackai is the most villainous beast hunter in the world.
He is evil, with a face as twisted as a rotten apple core, and he’s
out to get revenge! He has a vendetta against the RSPCB and a
deep dark secret that he holds in his cold heart. He hates beasts,
and would rather exploit them through acts of cruelty than
protect them from harm. Together with his henchmen Blud
and Bone, his plan is to send the RSPCB to their doom!
An Awfully Beastly Business Series:
Book One – 
Book Two – 
Book Three – 
Book Four – 
RJ's Views 