Charlie Bone and the Beast is the sixth book in the Children of the Red King series by Jenny Nimmo.  The author had originally planned to write a series of only five books, but after the success of those books, she decided to add another three books to the series.  In this story, Charlie Bone faces a mysterious new enemy at Bloor’s Academy.  A student named Asa Pike, who magically changes into a beast every day at dusk, has suddenly disappeared.  Meanwhile, a new student named Dagbert Endless has enrolled at the school.  Charlie notices that Dagbert hangs around with Manfred Bloor, who has been known to cause trouble in the past.  Charlie suspects that the two of them are plotting something evil.  Charlie and his friends know that they must rescue Asa before something terrible happens.

Along with Charlie Bone, my favorite characters in this book and throughout the saga are Lysander Sage and Tancred Torsson.  They both possess very powerful abilities and are very helpful to Charlie and his other friends.  Also, an intriguing new character is introduced in this book.  He is a mysterious knight without a name, known only as the Red Knight.  Not much is known about his identity, and it’s not clear in this book whether he is a friend or foe of Charlie Bone.

One of my favorite parts in this book is when Charlie and some of his friends are forced to cross a dangerous river, by walking across a thin iron bridge in the middle of a thick fog.  The river suddenly rises to the height of the bridge, and the bridge begins to tilt violently.  I found this part very suspenseful because it seemed that everyone could drown in the vicious current of water.

Like the other books in the series, this book is very exciting.  Charlie and his friends risk their lives on numerous occasions as they embark on perilous adventures.  I am very glad that Jenny Nimmo decided to write more books in the series after her intended final book, Charlie Bone and the Hidden King.  This is one of my favorite books by Jenny Nimmo, and I would highly suggest it to anyone who has read the first five books in the saga.

-Simon H.

Charlie Bone and the Beast by Jenny Nimmo is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.