Alistair Grim's Odditorium (35 page)

Abel Wortley:
An elderly philanthropist, purveyor of antiquities, and dear friend of Alistair Grim’s, Mr. Wortley and his housekeeper were murdered in London ten
years before our story begins.

William Stout:
Nigel’s twin brother, who was hanged for the crime.

Maggie Stout:
William’s daughter, Maggie, was sent to live in the country after her father was hanged.

Elizabeth O’Grady:
Mr. Grim’s long-lost love, she died under mysterious circumstances twelve years ago. Grubb often refers to her as the Lady in Black.

Glossary of Odditoria

Not to be confused with Mr. Grim’s Odditorium (which ends with an “um”), loosely defined, the word
Odditoria
, at once both singular and plural, is used
to classify any object living, inanimate, or otherwise that is believed to possess magical powers.

Some relevant Odditoria at Mr. Grim’s

Dougal “Mack” McClintock:
Chief of the Chronometrical Clan McClintock, Mack is a Scottish pocket watch who likes a good brawl now and then.

Gwendolyn, the Yellow Fairy:
A wood nymph who is very fond of chocolate and gobbling up nasty grown-ups.

Cleona:
A mischievous banshee prone to wailing and playing tricks on people.

Animus:
The mysterious blue energy that powers the Odditorium’s mechanics.

Broom:
The Odditorium’s maid, she is just that, a broom.

Samurai:
Legendary Japanese warriors; Mr. Grim uses their magic-infused armor to guard his Odditorium.

Doom dogs:
A pack of vicious shadow hounds charged with fetching escaped spirits back to the Land of the Dead.

The Eyes of Mars:
A pair of magical orbs that the Roman god of war gave to his twin sons, Romulus and Remus. Alistair Grim has one Eye, and Prince Nightshade has the
other.

The Lady in Black’s Mirror:
A silver-handled mirror with dark glass that Mr. Grim keeps on his desk.

Number One:
A large mechanical wasp.

Thunderbirds:
An even larger species of bird indigenous to North America.

Some relevant Odditoria at Prince Nightshade’s

The Black Fairy:
An evil winged demon and Nightshade’s second in command, he excels at blowing up things by spitting bolts of nasty black fire.

Shadesmen:
The long-dead armies of Romulus and Remus resurrected by Prince Nightshade.

Sirens:
Beautiful but dangerous sea witches whose songs lured ancient sailors to their deaths.

Red Dragons:
A clan of half-human serpents that are enemies of the shinobi.

Phantom:
One of Prince Nightshade’s horses, he can fly and shoot fire from his mouth.

Borg Gorallup:
A large Norwegian troll and oft-featured gladiator in Prince Nightshade’s tournaments, he holds an impressive record of seventeen kills.

Moth Man:
This newcomer from the Americas boasts a record of nine kills, each in less than a minute.

Moosh-Moosh:
A pint-sized goblin that tops off the prince’s fighting roster with an unparalleled record of twenty kills even.

Various other monsters:
Including more goblins and trolls that have allied themselves with the prince.

First and foremost, I must thank my superhuman agent Bill Contardi at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, as well as my brilliant editors Emily Meehan, Laura Schreiber, and
Elizabeth Law. Words cannot possibly express my gratitude for their enthusiasm and guidance throughout this process, and I am truly honored and humbled to have worked with them. A mountain of
thanks must also be heaped upon the magical team at Disney-Hyperion who helped bring this book to life: the amazing Whitney Manger, Su Blackwell, and Colin Crisford for their stunning cover, my
keen-eyed copy editor Brian Luster, and the remarkably talented Vivienne To, whose illustrations ended up exceeding my wildest expectations.

As always, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Angela, and my family for their unwavering love and support. Further appreciation goes out to Jessica Purdy and her son, Jack Schneider, whose
obsession with Grubb and his adventures made me believe again. Loads of thanks to my colleagues John Shearin, Jill Matarelli-Carlson, Patch Clark, Natalie Stewart, and Robert Caprio for always
taking the time out of their busy lives to read my work, as well as to my former students Malcolm Armwood, Jason Brown, Victoria Kite, Bobby Cassell, McKenna Cox, Andrew Britt, Grayson Sandford,
Devan Mitchell, Nick Iyoob, Tyler McAuley, and John Barnick—all of whom unwittingly helped me develop Grubb’s voice as I read to them in class. Thanks also to Jim McCarthy at Dystel
& Goderich, my old mentor John C. Edwards for turning me on to all things Dickens, and my dear friend Michael Combs, whose insight and collaborative spirit never cease to amaze me.

And last but not least, a long overdue thank-you must go out to my ninth grade English teacher, Mrs. LaFauci. You planted the seed all those years ago; my sincerest apologies that it took so
long to bear fruit.

Gregory Funaro
grew up in Cranston, Rhode Island, and wrote his first story, “The Ghost in the Window,” in the fourth grade. He considers this to be his finest work, but unfortunately it has been lost to time. Following high school, Greg majored in theatre at the University of New Hampshire and, after various acting gigs, received his AM in theatre arts from Brown University and an MFA in acting from the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. Greg teaches drama at East Carolina University and is busy working on the next book in the Odditorium series.