Dan Smith - Below Zero - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Book Review (Chicken House)

When Zak's plane crash-lands on Outpost Zero, a small Antarctic research base in one of the most isolated places on Earth, he discovers a cold, dark nightmare. The power's out and the people who live there have disappeared. Worse, as he searches for answers, bizarre visions suggest a link to something else - deep beneath the ice - which only he can understand. 

Published by Chicken House, 4 January 2018, Paperback, £6.99, Ages 10 +

Why do we read for pleasure? The main reason for me is to escape into another world that is so far removed from my own. The Best books and the books I love do that for me - they stop time and transport the readers into the story and beyond. Dan Smith, for me, is an author who does just that in so many ways. He makes ME into an armchair adventurer and a fantasy warrior. In this story, he brings the outdoor Antarctic to Life and creates an imaginative and believable setting that will make you want to read every page from the start to the end.     

You will plough through the white wilderness with an eerie pace that will leave you on the seat of your thermal pants. This is a seasonal adventure full of horrors, mayhem and, madness. One moment you are running from creepy mechanical spiders (tick-tack, tick-tack) as they scuttle across Outpost Zero. The next moment you uncover events that challenge the characters' perspectives Which make you think about our existence on Earth. This will deliver a creative and thought-provoking punch that drives an unexpected narrative that will leave you exploring and thinking in equal measure. 

This is a clever, imaginative story that twists the perspective of the characters as they uncover trapped creatures deep underneath the arctic ice. The mystery unfurls in a vortex of bugs and insects that will leave the reader filled with dread and wonder. The book explores artificial intelligence in a world of technology and the possibilities of what a future might look like in years to come. There is also a Zombie element to this book without giving too much away, which I really loved. 

This book has everything you would Expect from Dan Smith. EXCITEMENT - it is a high octane thriller that will leave you exhilarated and satisfied. It is a book that boys and girls will love for different reasons. Nevertheless, everyone will be able to Relate to the characters and the ending. So put on some warm clothes, grab a hot drink and turn the pages if you dare. This is a distinctive read that will have you chilled to the fantasy core. JOIN US, JOIN US....

About the Author

Growing up, Dan Smith led three lives. In one he survived the day-to-day humdrum of boarding school, while in another he travelled the world, finding adventure in the padi fields of Asia and the jungles of Brazil. But the third life he lived in a world of his own, making up stories . . . Which is where some people say he still lives most of the time.

Now settled in Newcastle with his wife and two children, Dan writes books to share with both adults and children.

Read AN EXTRACT OF THE BOOK HERE
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Jonathan Stroud - Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase - Book Trailer & Publication Tour

20th August 2013: Edinburgh International Book Festival

Jonathan will be launching his new series in the UK exclusively at the Edinburgh Book Festival this summer. It will be the first public outing of Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase anywhere in the world, and there are exciting plans afoot (whispers of ghosts, video trailers, kit bags and more). For details and tickets, click the following links:  Public Events  |   School Events

29th August 2013: Lockwood & Co UK publication tour!

London – Thursday 29th August (publication day)
London bookshop signings

London – Wednesday 4th September
Launch event in London venue

Cheltenham Literary Festival – Sunday 6th October
Event details TBC

London – Monday 14th October
School events with Tales on Moon Lane bookshop

Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire – Tuesday 15th October
School events with Chorleywood bookshop

York – Wednesday 16th October
School events in York

Ipswich – Thursday 17th October
School events and an evening FCBG event

Leeds – Friday 18th October
Schools events in Harrogate and Leeds

Windsor – Monday 21st October
School events with Waterstones Windsor

London – Tuesday 22nd October
School events in north and east London

Birmingham - Wednesday 23rd October
School events and an evening FCBG event in Dudley

Worcester - Thursday 24th October
School events in Worcester

Newcastle – Friday 25th October
School events set up with Newcastle libraries

Birmingham - Saturday 26th October
Event at the Youth Libraries annual conference

Also check out my Book Review here.

Press Release: COMPETITION TO MAKE NEW CHARLIE HIGSON BOOK TRAILER FOR - THE FALLEN

                                      

                   Competition launches to make official trailer for

                    Charlie Higson’s new zombie book, The Fallen

With Penguin Books and the BFI

www.the-enemy.co.uk

Penguin Books have joined with the BFI (British Film Institute) to launch a unique film making competition ahead of the release of The Fallen, the fifth book in Charlie Higson’s best-selling zombie series, The Enemy.

Open to anyone of any age - whether they are fans of the books, budding film makers, or just huge zombie fans - the competition offers the chance to make the official trailer for The Fallen, published on 12 September 2013.

Previous trailers for the series have had more than 100,000 combined viewings on YouTube and Charlie Higson has played a pivotal role in each of them.  He starred in the first and wrote and directed the latest trailer which was the publisher’s most ambitious trailer for a book ever.

Charlie Higson launches the competition with a twitter Q&A today, 22 May 2013, at 8pm BST.  The deadline for entries is midnight on Friday 23 August.

There are three categories in the competition: under 16s, 16-24s and 25 year-olds and over.    Charlie Higson will choose a winner from each category alongside a judging panel from Penguin Books and the BFI.   An overall winner will be chosen as the official trailer for The Fallen, and will be announced by Charlie at a Future Film event inspired by the BFI’s forthcoming Gothic season at BFI Southbank on Saturday 7 September.

The overall winner will become the official trailer, but there will be prizes for all winning entries.  The 16 – 24s winner wins a mentoring experience with IdeasTap and the winner of the over 25s category will have the chance to speak to industry specialists at the BFI Film Fund.  Each category winner will get £350 vouchers for film making equipment, BFI Membership, signed copies of The Enemy series and a ticket to the BFI Future Film event on 7 September.

Charlie Higson comments, “We want you to make the trailer for The Fallen.  It doesn’t matter how you make it or what equipment you’ve got, whether you’ve got a 3D 35 mm camera or just your phone.  What we’re looking for is great ideas, imagination, loads of atmosphere and plenty of gore.  The winning film will become the official trailer for my next book which means it will be seen by thousands of people all over the world.  Not just that, there will be money can’t buy prizes for the runners up.  If you’ve ever dreamed of making your own zombie movie, now is your chance.”

The BFI comments, “This competition offers aspiring filmmakers of all ages a great opportunity to practice working to a brief and the BFI is thrilled to be able to help provide some of the prizes on offer from BFI Membership to invaluable career advice from the BFI Film Fund”

The Enemy series is set in a post-apocalyptic London after a mystery illness attacks everyone over the age of fourteen.  Some survive, but those that do face a more terrifying fate – they turn into hideous zombies with an insatiable appetite for human flesh. Children form gangs and attempt to survive in an unrecognisable world where there are dangers around every corner.

Further details including information on how to enter and a brief story arc to be used as a narrative guideline, can be found at www.the-enemy.co.uk.   

The Fallen is published by Penguin Books on 12 September 2013 at £12.99

New Edition Book Cover Reveal - Darren Shan - Lord Loss and Demon Thief (Demonata Series)

Missed the demonata the first time round?

check out our new look editions of this classic horror series a hellsh nightmare for only the bravest of readers...

                           

LORD LOSS by Darren Shan - New edition. Release date: July 4th 2013.

When Grubbs Grady first encounters Lord Loss and his evil minions, he learns three things: • the world is vicious, • magic is possible,

• demons are real.

He thinks that he will never again witness such a terrible night of death and darkness.

...He is wrong.

                        

DEMON Thief by Darren Shan - New edition. Release date: July 4th 2013.

When Kernel Fleck's brother is stolen by demons, he must enter their universe in search of him. It is a place of magic, chaos and incredible danger. Kernel has three aims: • learn to use magic, • find his brother, • stay alive.

But a heartless demon awaits him, and death has been foretold...

Three Children's Books: For Reluctant Boy Readers - Out In May 2013

                                         

Chris Bradford - Bodyguard: Hostage - Published by Puffin (2 May 2013)

In a dangerous world, everyone needs protection.

Bodyguard: Hostage is the new thriller from Chris Bradford, bestselling author of Young Samurai. Bodyguard is a bulletproof action-adventure series that fans of Cherub and Alex Rider will love. This is Lee Child for younger readers - Jason Bourne for the next generation.

With the rise of teen stars, the intense media focus on celeb families and a new wave of billionaires, adults are no longer the only target for hostage-taking, blackmail and assassination - kids are too.

That's why they need a young bodyguard like Connor Reeves to protect them.

Recruited into the ranks of a covert young bodyguard squad, 14-year-old Connor Reeves embarks on a rigorous close protection course. Training in surveillance, anti-ambush exercises, hostage survival and unarmed combat, he's put through his paces and wonders if he will actually survive the course.

But when the US President summons Connor to protect his impulsive teenage daughter, Connor's training is put to the ultimate test. For Connor discovers that the First Daughter, Alicia, doesn't want to be guarded. She just wants to have fun. And with no clue Connor is her bodyguard, Alicia tries to elude her Secret Service agents and lead Connor astray. But unknown to her, a terrorist sleeper cell has been activated.

Its mission: to take the president's daughter HOSTAGE...

                        

H. L Dennis - The Knights of Neustria (Secret Breakers) - Published by Hodder Children's  (2  May 2013)

Team Veritas are back at Bletchley Park where a secret message hidden in a Shakespeare Portfolio pulls them into a new code-cracking adventure. Their investigations lead them to the writings of Sir Francis Bacon. Soon, they uncover the history of the Knights of Neustria, a brotherhood that goes back to the time of King Arthur charged with protecting a legendary secret. 

But are they any closer to their goal - to unravel the secret behind the ancient coded Voynich Manuscript? 
The stakes are getting higher as our young trio chase their quest from Cambridge to a terrifying struggle along the currents of the surging River Wye. Only one step behind them is the secret organisation who will stop at nothing to block them from discovering the truth ... 
Join the Secret Breakers team to crack the code in this highly original puzzle-solving series - The Da Vinci Code for kids.

                                        

Darren Shan - Hagurosan - Published by Barrington Stoke Ltd (15 May 2013)

When Hagurosan is told to take an offering to the shrine, he reluctantly begins his trek up the mountain. But when he gets hungry and eats the cake meant for the spirits, things take a turn that no one could have expected. Now Hagurosan must face the consequences of his actions. Terrific adventure from a master of fantasy. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers of 8+

***Book Review: Shadows of the Silver Screen by Christopher Edge***

                                     

Lights! Camera! Action!

This is the second book in recent times to catch my interest regarding early film production. I particularly like it when a plot takes a pinch of historical fact and weaves it magically into the book - Christopher has managed to do just that. He has created an intelligent and brilliant story. 

This is a classic encounter of a horror story - full of darkness and oozing with the flavour of Victoriana. 1900 is the era in which the silent movie was first created. As you read this story, it will feel like you are watching the actors on the silver screen itself as you become engaged by its hypnotic charm.

The story is based around a mysterious filmmaker, who approaches The Penny Dreadful, with a proposal to turn Penny's tales of terror into motion pictures. Whilst Montgomery Flinch, the star of his own production, is plagued by a series of strange and frightening events. These frightening events draw you into the dark and chilling world where acting becomes reality. Penny finds herself living a nightmare that keep both her, and probably you, awake at night.

This is the second book to feature Penelope Tredwell, a feisty thirteen-year old orphan and heiress, of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. I have to confess that I haven't read the first book in this series, but I will definitely be paying a visit to it very soon.  

The idea behind the story is very imaginative. I felt myself becoming immersed in the scenes played out in Eversholt Manor, and the filming of The Daughter of Darkness. It really was a feast of dark delights and one that will haunt you to the core. I loved the cast of interesting and entertaining characters, which all lead to the stories appeal and readability.  

 Published By Nosy Crow - 1st Jan 2013

Book Review: F. E. Higgins - The Phenomenals: A Tangle Of Traitors

       
I remember being gripped many years ago by this author's debut book 'The Black Book Of Secrets'. This was a brilliant and slightly different read to anything else at that time. It was certainly an exciting platform for the start of her writing career - a book that made me into a huge fan. This is now her sixth book to have been published and the start of a new series. One, that in my opinion, will find a new readership. So step this way into the new world of F. E. Higgins.....

From the very first page, you will note the interesting use of words and, at times, experimental vocabulary that conjures up a flavour to this unusual adventure. I particularly enjoyed this aspect of the writing. I found myself looking up many of the words to find that they were not in the dictionary that I possessed. However, they certainly added to the interest of the story and the plot.

With this story we are thrown into a great twisted adventure full of eerie and somewhat macabre comings and goings that I have come to expect from this author. There is an undercurrent of a supernatural or, in this book, a Supermundane nature that will tug at your soul. I was hoping for more of the story to be developed, but I was left wanting more to quench my thirst.

The book is full of phenomenal characters that will both intrigue and engage you on different levels. Citrine Capodel - heiress to a corrupt empire and framed for a murder she did not commit; Folly Harpelaine - a merciless destroyer of Lurids, who dabbles in the dark arts; Jonah Scrimshander - a deadly harpoonist, who has already cheated death and, Vincent Verdigris (my favourite with such a great name) who is light-fingered but even lighter on his feet. That's just for starters. The next motley crew include Edgar (brother to Citrine evil) and heartless Leopold Kamptulicon, who hangs out with his old pal - a Lurid ghost who has risen from the tar pits. A beastly destination for the dead. This is a putrid place full of Wraiths - the traitors and murderers who have drowned in its bubbling depths. 

I loved the storyline as it was both clever and funny. Although the imaginative elements, at times, were very creepy. The depiction of the tar pits and Vincent's encounter with the torture chair were both gripping and enthralling to read. Fiona has stretched her creative juices and let everything go in this book. The expectations for this book have been delivered making it a mouth-watering beginning for the next book "A Gaggle of Ghouls" which is due to be published in 

August.

Published by Macmillan Children's Books

Mr Ripley's: Horror Book Reads - For A Great Halloween

                                             

Robert Westall - The Scarecrows - Published by Bodley Head Children's - March , 1981

There were three people, standing in the darkest place, watching him.

Simon is outraged that his Mum plans to remarry. He can't bear her new fiancé or the way his mother and sister seem to have forgotten his late father. Overwhelmed by hatred and anger he seeks solace in a nearby abandoned water mill. But another, powerful hatred lingers within its walls. And it is about to be unleashed...

Westall's immense talent is evident from the opening line - Simon's anger and unhappiness are tangible, and the Scarecrows' ill-intentions terrifying.

                                        

Clive Barker - The Thief Of Always - Published by HarperCollins 5,Nov 1992

Mr Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childish whim may be satisfied.

There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr Hood’s wonders, does not stop to discover the consequences. It is only when the House shows its darker face – when Harvey discovers the pitiful creatures that dwell in its shadow – that he comes to doubt Mr Hood’s philanthropy.

The house and its mysterious architect are not about to release their captive without a battle, however. Mr Hood has ambitions for his new guest, for Harvey’s soul burns brighter than any soul he has encountered for a thousand years…

“A dashingly produced fantasy with powerful drawings by the author”

                                        

R.l. Stine - The Sitter - Published by Ballantine Books - 31 July, 2003

Ellie Saks is dying to escape the city. She’s sick of dead-end jobs, her mother’s disapproval, her loser ex-boyfriend, Clay, who won’t take a hint, and the memories of a terrible incident that occurred years ago. When her best friend suggests a summer in the Hamptons, full of glitzy parties, cool cocktails, and hot dates, Ellie’s on the first Jitney out. To fund all this glamour, Ellie takes a job as a nanny.

From the outside, the family’s beachfront home is perfect. But then Ellie meets four-year-old Brandon, who hasn’t spoken for months. The boy’s icy stare and demonic laughter make clear to Ellie that he is troubled, haunted by something too horrible for words. She begins to receive threatening messages and disturbing gifts. But it’s not until she barely escapes a harrowing experience that she realizes her life may depend on figuring out who’s behind it: Clay? Brandon? And why? And every once in a while, in a crowd, she sees a face she hasn’t seen in seven years—the face of a boy who died long ago. It would seem that Ellie’s summer of fun has turned into a summer of horror—one she’ll never forget . . . if she survives it at all.

                                                

Darren Shan - Lord Loss (Book one of the Demonata) - Published by HarperCollins - 6 June , 2005

“The door feels red hot, as though a fire is burning behind it. I press an ear to the wood – but there's no crackle. No smoke. Just deep, heavy breathing… and a curious dripping sound. My hand's on the door knob. Inside the room, somebody giggles – low, throaty, sadistic. There's a ripping sound, followed by snaps and crunches.

My hand turns. The door opens. Hell is revealed.”

When Grubbs Grady first encounters Lord Loss and his evil minions, he learns three things:

                                                 

Charlie Higson - The Enemy - Published by Puffin 3 Sep , 2009

They'll chase you. They'll rip you open. They'll feed on you...When the sickness came, every parent, policeman, politician - every adult - fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive. Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait. But can they make it there - alive?

                                             

Marcus Sedgwick - White Crow - Published by Orion Children's 7 April, 2011

It's summer. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold - taken from the buzz of London and her friends and what she thinks is the start of a promising romance. Ferelith already lives in Winterfold - it's a place that doesn't like to let you go, and she knows it inside out - the beach, the crumbling cliff paths, the village streets, the woods, the deserted churches and ruined graveyards, year by year being swallowed by the sea. Against her better judgement, Rebecca and Ferelith become friends, and during that long, hot, claustrophobic summer they discover more about each other and about Winterfold than either of them really want to, uncovering frightening secrets that would be best left long forgotten. Interwoven with Rebecca and Ferelith's stories is that of the seventeenth century Rector and Dr Barrieux, master of Winterfold Hall, whose bizarre and bloody experiments into the after-life might make angels weep, and the devil crow.

                                                  

Chris Priestley - Mister Creecher - Published by Bloomsbury - 2 Oct, 2011

Billy is a street urchin, pickpocket and petty thief. Mister Creecher is a monstrous giant of a man who terrifies all he meets. Their relationship begins as pure convenience. But a bond swiftly develops between these two misfits as their bloody journey takes them ever northwards on the trail of their target . . . Victor Frankenstein.

Darren Shan - Zom-B - Published By Simon & Schuster - 27 Sep 2012

Zom-B is a radical new series about a zombie apocalypse, told in the first person by one of its victims. The series combines classic Shan action with a fiendishly twisting plot and hard-hitting and thought-provoking moral questions dealing with racism, abuse of power and more. This is challenging material, which will captivate existing Shan fans and bring in many new ones. As Darren says, "It's a big, sprawling, vicious tale...a grisly piece of escapism, and a barbed look at the world in which we live. Each book in the series is short, fast-paced and bloody. A high body-count is guaranteed!"

Book Review: The Unfed by Kirsty McKay

                                               

Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Chicken House; 1 edition (6 Sep 2012)

Language: English

Age: 12+

ISBN-10: 1908435321

ISBN-13: 978-1908435323

• Book Synopsis:

  The good news: Bobby survived her Undead school trip. Bad news: her best mate, Smitty, is missing. Bobby knows she's got to find him \. even if it means risking it all and going out into the starving-zombie-infested wastelands again. Even if it means taking fellow survivors \- including a couple of old frenemies \- along for the ride. And even if the zombies are not the only ones who are chasing them this time.

  
  
If you are a vegetarian then this might not be the book for you - there is so much floppy dead skin within this story that it would even make a butcher blush! This is the second installment in the gripping Zombie series, and it will certainly not disappoint, if you are gagging for a good horror read. This book starts where the Undead finishes off. No time is lost in bringing the dramatic bus crash into focus as it flips onto its side and everything turns to blank before being flung headlong into more action, as the bloody entrails drip through every page.


The Zombies are growing with intelligence and things are really starting to heat up; there's no time for Bobby to lose. She finds herself in a strange hospital with lots of unanswered questions but before long she is faced with a full-scale Zombie disco, playing to the tune of ripping out flesh and brain feasting! At this point of the story, there is certainly lots to get your teeth into for sure.

The action sequences are well placed within the story. They bring well deployed bouts of scary tension that really create an impact on the reader. The giggles are perhaps optional as the quick one-liners might escape some readers. The slight development of sizzling romantic passion didn't necessarily enhance the storyline for me; at times it felt this was aimed at a more romantic audience. Nevertheless, this book had more graphic detail in than book one. In fact it had been intensely ramped up, which in my opinion was a good aspect, but the jury is perhaps still in discussion for me in terms of the romantic element. 


This was a very engaging and gripping book to read, and to be quite honest, I loved (nearly) every page. It had a good ending in which to start book three, but I hope that this next book will continue to remain imaginative and to consider different approaches in order to keep it fresh.

Susanne Winnacker - The Other Life - Book Review

The Other Life: who we were before the virus. How we'll never be again. It's been 3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since Sherry has seen daylight. When things went wrong up above, she was sealed off from the world in a bunker with her family. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage mutant killers. When her dad is snatched, Sherry joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers. But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all?

At the start of the book, the author quietly builds up the tension and the curiosity levels by introducing us to Sherry and her family, who are locked in the bunker in the basement of their house. It has been three years since they last saw daylight and lost all contact with the world. At this point, everything has just got too much and the family are at boiling point, especially when they run out of food. This is when the story becomes really interesting and exciting as Sherry and her father leave the bunker to find food. . . . As a result of this action, we suddenly become thrown into a post-apocalyptic world with rabies-infested humans known as Weepers. Whilst they are perhaps described with vague detail, the very vicious nature of them certainly allows the magic to spark in the imagination department. 

I have to say that I did find Sherry (one of the main characters) slightly annoying. I did try really hard to overlook this and felt that I just about managed it. It was not her OCD traits, in fact I found this element fascinating, it was actually the dialogue that she engaged in. At times, I found this confusing - she asked too many questions and, like all of the other characters, she appeared to be rather too stereotypical. Whilst the little snippets of her former life weaved throughout the story were clever, I'm not sure that they really worked.

This book has a real emotional depth to it - the feelings portrayed through the characters make the story more convincing. The supporting characters all portray a different story with different feelings as they learn to cope and survive. This worked amazingly well as it is often difficult to get the balance just right.

I think that this is a great debut book. It is very readable and will certainly have you, in parts, hiding behind the covers and wanting to read faster in order to find out more. The ending was great - it sets up the next book to be even better. Perhaps the characters may have more to fight than just the Weepers . . . .  If you love dystopian and zombies, then this will be a book just for you and if you don't, then give it a try anyway.

The Life Beyond will be the next book and I just can't wait.

Jon Mayhew - The Bonehill Curse - Book Review

                            

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (10 May 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1408803976
• ISBN-13: 978-1408803974

I was really looking forward to reading Jon's third published book - I had great expectations for it. The theme really appealed to me; a twisted story of evil Djinns. However, in this case, there was only one - which was a really great shame.

The story is partially set within Victorian London time, with some mad and typically English eccentric characters, but unfortunately they were described rather vaguely which didn't really do them any justice in my opinion. However, the story also takes you on a magic carpet ride to a strange place depicted as a twisted version of the Garden of Eden which I thought was a great idea. In fact, this second setting really gave a little bit of magic to the adventure. 

I really loved the storyline of this book - it was very enjoyable, although it did seem rather short to me. I found myself on page one and then, before I knew it, the book was finished. It's not short on pages, so what happened?

 

Unfortunately I found the darker side of this book to be disappointing. Compared to Jon's previous books, I felt there wasn't enough detail within the important sections, it just didn't have that punchy edge. Zaakiel, the Djinn in the book, although evil and driven by revenge; he just lacked a certain trait. Perhaps I wanted a nastier streak to be injected into the character in order to drive his soul. Perhaps I needed his personality to be larger and to have a stronger connection and dialogue with the other characters. Perhaps this would have enhanced his character and given a little more life to the plot.

The Pestilents, ragged infected humans controlled by Zaakiel, again I felt didn't reach their full potential. I really wanted to be immersed in a full battle scene, but unfortunately we seemed to skip over much of this and I really would have loved to have read more. However the main character in the book, Necessity BoneHill, did gain more page space and as a result was written particularly well and was totally likeable. 

I did enjoy many aspects of this book - some parts were highly original. Its vibrant and energetic pace tells a fantastic story. I would still recommend everyone to read this book as I know that my thoughts and opinions are very much focused on what I like and, as a result, are very often different to what other people like. Therefore, I'd love to hear what you all think - were my expectations too high? Am I alone in these thoughts?