Book Review: Seven Wonders: The Clossus Rises - By Peter Lerangis

                                    

Peter is the author of over 160 books. Some of his recent books from The 39 Clues have been listed in the New York Times Bestselling Series.  However, this is the first book that has been published as part of a new series of seven books and will be published in the next two years or so. 

Jack McKinley's normal life has just ended. Rushed into hospital he is told that he only has six months to live. However, when he awakes he finds himself on a mysterious island. A secret organisation promises to save his life, but on one condition. Jack and his new found friends Cass, Ally and Marco need to retrieve seven magical objects that, only when combined together, keep them alive. They need to work together on a mission, they have no choice but to undertake the quest. Solving clues and working out the mysteries to the secret locations they find themselves weaving through lost civilisations and mythology.

One of the books hidden strengths is the cast of great characters. You will bond with each one as you follow them through their adventures - battling the consequences of their genetic disorder which enhances their unearthly powers. This aspect of the story reveals many emotions and teenage angst, giving it both a human and realistic quality that I liked. The book also delivers a timely and humorous nature to the story which is played out in a fun way and will have you chuckling along at various points. 

This is a great introduction to the series - an epic fantasy, which is fuelled by high-octane action and great imagination. It will fuel the minds of both the young and old. An immersive book that will be an instant hit with reluctant readers. It's a book in my opinion that is hard to put down unless you have to do so. Well depicted, it is set in a breathtaking fantastical setting, with sparks of both magic and danger around every corner. It finishes on a real nail biter with a hive of film-like quality sequences that will leave you wanting more. 

If this sounds like your kind of book or you need a little more persuading to read it, then check out the book series website. You will also be able to read and download a free prequel ebook (Seven Wonders journals) and lots of other cool things. Just follow this link HERE

  

Allan Jones - Codename Quicksilver: KillChase - Book Review

This is the fourth book to be published so far in this series. Another book is due to be published in March entitled Adrenaline Rush. I first stumbled across these books, last July, after my involvement in a blog tour regarding the first two books in this series. The author produced a really insightful post about Free-Running which was really interesting. If you like to read it, click the following link: Guest Post Here

The main character in the book is Zak, a teenage spy, who has amazing skills in Free-Running. As a result he's very fast and nimble on his feet. This story finds Zak taking a thrilling ride on the Orient Express - very action packed and particularly well written. In fact, at times, it feels very James Bond-esk in the telling.  

Zak's mission in the fourth book is to find the mole in MI5. It takes him to the heights of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the beautiful backdrop of Venice. All great settings for this high octane adventure. 

This book is action packed; it is a quick fire race for time as Zak is being hunted from two different angles in the story. The further you travel through the story, the more intense the action and the outcome of the story. 

These are brilliantly engaging stories for the young budding spy. A fast paced thrilling ride of adventure and mystery combined. I think that this book is the best in this ever growing series, so far. In my opinion, these books are often overlooked. However I would recommend these as a good easy reading series.

Published by Orion Children's - 3 Jan 2013

Che Golden - The Feral Child - Book Review

                                       


They take human children and leave changelings in their place... stolen children go into the mound and we can't follow.'

Her parents dead, Maddy is sick of living in Ireland, sick of Blarney and sick of her cousin Danny, one of the nastiest people you could meet this side of an Asbo. Mad as hell one evening, she crawls inside the grounds of the castle, the one place she has always been forbidden to go. Once inside, she is chased by a strange feral boy, who she suspects is one of the faerie: cruel, fantastical people who live among humans and exchange local children for their own.

When the boy returns to steal her neighbour Stephen into his world, Maddy and her cousins set off on a terrifying journey into a magical wilderness, determined to bring him back home. To do so, they must face an evil as old as the earth itself... 

After having a hectic end of year it's now great to finally have a bit of time to read once more. Especially as the howling winds and battering rain beat rhythmically against my window pane! Anyway, I'd like to start with a New Year confession . . . . . at times I do judge a book by its cover and in fact I did so with this book. I depicted intriguing characters, mystical elements and an ethereal fairy realm - of which even more lurked within the pages.

Set in modern day Ireland, three children (Maddy and her cousins) find themselves entering the fairy realm on a quest to retrieve a stolen boy Stephen. Enchanted and captured by the evil fairy, he was replaced with a changeling and then taken to the fairy realm. As a result, the children have a number of dangerous encounters with evil characters, all based on traditional Celtic folklore, in their quest to return Stephen to his home in Blarney.

Initially the book starts sedately, but soon picks up pace when the children enter the fairy realm. This is maintained throughout the book until the unexpected ending. Interestingly, this does not follow the traditional Irish folklore mould and instead delivers an unexpected and original punch. 

A number of interesting creatures enter the pages of this book, but my favourite character is Fachtna (meaning 'hostile' in Irish). Fachtna lives, eats, sleeps and breathes war. In fact she is never happier than when she has a knife in her hand and is ready to kill. However, even bearing all of this information in mind, I hope that we will be able to uncover more of her personality and motives within the next book ' '.

This is a strong and accomplished debut novel which, in my eyes, competes with books written by more established authors. It will both capture and captivate all ages. However, this cannot be mistaken as being a 'nice' traditional fairytale as it is steeped in darkness and elements of horror - both of which can make the read very unsettling. Nevertheless this seedling grows into a blossoming bloom.

Published by Quercus Publishing - 5 January 2012 - Fiction Age 9+

Adam Christopher - Empire State - Mr Ripley's Older Read Book Choice For January 2012

                                                                 

“’Rad’ is my kind of name, is what,” said Rad. He didn’t bother looking up at his assailants. The masks and hats were a great disguise. Kooky. Instead he stared ahead and dabbed at his bottom lip with a bloody handkerchief.

The first goon’s shoes moved into Rad’s field of vision, black wingtips shining wetly in the cast-off from the streetlamp just around the lip of the alley. The rain had collected in the punch pattern on the shoes and each step threw a fine spray, some of which collected in the man’s pinstripe turn-ups. Rad figured it was all part of the disguise, the unfashionable shoes, the unfashionable suits, the unfashionable gas masks. The name of some annual affair near the end of the year that was all about ghosts and candy and weird costumes itched at the back of Rad’s mind, but he couldn’t remember what it was and the thought slipped away as he tried to grasp it.

The goon bent down and the gas mask came into view. Two circular goggles in a rubber face, single soup-can canister bobbing over where the mouth would be. The goon’s voice was clear as a whistle despite the business that sat between his lips and Rad’s ears, but echoed in the soup-can like it was coming out of a radio set.

“What do you know about nineteen fifty?”

Rad pulled the handkerchief away and looked at it, then moved his jaw like he was chewing toffee. His teeth were all there, so he was happy. A fat lip he could live with. What he really wanted was a drink, something strong that you couldn’t buy, not legally anyway. He tongued the gash inside his mouth and the pepper-copper taste of blood filled his mouth again. That wasn’t what he had in mind.

“That’s the second time you’ve asked me that, pal,” said Rad. “And for the second time I’m gonna say I don’t know about nineteen fifty. If you’re looking for street directions then there are nicer ways of going about it.”

The gas mask disappeared upwards and Rad shook his head. He felt his own fedora shift against the brick wall behind him. At least he’d kept that on during the fight.

Not that it was much of a fight. One minute he was walking down Fifth, next an arm pulled him out of the light and into the alley, and after just one question a one-two landed with some success on his face, and he was sitting on the floor with a bruised tailbone and a wet backside and a cheekbone that alternated between needle-pain and numbness.

They weren’t after money. Once on the ground, the first goon – a tall, wide, no-neck, who seemed to be doing everything for the entertainment of his friend who just stood and watched behind his black goggles – grabbed his wallet, and together the four glass eyes stared at his ID for a while before the card and wallet were returned to Rad’s inside coat pocket. This was no mugging. It was planned, calculated. They were professionals. The fist responsible for Rad’s aching face was on the end of a trained arm. The crazy get-up wasn’t something you could pick up downtown. They’d collared Rad for nineteen hundred and fifty somethings. Nineteen fifty what? His office was five-A, thirty-four, Fourth Street. His home was five-B. Rad ran through addresses, locations, places that people in unfashionable suits and strange masks might have an interest in. No dice.

Published by Angry Robot - 5 Jan 2012

+++Andy Briggs - Tarzan:The Greystoke Legacy - Book Review+++

                                             

What lies in the depths of the jungle? Escaping a dark secret, Robbie Canler joins an illegal logging team in the Congo jungle. Now they're under siege from a sinister force. When the daughter of the camp's boss, Jane Porter, goes missing, they assume bloodthirsty rebel soldiers have kidnapped her. Robbie sets out on a rescue mission - unaware he is being watched . . . Are the rumours of a feral man raised by wild apes true? If so, can the mysterious untamed savage be trusted to help them? Tarzan: a Legend Reborn

Tarzan first went to print around a hundred years ago, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan first came to life in a magazine publication (October 1912) through 'The All - Story'. Two years later this was made into a book format - since then there have been 25 sequels, and well over 50 films. 


Andy Briggs has had the big task of writing a new series bringing the legendary character back to life, but through a modern day setting and aimed at a younger audience. So how has he done?


Well, Andy has kept most of the key details true to the original story which I was pleased to see. He has not messed around with the classic elements that readers have historically fallen in love with. However, what he has done is placed the characters within a modern day setting. Obviously many aspects have changed dramatically within the last 100 years and therefore, Andy has done a great deal of research which shows through the detail of the setting. The Congo has been intertwined expertly into the story - it deposits you deep down within the jungle of Central Africa. Whilst Tarzan's re-vamped character has an Eco-warrior approach to saving the jungle from being cut down and running out the evil characters.


I really enjoyed this introduction to the new series - it is a great classic action adventure which I soon became engrossed in. The detail and the story are most plausible as they are not overly exaggerated but instead bring serious issues to light. This is a great jungle adventure, which in my opinion, both boys and girls should really love reading. I will be eagerly awaiting the next book 'Tarzan: The Jungle Warrior' which is out in July 2012. Tarzan is back and that's a good thing.....