C. J. Dunford - FAKE NEWS - Book Review - Mr. Ripley's Enchanted Books

 

C. J. Dunford is a visiting Alien and former playwright. She placed the magical true story inside a plastic bag on Arthur's Seat in Holyrood Park in Edinburgh hoping that, one day, a wonderful publisher would find the account of real-life events that took place sometime last year. After all, the media and government would not want us to know that we may have been fooled by a group of highly-trained school children.  However, Fledgling Press is publishing the whole eye-witness account which has been obtained through an Alien's persuasive powers. The book will be published on the 31st of May 2021 with real banana skins woven into the cover. It's the first time this has ever been done in the publishing world and is courtesy of the inventor and illustrator, Graeme Clarke.  

Fake News is full of the truth. Do you believe in everything you read on the internet? Did you ever question what you might think to be true? This is a fantastic story that will have you scratching your head as we follow the lives of four children (and one dog) who cross paths in the most bizarre way.  The book's plot is a narrative triumph and one of my favourite reads for some time. The story really goes deep into bringing the characters to life in such a dramatic and thrilling way. The journey, as a reader, is both gripping and emotional. However, it is also very amusing at times whilst remaining true to life, in my humble opinion. 

I really think teenagers will love this book as much as adults, as there is so much in this story to inspire our own lives. The book covers a lot of sensitive subjects in a fantastic but public way. It's about being true to yourself. This is shown through the characters as they launch their own news site detailing amazingly shocking stories. The reader is required to make up their own mind as to whether they are TRUE or NOT. The characters intend to come clean, but the publicity goes to their heads. Other life events then come crashing into one mass adventure which makes for a viral calamity. This is dealt with in a very brilliant way bringing the story to a great climatic end.

The book delivers a fantasy Sci-fi element that works really well. It is full of Aliens and spies, secret services, slimy journalist investigators, and a hacker or two. There are also eco-crazy parents and some rather witty but challenging school teachers which all add to the mayhem. Not to mention the school bully! The characters plan to show people they should never believe what they read on the internet. However, this backfires in a comical way that made me laugh so much.

This is a really great book. It's slightly different from the usual books that I tend to read and love. I think it is an absolute work of genius. It's thrilling, emotional, thought-provoking, and very topical. Yet it's told in a clever, comical, and imaginatively contemporary way. It's a book that I would recommend to you all. I would love to hear your thoughts if you do read a copy.  

As this book is published by a small publisher, I have put a link (if you are interested) to buy a signed copy while stocks last. I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did. https://www.fledglingpress.co.uk/product-page/fake-news

P.S Don't slip on the banana skin whilst leaving this website. We take your safety as our top priority. This review has been brought to you by Radio Ripley City Central - the book review website you can trust or can you?!

Philip Caveney - The Slithers - Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books - Book Review (Fledgling Press)

After the death of his mother and the end of his father s high-powered career, Zach and his Dad have come to the north of Scotland to live rent-free in Grandfather Alistair s cliff-top cottage. Dad asks Zach to clean out the old garden pond, a rotting nightmare where not even a tadpole can survive. But when he drains the pond, he unearths something unexpected a trapdoor leading down into darkness... He ventures down there and discovers something amazing a glowing egg-shaped stone. Once brought back to the surface, Zach s run of bad luck seems to change entirely. Suddenly, he can't seem to stop winning and even Dad s career is unexpectedly back on track. But good luck can't last forever... The stone belongs to a race of ancient creatures that dwell deep beneath the ground - and they want it back. Pretty soon, unspeakable things begin to claw their way to the surface in search of the stone and for Zach and his new friend, Pepper, there's one all-important question. Can they stay alive until morning?

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books will be ten years young this year. When I started blogging many years ago, Philip Caveney was the standout author for me in 2008. I absolutely loved all of his books, especially the Sebastian Darke series which particularly made me laugh. Every book since, I have absolutely loved and enjoyed with equal measure. So Danny Weston, watch your self. 

On a recent trip to Edinburgh, I tracked down a copy of his recent book "The Slithers" which is published by an independent Edinburgh publisher called Fledgling Press. This is the sixth, fully-fledged book, by this publisher excluding e-books. It certainly has one of the most memorable book covers which has been fantastically illustrated by Kylie Tesdale. The big red glowing eye helps you find it very easily on the bookshelves which is just what you want in a world full of books.

Beyond the book cover, you'll find a fantastic story waiting to be unleashed by the reader. The story starts with Zach and his Dad's background history. It's a sad one, but for some people in this world, it might be a shared reality. The connection between the main characters, Zach and Pepper, is brilliantly written - it really helps to explain both of the characters past. The further you dip into the fantasy sweety jar the more the story unwraps itself. The chocolate coating soon dissolves into a genuine scary nightmare for both the characters and readers alike. 

Everyone should be able to relate to one or more of the characters in this book. There will be a character in this book with similar traits to yourself that you will be able to relate to, regardless of age. The fantastic mix of personalities brings out conflicting interests between the characters which will keep readers hooked. These include the feelings and inner personal workings of Grandad Alistair or Jerry, Beefy or even the funny misfortunes of Cheryl.

Set in Scotland, the landscape is a big feature of the story. It is bleak and desolate which heightens the Gothic horror element of the story really well. Philip uses his surroundings, local tradition, Norse mythology, and a big dollop of reality to carve out his stories. It leaves little ripples of fantasy magic inside your fantasy brain. This book becomes a horror montage, at times, but it also provided an element of pleasure to read. It has a pacey plotline, no-nonsense character dialogue and just the right amount of ingredients to eat with your haggis on a Sunday afternoon.

This has to be one of my favourite books by Philip Caveney. If I had read it last year, then it would have slithered into my top ten reads of the year. I loved every page of this book. It was very atmospheric, which gave it a great classical B movie feel. I loved the depiction of Scottish coastal village-life with a strange past and a great mind-blowing secret. I also loved the scenes that centered around the arcade and, subsequently, Tazer (the arcade owner), who has a delightful and very engaging end. This is a brilliant book, an effortless read and one that I would urgently recommend that you track down.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Guest Post by Philip Caveney - (Edinburgh a Place for Inspiration)

The city of Edinburgh has proved to be a fertile source of inspiration for my fiction. It was a wonderful but entirely unexpected gift. 
I first visited in August 2010 for the Fringe Festival. I was amazed and invigorated by the buzz on the streets and the wealth of theatre and comedy that was on offer everywhere I turned. But the first real inspiration came when I visited Mary King’s Close. 

For those who don’t know, this is a 17th Century street underneath the Royal Mile, used as the foundations for the building of the Royal Exchange in the 1700s, effectively forgotten about for centuries and only opened up to the public in 2003. It is essentially a time capsule, preserved exactly as it was in the 1600s, the steeply sloping streets, the tall tenements and the empty rooms that seem to positively ooze with atmosphere. A guide explained about the summer of 1645 when bubonic plague ravished the community and nobody was safe from its deadly embrace. 



As he spoke, I suddenly realised that I wanted to set a story here. 
The resulting book is Crow Boy, a time-travel adventure in which Tom Afflick, a hapless youth from Manchester, finds himself hurled back across the centuries to the heart of Mary Kings Close, where he is forced to become the assistant to an evil plague doctor. Happily, MKC took the book to their heart, allowing us to launch it there and selling copies in their gift shop. Years later, it remains one of their best-selling items and because people from all over the world visit the place, it helps to disseminate copies around the globe. 

When it came time for a follow up, I chanced upon another powerful inspiration - the eight miniature coffins still on display in the National Museum of Scotland. They were found by some schoolboys in 1828, hidden on the slopes of Arthur’s Seat, the extinct volcano that overlooks the city. The boys had been hunting rabbits that day but instead made an amazing discovery. Each coffin contained a tiny dressed doll. There were seventeen of them originally but the rather stupid boys decided to throw them at each other, destroying more than half of them within minutes. Luckily, their history teacher overheard them talking of what they’d done and retraced their steps, finding eight of the coffins still intact. 

People have speculated for many years as to who hid them up there and why, so I enlisted Tom Afflick to whizz back in time in order to solve the mystery, linking the coffins to the exploits of two of Edinburgh’s most infamous villains – Burke and Hare. The book was called, appropriately enough, Seventeen Coffins. 

On the eve of publication, my wife and I climbed Arthur’s Seat at dawn and hid three carefully wrapped copies of the book up there. Two copies have so far been found, but there’s still one more hidden somewhere amidst the rocks… 
For the third and final story in the series, One For Sorrow, I decided to concentrate on a famous Edinburgh author – Robert Louis Stevenson. When I discovered that he had first published his seminal novel, Treasure Island in the weekly children’s magazine, Young Folks, I was intrigued, especially as he’d published the story under the pseudonym Captain George North. I quickly evolved my central premise – that Tom would have to persuade RLS to publish the story, as a book, under his own name - or the world might lose one of the greatest adventure stories of all time. I also had to find a convincing ending for Tom’s travels – one that, judging by many of the emails I received just after publication, caused more than a few tears amongst my readers. 

So, I had three stories all inspired by Edinburgh. What else could the city offer me? Well, over the years, I have always been impressed by the wonderful statues around the city. I have come to think of them as characters in their own right. One day, as I strolled past the monument to the Royal Scots greys on Princes Street, I found myself thinking, what if they are sentient? What if they can see and hear and feel as we mortals pass by them from day to day? What do they think of or stupid comments, the way we treat them as mere photo opportunities? And then I thought, what if there was one special day in the year, one incredible twenty four hour period when human time in Edinburgh comes to a stop and the statues are allowed to climb down from their plinths to enjoy each other’s company? 

The result is my latest novel, The Calling. 
In the book, a young boy wakes up on a train to Edinburgh. He is amazed to discover that he doesn’t know how he even came to be on the train… and worse still, he doesn’t know who he is! Things get even more confusing when he turns out to be the only human left awake at midnight, to witness the moment when every statue in the city comes to life. As a ‘softie’ he’s not very welcome. The king of the statues, Charles II is all for chopping off his head, but luckily, the boy soon finds a talented ally. The statue of Sherlock Holmes in Picardy Place is assigned to find out exactly who the boy (who the statues have nick-named Ed) is and to get him back where he came from. The statues, you see, embody all the attributes of the characters they are made to represent. As for the supporting cast, I was able to draw on some of Edinburgh’s most celebrated inhabitants – David Livingstone, Sir Walter Scott, William Wallace… even Greyfriar’s Bobbie gets to lend a paw in the proceedings. 

The book surprised me in some ways – as the story develops it becomes a crime novel, as it transpires that ‘Ed’ has been involved in a terrible ordeal. Things get quite dark but The Calling has garnered me some of the most positive reviews of my career. 

So… what next? Does Edinburgh have any more inspirations for me? Will it offer me another opportunity to delve into its illustrious past? At this stage, I can only utter those three time-honoured words. 
Watch this space.

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Philip Caveney - The Calling - Book Review

A boy wakes up on a train to Edinburgh. He is shocked to discover that no idea who he is or how he came to be on the train - and once off it, he finds himself immersed in the chaos of the Edinburgh Fringe. After a day of wandering the crowded streets, he falls asleep and is woken by the sound of bells tolling midnight - only to discover that is the night of The Calling - a magical yearly event when all the statues of the city come alive. He is the only human ever to witness it. He quickly makes a couple of allies - the Colonel, the bronze cavalryman of the Scots Grey's monument, and the intrepid explorer David Livingstone. They christen the boy 'Ed Fest' and take him to Parliament Square to meet Charles II, the king of the statues, who isn't particularly fond of 'Softies' (humans).He assigns Sherlock Holmes to investigate the boy's case, to discover his real identity and to get back to his home and family. But as the bronze detective begins to decipher the clues, he discovers that 'Ed' is on the run from a sequence of terrible events; ones that could threaten his very existence.The Calling is a magical story set during Edinburgh's most exciting event - and nearly all of its characters can be observed, standing on plinths in the heart of the city, waiting for next year's Calling.

The Calling is a magical story that you are all going to love. Yes, you really are dear readers. The story to me is a nostalgic look at one of the best cities in the UK. Can you guess where that might be? From the veery first pages that you turn, you are soon asking questions about the mysterious character. You can not help follow the character with wide eyes and a buzzing mind as he leaves Waverley train station into the chaotic streets of Edinburgh. The Fringe is in full swing and performers are strutting their stuff on the streets. A rocked-up Scottish folk tune leaks from the pages as Philip sets up the backdrop and atmosphere like a seasoned pro. 

When day time moves over to night time, Edinburgh comes alive with a secret past. The bells toll midnight and the streets secrets soon come to light. Ed discovers something amazing as the statues come to life for twenty-four hours (known as the Calling) and he is the only human to witness the event. It's a great concept and Philip takes this idea and runs with it. He brings many famous dead characters to life; those who normally stand so silently and are sometimes forgotten when walking around the city.  

This is a brilliant adventure loaded with historical characters. It is a fantastic introduction to the city for young readers and a fantastic advert for Edinburgh, in my opinion.  He weaves a story within a story as Ed struggles to find out who and where he comes from. The statue of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle comes to his aid, in the form of Sherlock Holmes, with the help from James Clerk Maxwell (scientist). There is also an unlikely Scottish hero as well as a terrier called Bobby.

The narrative gets very interesting and the plot thickens as the detective works his elementary sleuthing magic in true style. It's a cracking epic adventure full of period detail. One minute you're munching on Starbuck's treats and the next minute you're travelling through a portal to a pub in Manchester. It's a fantastic eclectic hit of ideas and history with some great witty banter between the characters which will definitely make you chuckle. 

This is the fourth book set in the city of Edinburgh and one of the best that Philip has written for Fledgling Press to date, in my opinion. I really think that there is scope to develop this idea into further books which would be a fantastic delight.

This is a brilliant five star entertaining read that will make you look at the city of Edinburgh in a new and different light.... 

Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books: Philip Caveney - One for Sorrow - Book Review

Tom is back for his third time travelling adventure; this time he hurtles back to Edinburgh in 1881. Just reading a copy of Treasure Island on his kindle serves as a catalyst to a crazy adventure that no one could foresee, even the reader. Tom meets Robert Louis Stevenson, a sickly young author, who has just published the story in a children's magazine called Young Folks in a series of weekly instalments between 1881 and 1882. 

Philip Caveney has cleverly weaved both fact and fiction into this plot and made it very interesting and engaging. The ongoing encounters between Tom, Robert Louis Stevenson and his family were really absorbing and very well written/researched, in my opinion. I felt like I was meeting the characters in real life, standing in their shoes, it was so realistic and a key part of the book. It is one of my favourite books in the series. 

Can Tom persuade Robert to try and publish the book as a novel or will one of the world's greatest adventures be lost forever? 

The story depicts a great insight into one of the greatest children's' writers of the 19th century. It asks questions of the reader and shows the real-life outcome of the publishing world. Decisions that are made in this novel shine out in a multi-layered dimensional way, which pumps your brain with the many possibilities that could and may unfold. This is a definite read for the thinking mind and reader.   

The author has related back to the events and major characters from previous books, like Tom's deadly adversary, The Plague Doctor. He still plays a major part as an utterly menacing, unpredictable and scary character who will continue to shake the living daylights out of you. 

For the first time reader to this series, I really feel that you will need to read the first two book in the series otherwise you will miss a lot of the backstory and, as a result, may have a slight problem connecting with the plot. Especially as the narrative is very lean and keen, which is good in my opinion. 

This is another accomplished story told with imagination and flair. It's a rollercoaster of a time travelling ride that will have you reading into the future in no time. This is a recommended series from Mr Ripley..... 

Published by Fledgling Press (28 May 2015)

Mr Ripley's Book Review: Seventeen Coffins - By Philip Caveney

We have just moved on from Crow Boy, the first book, to find that Tom has wasted no time falling head first into another nightmarish adventure in and around Mary King's Close, Edinburgh. It all starts off with that familiar feeling, where the world shudders around him; that horrible sensation as he finds himself lost and lonely once more. 

The book is loosely based on historical places, events and people just like the first book 'Crow Boy'. It isn't really necessary to read this book first, but it may help if you do so, in my opinion. Besides which it is a great book and well worth the read anyway. The narrative begins at the National Museum of Scotland. A place with so much mystery - what might Tom find? It all starts with the eight tiny coffins that were discovered at Arthur's Seat in 1836. There is a tiny figure in each one; they soon become a very significant part of the ongoing story. You'll find that your curiosity increases as you are flung into the world of the past.

Philip uses his creative imagination exceptionally well to weave many elements into a captivating story. The nineteenth century comes alive through three dimensional descriptions of sight, sound and smell. Each aspect enables you to really visualise the place and time of the story. Philip creates an intelligent and very interesting read. 

The magical time travelling adventure will suck you from modern day time into the nineteenth century within a blink of an eye. Tom finds himself running from his old nemesis, the bogus plague doctor, William McSweeny, as well as other unsavoury characters from the past. Without giving too much away, these are definitely my favourite characters from the book; they bring a dark and moody feeling to the story which is SO good. I really loved this section of the book.

I have nothing negative to say about this book; it is a great sequel to Crow Boy. Easy to follow, yet it also has a great historical insight to it. Fast-paced dialogue between the characters keeps the storyline flowing. Whilst the mysterious element and edge to the plot keeps you rooted to the end. The story is based around a dark world full of shady characters - it is a struggle for survival. Beware though . . . . there are some gruesome encounters that will have you running for cover.

A lighter and more playful side to the story also exists such as Tom teaching his new friends twentieth-century slang; this section is particularly well written and rather funny. This story has all of the right ingredients to entice anyone and everyone to read it. Interesting, educational and a ripping good adventure that will fill your head. Poor Tom finds that time is once more slipping away from him. Hopefully this will soon lead us to another adventure very soon.  

Published by Fledgling Press (22 April 2014)

Other books by Philip Caveney

Sebastian Darke Series:

• 2007 Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools
• 2008 Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pirates
• 2009 Sebastian Darke: Prince of Explorers
• 2010 Sebastian Darke: A Buffalope's Tale
• 2012 Sebastian Darke: Prince Of Spies
• Alec Devlin Series:
• 2008 Alec Devlin: The Eye of the Serpent
• 2009 Alec Devlin: Empire of the Skull
• 2010 Alec Devlin: Maze of Death
• Other Novels:
• 2011 Night On Terror Island
• 2012 The Talent
• 2012 Spy Another Day
• 2012 Crow Boy
• 2013 Watchers
• 2013 Animal Factory

About Philip Caveney

Philip Caveney was born in North Wales in 1951. The son of an RAF officer, he spent much of his childhood travelling the length and breadth of Britain and spent several years in Malaysia and Singapore.

He attended Kelsterton College Of Art in North Wales where he obtained a diploma in Graphic Design. Whilst there, he became drummer (and latterly vocalist) with rock band, Hieronymus Bosch.

After leaving college, he worked extensively in theatre both in London and Wales and wrote the lyrics for rock adaptations of The Workhouse Donkey and Oscar Wilde's Salome.

His first novel, The Sins Of Rachel Ellis, was published in 1977. Since then, he has published many novels for adults and since 2007, a series of children's books that have sold all over the world.

Book Review: Philip Caveney - Watchers

I first started this blog back in 2008, if you search back that far you will actually find a post for Philip Caveney's 'Watchers' as an unpublished version. Five years on, I never thought that I'd actually get a chance to read the full book or even see it published. I've been watching, waiting and even flapping my wings waiting to read this. Fortunately, the wee independent  Edinburgh based publisher Fledgling Press have done the honours of publishing it and rightly so. They've commissioned a fantastic front cover by Kylie Tesdale that might just make it on the list of this year's 'Book Cover Wars' perhaps . . . . what do you think?

After all of these years, was the book worth waiting for? Well, the answer is a resounding YES!

I loved every page of this book, in fact so much so that I would have liked to have read even more. It has a really good feel factor to it; a brilliant family read that everyone will enjoy from eight to eighty. It will lift your spirit and soul to enjoyable levels but, at times, it will also take you on a ride that may drag you down to hell. 

This book is very cool - kids will relate to it on many levels. They will discover a ripping good story behind the book cover. It's very funny and witty - you will find yourself chuckling along to some of the antics from each character. However, it's also sad as well as Will Booth has to come to terms with the death of his father in a fatal car accident. Struggling to come to terms with his life, he has a chance encounter with a mysterious tramp called Ari. Will discovers that Ari is a member of a band of new age travellers - The Watchers - a group of fallen Angels that have been cast out of heaven in the "great war". The characters are very well written and somewhat quirky. 

These angels have been sentenced to travel the earth, making up for their past sins, by helping mankind. However the second band of angels, led by the dark and sinister Lou, bring an evil and cruel element to the story. They devote themselves to causing mischief and have their sights on adding to troubled times for Will and his friends. I loved the idea of 'Hells Angels' being real angels and riding Harley Davidson motorbikes causing mayhem - this was really fun to read. 

I would love for many people to read this book, so you may need to track a copy down.  Philip has a great skill of blending his imagination which he uses to great effect in all his books. He really grounds the story in reality whilst also adding a large dollop of strong idealistic ideas which make the whole story sing. It reads like lightning; it is  an adventure with wings that will keep you entertained throughout the journey. This is a fantastic and memorable piece of fiction which was well worth waiting for. It is one that I hope you will also enjoy.

Be a devil and pick up a copy. Read it and let me know your thoughts.....

 

Published by Fledgling Press (16 Sep 2013)