Mark Walden - Earthfall - Book Review

It's about six years ago when I initially picked up my very first Mark Walden book. It was at the Federation of Children's Book Groups (FCBG) Annual Conference and was from one of the lovely people at Bloomsbury. It was an especially shiny copy of H.I.V.E (Higher Institute of Villainous Education) which I'm sure many of you will already be familiar with and have some knowledge about. If so, then you'll understand how this book got me hooked on the series and made me a huge fan of Mark Walden's work.  New to the book market is a totally different series, but it still retains all of the magical ingredients from his other books. It is a kaleidoscope of action adventure, but all wrapped into a technological theme. This is a well executed and fast-paced boy adventure that girls will also love. It has a great mixture of characters which will appeal to everybody and lives that children will be able to really relate to.  Just imagine being in London and waking up to finding strange vessels flying through the sky. Sam finds himself in just this position, but it gets stranger by the minute when both his family and surrounding people stream past him. Walking silently towards enormous ships that emit a persistent noise. However, Sam appears to be immune to this signal and instead finds himself running for his life against a strange alien life force. All of the Humans eventually become 'walkers' who find themselves void of both emotion and recognition. An interesting concept that I thought worked well in the book.  I loved this book for the duration of the story - it's just pure magical escapism packed into approximately 290 pages. It's a very clever story full of high drama, battle scrapes, fighting flying Drone's, stinging Hunters and, if that's not grabbing your attention enough, then there's the very imaginatively created Grendel which will definitely have you running for cover. When Big Ben comes crashing down is it all over . . . . ?  Well, you'll have to read the book to find out as my lips are sealed! It would be fair to indicate that this book may have some tiny flaws within, for example the characters - all rather stereotypical and, at times, less interesting. I found it difficult to click with any of them as they were just too normal for the circumstances and as a result, none of them really stood out. Nevertheless, this book is still up to the very high standards of Mark Walden's usual writing. The explosive action and the imaginative story is what I really love about Mark's books and this will not disappoint. New and old readers alike will love this book. It's easy to read and understand, highly imaginative and full of explosive action. Another great start to another new series and, with lots of questions still to be answered at the end of the story, it will certainly make you desperate to read the next instalment. I for one can't wait!

Wanted List #1 - Magisterium by Jeff Hirsh

On one side of the Rift is a technological paradise without famine or want. On the other side is a mystery.


Sixteen-year-old Glenn Morgan has lived next to the Rift her entire life and has no idea what might be on the other side. Glenn’s only friend, Kevin Kapoor, insists there’s monsters and witchcraft, but magic isn’t for Glenn. She has enough problems with reality. 
Ever since her mother abandoned them years earlier she and her scientist father have led nearly separate lives. He obsessively pursues “The Project,” a patched-together heap of technology whose importance only he seems to grasp,while Glenn dreams of the day she can escape.


On one side of the Rift is a technological paradise without 
famine or want. On the other side is a mystery.
But when her father’s work leads to his arrest, he gives Glenn a simple metal bracelet that sends her and Kevin on the run—with only one place to go.


On the other side of the Rift, Glenn and Kevin find the Magisterium, a fundamentally different reality that’s both more wondrous and more terrifying than they could have imagined. There, they find themselves in the middle a hundred-year-old conflict that will force Glenn to reassess everything she thinks she knows about the world, her family, and even herself. 


More on this book and the author check out his blog. http://www.jeff-hirsch.com/?p=433


Book published by Scholastic Press - US ( October 1,2012) Age 12+

                                                

Reading Now: Joe Hill’s The Cape Hardcover Edition

  

NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNGER READERS!                                                

Eric was like every other eight-year-old boy, until a tragic accident changed his life forever. The Cape explores the dark side of power, as the adult Eric – a confused and broken man – takes to the skies… and sets out to exact a terrible vengeance on everyone who ever disappointed him.

This critically acclaimed, Eisner-Award nominated story, written by Jason Ciaramella, based on the short story by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, with art by Zach Howard and Nelson Daniel, will linger with you long after you turn the last page, and force you to ask yourself the question: “What if?” 

Also I'm reading The Spider#1 by David Liss which caught my eye today. Page 5 Preview.

                               

The Spider brands his emblem on the foreheads of his victims. It’s a classic trademark of the character, and I wanted to get that in there quickly. Sewing fear is one of the best ways for the Spider to keep himself alive, and mutilating the corpses of your victims is certainly a time-honored method of sewing fear. It’s pretty twisted when you think about it. However, right away we get the Spider’s extreme behavior juxtaposed with his motivation. The bad guys he killed were human traffickers. Extreme punishments for extreme crimes – and really, that’s at the heart of who the Spider is. He is over-the-top because his enemies are over-the-top. Also, I really love the red spider laser in the first panel.

 

                                        

And the last item to be bought today was #113 Fables - Celebrating 10 years this is should be a good read as well.

Therese has been missing for days now, leaving Snow and Bigby frantic. If that weren't bad enough, now Dare can't be found either! What's there to do but turn all of Fabletown and all of The Farm upside down and organize a search party? And in the backup story, the revolution in Oz has been called off. Why? Well, it may have to do with the fact that someone went and hanged their leader. Don't you hate when that happens?

Look Out: Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill - Dead Reckoning

                           

One-upping The Forest of Hands and Teeth comes a zombie-Western mashup with all guns blazing! An electric new venture from an NYT and USA Today bestselling team.

Jett is a girl passing as a boy, living as a cowboy in the old West as she searches for her long-lost brother. When the book opens, she's just rolled into a new town, where she stops by the saloon. Things are relatively calm, although she suspects there will be Trouble from at least one of the locals. Sure enough, Trouble starts to mosey over, when--

The saloon is invaded by zombies.

Barely escaping with her life, Jett hightails it out of town and soon falls into the company of Honoria Gibbons, a smart, self-sufficient young woman who also happens to be a fabulous inventor. Together with White Fox, a young man they meet, they set out to discover what's caused the zombie uprising. Turns out these zombies aren't rising from the dead of their own accord… but who would want an undead army? And why?

Reading level: Ages 12 and up Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens; 1 edition (June 5, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1599906848 ISBN-13: 978-1599906843

Philippa Gregory - Changeling - Q&A and Book Synopsis

   

How was writing a book for teens different from writing a book for adults? I don't think there is any difference for me in terms of the craft of writing. I think that the quality and enjoyment of the novel should be at least equal to a book for adults. 

        

Do you have a favourite character in your new teen series? I created the two principal characters of Luca and Isolde and liked them so much, but then I was amazed to find that the servant character of Frieze just jumped off the page. He is funny and full of common sense, wonderful with animals and has a great loving nature. His role just grew through the story as I came to like writing about him more and more. He is very important in book 2, and I think I will end up with a cast of 4 principal characters rather than 2.

       

When you are writing a multi-book series, do you work from an outline (know all the beats) or do you work toward an ending (know how it all ends)? This has been the first series that I have written that is not anchored completely by the historical record, so I have revelled in the freedom of it and have worked on each novel quite independently. I know where the whole series ultimately ends, but I don't know yet how I will get there. It's a truly creative process, I feel as if I am making it up as I go along and loving this.

Why did you set your new teen series in the 15^th century? The date of 1453 is such a key one - people really believed that it was the end of the world. It is this belief that means that Luca has his job in exploring the "end of days" and also means that there are so many manifestations of the supernatural that people report.

     

How is it working with fictional characters rather than real historical figures? It has been a real holiday from the demands of accuracy and research. It has set the novelist in me free for the first time in a long time. I love discovering and researching the historical characters, but to be able to create characters from imagination has been a real treat.

Book synopsis: The first book in the thrilling YA sequence, Order of Darkness. The year is 1453, and all signs point to it being the end of the world. Accused of heresy and expelled from his monastery, handsome seventeen-year-old, Luca Vero, is recruited by a mysterious stranger to record the end of times across Europe. Commanded by sealed orders, Luca is sent to map the fears of Christendom, and travel to the very frontier of good and evil. Seventeen-year-old Isolde, a Lady Abbess, is trapped in a nunnery to prevent her claiming her rich inheritance. As the nuns in her care are driven mad by strange visions, walking in their sleep, and showing bleeding wounds, Luca is sent to investigate and all the evidence points to Isolde's criminal guilt. Outside in the yard they are building a pyre to burn her for witchcraft. Forced to face the greatest fears of the medieval world - dark magic, werewolves, madness - Luca and Isolde embark on a search for truth, their own destinies, and even love as they take the unknown ways to the real historical figure who defends the boundaries of Christendom and holds the secrets of the Order of Darkness.

                          

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (24 May 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0857077309
• ISBN-13: 978-085707730

Guest post: Thomas Taylor - Find Out About Haunters - Chicken House

Well it's that time again when we get an author to talk 
about their debut book and the inspiration behind it.
I have had this book on my radar for sometime now, so I am pleased that Thomas
is now able to let you inside this futuristic ghost adventure and tell you more. Have a read
and see what you think.
                                           

“Eddie, Adam and David have the same gift. Using their dreams they can travel in time, appearing as ghosts wherever and whenever they want. But each of them wants something different…

Eddie, the genius who discovers dreamwalking, is sworn to protect the course of history. Adam wants to use terror to change it for his own ends. And David, the novice dreamewalker who is linked to them both, must find a way to keep them apart – and save the future of the world…”

I have been thinking about ghosts since childhood, mostly because I was terrified of them. So scared, in fact, that I honestly thought I saw them as a boy. Of course, I realise now that I never did – well,probably never did, anyway – but I have spent a lot of time wondering what they may be if they do exist. And the connection with time travel is obvious – if ghosts are real, then they are points of contact between the world of the past and the world of now. But could they also be points of contact with the future? 

Many people claim to have met lost loved ones in dreams, or to have dreamt about the past, and many people have claimed to have encountered ghosts when awake. Putting these things together, and stirring in the explosive elements of a thriller – danger, mystery, suspense, and a stack of cool gadgets – lead me to write Haunters. But I won’t deny it might also have been a way to deal with the childhood fear I once felt. Perhaps that’s why, in the book, only children can dreamwalk. In any case, what if ghosts aren’t something to be scared of at all, but something to be really excited about? I’d much rather that! I certainly wish my terrified, 12-year-old self could have read this book.

  

Haunters is an inverted ghost story, where the living are the ghosts, and where the dead are the ones being haunted. It is also a time-slip story where there is no time machine, and a tale of dreams where no one truly sleeps. Fancy trying it out? Here’s page 39:

Haunters is published 24^th May, 2012 by that plucky little publishing outfit, The Chicken House. Read an early review here and find out more about me and my book launch here. If you are kind enough to buy a copy, hope you enjoy it!

---

Chicken House link: http://doublecluck.com/book/Haunters

Review link: http://www.comacalm.com/2012/04/haunters-thomas-taylor.html

Book launch link: http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Whats-on-leisure/Family/Harry-Potter-illustrator-Thomas-Taylor-17052012.htm

Michael Scott - The Enchantress: Book 6 (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

                                            


The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty. 

The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects - the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it is too late. And if the prophecy is right, twins Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

In The Enchantress, the sixth and final book in the series, the twins of prophecy have been split. Nicholas Flamel is near death, and John Dee has the swords of power. The future of the human race lies in the balance - how will the legend end?

The first five books in Michael Scott's six-part epic fantasy series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel , have all been New York Times bestsellers, and they are perfect for fans of Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.The Enchantress is the sixth and final book in the series.


Published by Doubleday Childrens (24 May 2012)

US New Children's Books Published - June 2012

                             

Elizabeth Cody Kimmel - ParaNorman:A Novel - Published by Little,Brown For Young Readers - 5 June 2012 - Age 8+

In a quaint New England town with a history of witches and pilgrims, misunderstood eleven-year-old Norman Babcock can see and talk to ghosts. No one believes him, of course-everyone just thinks he's weird (including his parents). But when a folktale of a witch who cursed her accusers turns out to be true, it's up to Norman to save the town from pilgrim zombies! In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on a very angry witch, an annoying sidekick, his boy-crazy teenage sister, and dozens of moronic grown-ups who get in his way. This young ghoul whisperer finds his paranormal talents pushed to their otherworldly limits in this hilarious and spooky adventure!

Featuring gorgeous black-and-white interior illustrations and a story beyond what you'll see in the film, this novel is sure to delight!

                                        

Garth Nix - TroubleTwisters:The Monster - Published by Scholastic Press - 1 June 2012 - Age 8+

Jaide and Jack Shield have a secret. When they're unexpectedly sent to live with their mysterious Grandma X, they're thrust into a world where cats talk and strange weather comes out of nowhere. There they learn that they're troubletwisters, with powers they must use to stop the Evil from taking over our world.

Before, they'd defeated the Evil through luck and intuition. Now though, Jaide and Jack will have to learn how to use their powers, and how to keep on their toes when evil forces return.

Constance Leeds - The Unfortunate Son - Published by Viking Juvenile - 14  June 2012 - Age 11+   

                           

Kidnapping, family secrets, and adventure on the high seas--perfect for middle grade fans of historical fiction!

What does it mean to be lucky? Luc doesn't really know. He was born with just one ear, his father constantly berates him, and his younger brother is already bigger and stronger than he is. But when he is chosen to become an apprentice to a local fisherman, his life takes a turn for the better. Luc is a natural at sea, and before long he and a teenaged girl who lives with the fisherman form a strong bond. That bond is tested when Luc is taken captive by a band of merciless pirates, and sold into slavery.Moving from 1485 to 1500, from France to Africa, from humble beginnings to a noble future, this historical fiction adventure will leave readers pondering the true meaning of good fortune.

                                 

Stacy DeKeyser - The Brixen Witch - Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books - 26 June 2012 - Age 8+      

                            

An enchanted coin. A witch’s curse. And rats, rats everywhere! What’s a boy to do?

When Rudi Bauer accidentally takes a witch’s coin, he unleashes her curse. Accident or not, he knows he’s got to fix things, so he tries to return the coin, only to lose it on the witch’s magic mountain just as the snows come. Plagued all winter by terrible dreams, Rudi tries to find the coin again in the spring, but it has vanished—and a plague of rats has descended on his village.

     Then a stranger arrives and promises to rid the village of rats—for the price of the missing coin. Desperate to get rid of the rats, the villagers agree—but when they cannot pay, the stranger exacts a price too terrible for anyone to bear. Now Rudi is going to need all his courage—and some help from his savvy grandmother and a bold young girl—to set things right in this fast and funny adventure.

Ursula Jones - The Youngstars - Book Review

• 
  
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Inside Pocket (23 April 2012)
• Age: 9+
• ISBN-10: 0956712290
• ISBN-13: 978-0956712295

It is always good to read and review work from authors who don't get much media coverage. One of my favourite small publishers, Inside Pocket, have a great authority in publishing some great books and this, is no exception.

Ursula's theatrical background really lends itself to the performance of this story. It delivers a great platform for a period story set in England in 1936. We follow a young group of people, all working on the stage, performing their comical skits in northern theatres. However, with their evil manager known as 'The Pig' they find themselves in for a colourful journey. 

This story provides a brilliant look into the past when people needed to be entertained and the television had just been invented - Hollywood and the Silver Screen were just becoming established. As a result, these young performers have big dreams of making it big one day. I don't want to give too much away about this story, so I've chosen to keep this review free of too much detail. I believe that this will then give you the chance to pick up a copy and read it for yourselves.

I have to say that I really did enjoy reading this book. It has a varied and split storyline which, at times, was quite complex such as the following of the Doppelgangers (Ollie and Ralph) after a chance meeting. It has great inside views of a pre-war time, when life was hard and variety shows were often popular but, of course, often hard work in order to please the paying customers. This book is full of highs, lows, twists and turns but very much with a slap stick approach.  

This is an adventure for everyone from twelve to a hundred and twelve. It is very entertaining and a book that I would definitely recommend. 

The author: Ursula Jones trained at RADA and is an actress and writer for children: The Witch's children trilogy, for example, which won the 2003 Gold Smartie award and the 2008 Roald Dahl Funny Prize; but also plays for children, and scripts for the TV series Green Claws.

Robin LaFevers - Grave Mercy - Chapter Preview & Trailer

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Andersen (7 Jun 2012)
• ISBN-10: 184939413X
• ISBN-13: 978-1849394130                
• 
  
•                                                                             CHAPTER - 7 

“Careful!” Sister Serafina scolds. “Don’t let it boil or it will

turn to resin and be of no use.”

“yes,sister.”I keep my eyes fixed on the small flask I hold

over the flame. Tiny bubbles have begun to form along the

sides of the glass, but it is not boiling. Not yet.

“excellent,”she says from just behind my shoulder.“Now

put it over here to cool.”

Using iron tongs, I lift the flask and set it on a cooling

stone.We are brewing up a fresh batch of night whispers.In

its current volatile state, it will kill anyone who breathes its

fumes, causing the lungs to harden and become rigid and

brittle as glass.

Anyone except for Sister Serafina and me.We are immune.

“once it cools,” she says, “we’ll add it to this candle wax,

and then—”A knock on the door interrupts her.“Don’t come

in!”she calls out in alarm.

“I won’t.” It is Annith, who surely knows better than to

enter.

“Reverend Mother has asked that Ismae come to her office

right away.”

The thrill of this summons makes my heart flutter. The

only time I have been called to her office since I arrived is toreceive news of an assignment.Without waiting for the nun

to dismiss me, I hurry to the stone basin, where I begin

scrubbing the last traces of poison from my hands.

Sister Serafina heaves a sigh of annoyance.“How the holy

mother expects me to supply all our poisons without help is

surely one of Mortain’s great mysteries.”

I glance sideways at her. “you’d think she would send

Annith instead.”

Sister Serafina pins me with a severe look.“The reverend

mother has her reasons. Now go. Do not make her wait.”

I go, being sure to curtsy so as not to antagonize her

further. She thinks she has told me nothing, but it is just

the opposite. I now know that there is an actual reason

that Annith has not been sent out. And if Sister Serafina

knows what it is, surely Annith and I can find out as well.

on my way to the reverend mother’s office I straighten

my veil and brush a bit of dust from my skirts.I pause at the

door, take a deep breath and compose my features, then

knock.

“enter.”

When I step into the office,the sight of a man sitting there

is as shocking as a clap of thunder in the quiet room.His hair

is white, as is his neatly trimmed beard. A heavy gold chain

with a bejeweled pendant winks at me from the fur collar of

his thick brocade robe.

“Come in, Ismae,” the abbess says. “I’d like you to meet

Chancellor Crunard. He is a patron of our convent and acts

as the liaison between us and the outside world.”

Book Launch: Nicola L Robinson - The Monster Machine

'The Monster Machine' is a monster picture book written and illustrated by Nottingham illustrator Nicola L Robinson. It is published by Pavilion Children's Books on the 16t May 2012.

From the back cover-

'My Dad is an inventor… he has just finished his latest and greatest invention. The Monster Machine!' A story of fun, inventions and all the monster mischief you can imagine. A great message about having fun and working together, beautifully illustrated with masses to look for on every page, a wonderful text to read aloud. (Approximately 350 words.)

Nicola has been illustrating children's books for many years now,  and 'The Monster Machine' is her first picture book and outing as an author.

She has  always loved things with teeth and claws and fur and scales (and machines are fascinating anyway) so creating this picture book has been a lot of fun. Nicola's illustrations are vibrant and colourful with a lot of detail making The Monster Machine a picture book with lots and lots of things to look at and look out for. It tells the story of a small boy and his Dad and their monster making machine. If you like monsters and machines this one is for you...

To learn more about the book or to contact Nicola and/or the monsters  do visit the Monster Machine's website here - www.monstermachine.co.uk