Review: The Gun by Bali Rai

When Jonas finds a gun left from a shooting he takes it home. He can't wait to show his mates Kamal and Binny, who reckon they can use the gun to bolster their own street cred. But when Kamal starts to use the gun in robberies, Jonas realises it's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

I have long been a proponent of the outstanding work Barrington Stoke do in publishing great stories for young people who really struggle with their reading, and they have an ever-expanding list of boy friendly books in their catalogue. I am sure I am preaching to the converted but if you have not heard of Barrington Stoke then you really should check them out - they are an award-winning publishing company who specialise in books for dyslexic and struggling readers. In fact, as soon as you have read this review then please head on over to their website at http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/

Author Bali Rai has written a handful of books for Barrington Stoke, the most recent being The Gun. Mr Rai has been slowly building a reputation over the past few years for writing hard-edged dramas, often set in inner city areas, with theme that focus on many of the contemporary issues that face young people living in these areas, and The Gun is no exception to this. It is a simple tale of three friends witnessing a drive-by shooting, one of whom manages to get his hands on the hastily discarded weapon before the police are on the scene. For Jonas it is all something of an adventure to have his hands on a firearm, but with gang culture never far away, and Jonas's friend Kamal deciding that he has big plans for the gun, things soon get out of hand. Kamal is very much a loose cannon, described by Jonas's sister as "....always five seconds away from going crazy", and soon even his friends are unable to control him.

Many boys living in inner city areas will be able to relate to the issues within this story. Some will have been tempted into carrying a knife at some point, and many will know someone who regularly carries one. However, many books for teens that cover these issues are much longer novels, and are probably not often read by the boys who need to read them the most, boys who are reluctant or struggling readers. The Gun, however, with its 65 pages and trademark Barrington Stoke large type and careful editing is perfect for boys like these, especially with its recommended Reading Age of 8 and Interest Age of 14+. Yet again, Bali Rai shows in this book that he really knows what makes young people tick, he understands how their relationships work and also the language they use. My thanks go to Barrington Stoke for sending me a copy.

Review: The Lord of the Void by James Lovegrove

Tom Yamada must fight the demon Lords of Pain in a series of duels called the Contest - with the whole world at stake. Tom's survived his duel with the Lord of the Mountain. Now he must face the Lord of the Void - the king of darkness, with a heart as black as his armour. Will Tom manage to defeat this Lord?

Back in February I reviewed The Lord of the Mountain, the first book in James Lovegrove's The 5 Lords of Pain series for Barrington Stoke. I really enjoyed this easy reader for children with a Reading Age of 8+ and an Interest Age of 10+. It has a great main character in Tom Yamada, to his few friends a seemingly ordinary boy, yet little do they know that he carries a dark secret - he is the latest in a long line of warriors whose task it is to battle against a group of demon lords every thirty years, in order to prevent them taking over the planet and enslaving any humans who survive their initial onslaught.

In the first book in the series Tom faced and defeated the Lord of the Mountain, but there is no time for celebration and no chance for him to rest of his laurels as it is only a matter of time before The Lord of the Void will lay down the gauntlet. So it is straight back to training for Tom, and yet again we are treated to Karate Kid style banter between him and his sensei, the mysterious (and often grumpy) Dragon. James Lovegrove also uses the first part of the book to start teasing us with a potential future mystery as Tom's mother is frightened by what she claims was a ghostly face at the window, spotted out of the corner of her eye as she was in the bathroom one evening. In addition to this Tom also has friendship problems. His friend Sharif feels that Tom is avoiding him and has dropped him as a friend without having the guts to say anything. Tom of course cannot divulge the truth behind his absence from school and his poor record of returning the calls and text messages that Sharif has been sending. As if having the fate of the planet resting on his shoulders is not enough already, he now has the added worry of losing his only close friend.

This time Tom has to travel to Australia to fight his duel, and more specifically to Ayers Rock, or Uluru as it is known by the Aborigines for whom it is a sacred place. The description of his duel against the Lord of the Void is even better than that in the first book, and I found myself hanging on every move that Tom made; James Lovegrove really is a very good writer of martial arts action scenes. However, this was not my favourite part of this book; this honour belongs to Chapter 4, where we are treated to the details of the legend behind the Yamada family's centuries-long battle against the demon lords. These pages of back history really help the reader to understand why Tom is doing this, and why he can't just walk away and enjoy the life of a normal teenager.

This is a great second book to this series, and is even better than the first book in my opinion. If Mr Lovegrove manages to make each book better than the last then book 5, The Lord of Fire, is going to be a fantastic conclusion to the series. The Lord of the Void is published by Barrington Stoke and is available to buy right now.

Review: The Lord of the Mountain by James Lovegrove

Tom Yamada is 15 years old. His job is to save the world.

Tom's family are destined, or cursed, to fight the evil Lords of Pain, five powerful demon lords who want to rule our world. Only the Contest stands in their way. In the Contest, which takes place every 30 years, each demon must fight a duel with the Yamada champion. If a Lord of Pain wins, the gateway to hell will be opened.

Tom is due to fight the demons around the year 2025 ... but something has gone wrong. It is 2010, the Contest is already starting - and Tom isn't ready.

If he loses, half the human race will die and the other half will be enslaved. Cities will be destroyed. Mountains will crumble. Seas will boil. A new Dark Age will begin.

No pressure, then.....  (synopsis taken from the 5 Lords of Pain website)

Boys love martial arts. It's a fact of life, just like the Pope being Catholic and I am no exception to this rule. My love affair with martial arts started back in the 1970s with david Carrdine's Kung Fu series. Once I got my Sinclair ZX Spectrum I spent hours playing Yie Ar Kung Fu, but then along came Mortal Kombat and I was truly hooked. Johnny Cage didn't just fight other humans.... he fought demons as well! Many an hour was spent on the SNES, and a small fortune spent at the arcade playing this great game. I would also try to watch as many martial arts films as I could get my hands on (usually via a school friend) and one of my favourite was called Zu Warriors From The Magic Mountain. This film had the same glorious mix of kung fu, demons and ghosts, and The Lord of the Mountain, has made all those cherished memories come flooding back.

Martial arts in books for kids appear to be growing in popularity, with Chris Bradford's Young Samurai, and the brilliant Hattori Hachi by Jane Prowse leading the way. Enter now James Lovegrove into the dojo. Mr Lovegrove has been building a reputation for himself in recent years with his adult sci-fi Age of Ra book. Now he has written a series of books for Barrington Stoke, an award-winning publishing company who specialise in books for dyslexic and struggling readers. The Lord of the Mountain is the first in The 5 Lords of Pain series, and Barrington Stoke suggests that it is targeted at children with a Reading Age of 8+ and an Interest Age of 10+ and I see nothing in this book to dispute this. The level of English used is certainly right for children with a younger reading age, but the content is definitely for the 10+ age group who will love the violence and humour.

One of the phrases often used by Barrington Stoke on their website and publicity meterial is that they "believe in stories" and that "a really good story will hook the most reluctant of readers", and they are certainly living up to these claims with The Lord of the Mountain. In a slim volume of only 94 pages James Lovegrove has managed to create a super-fast paced story with an instantly memorable character in Tom, its reluctant hero. We are introduced to Tom as he trains, and we are slowly fed tiny morsals of information about what he is training so hard for and why. The way James Lovegrove teases this information out kept me totally engaged with the story and desperate to see what happened next - exactly the desired effect to keep a struggling reader hooked. At no point are we told something we do not need to know; every word helps the story progress. There is action (obviously... it is a martial arts book after all), humour, demons, throwing stars (ask any 12 year old boy what the coolest ninja weapon is and this will be your answer), and the publicity material promises us zombies, betrayal, friendship, ninjas and bone-crushing violence in the books still to come in the series (I can't wait!!!!).

The Lord of the Mountain is available to buy now, with the second book in the series, entitled The Lord of the Void, scheduled to be released on 26th April. All five of the books in the series will have been published by 22nd October this year, so not a huge amount of time to wait between episodes. To fill time between books then it is well woth visiting the 5 Lords of Pain website, which has inside information, free downloads and competitions.