Review: The Marsh Road Mysteries by Elen Caldecott

Diamonds and Daggers

Hollywood sensation, Betty Massino, has come to star in the theatre down the road and Piotr and his friends Andrew and Minnie couldn't be more excited! But when the famous actress's hugely expensive diamond necklace goes missing, Piotr's dad, a security guard at the theatre, is a prime suspect. Soon, Piotr faces the very real threat of being sent 'home' to Poland. With the help of Sylvie and her twin sister Flora, can Piotr, Andrew and Minnie solve the crime or will they lose Piotr forever? The first in a fantastic new series filled with friendship, adventure and mystery!

Crowns and Codebreakers

When Minnie's gran comes to stay, all the way from Nigeria, Minnie KNOWS there will be trouble. And straight away Gran notices she's picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport. This one is full of boy's clothes, and she's not at all happy about it! But when their house is burgled and the only thing taken is the suitcase, Minnie realises there'll be much more trouble than she bargained for. Can the gang solve the crime or will the mystery of the little lost boy be forever unsolved?

Spooks and Scooters

Flora and Sylvie are going on the holiday of a lifetime with their dad. But - WHAT? - Dad cancels the trip only hours before the flight because - OH MY GOODNESS - someone has stolen precious blueprints of Dad's latest invention: an amazing new scooter. But who? And why? Time to call on the only five people who can possibly solve the crime!

Three was the magic number for Bob Dorough, Blind Melon and De La Soul, and it's also the magic number for these new style Book Zone reviews, as part of my seemingly endless quest for brevity when reviewing. So, here are three reasons to love Elen Caldecott's March Road Mysteries books, of which the third, Spooks and Scooters, is due to be published next month.

1. Diversity

It's fantastic to read a middle grade mystery story that follows the adventures of a group of friends of different races and backgrounds. Piotr Domek is a Polish immigrant and lives his parents, who moved to Britain in search of a better standard of living; Minnie Adesina is of Nigerian heritage; twins Flora and Sylvie Hampshire's parents are separated; and Andrew Jones is probably a young carer (I say probably, as each story puts the spotlight on a different member of the gang, and it hasn't been Andrew's turn yet). This diverse mix of backgrounds and ethnicities rings very true as a group of friends living in modern multi-cultural Britain, and it also lends itself to stories that, whilst being primarily mysteries, also touch on themes such as racism and prejudice.

2. Friendship

Elen Caldecott gets kids. She understands how they tick and how their friendships can be strong one day and fragile the next. Young readers will find it very easy to identify with the relationships between the five protagonists. The characters themselves are engaging and very cleverly drawn, with each child's personality shining just as much as the next, and they bring a wonderful air of humour to the stories that has the reader finding themselves grinning from ear to ear without even realising.

3. Mystery

The mysteries in which the group of friends find themselves embroiled are exciting and cleverly plotted. These aren't Famous Five style adventures, where the protagonists just happen to stumble on to the solution; our team of young sleuths really have to use their brains and combine their various strengths to solve these mysteries. As an adult reader, I have to admit to guessing the outcome of the first two books, but it took me quite a lot longer to work out whodunnit. But I'm reading with a lifetime of read mystery stories locked away in my brain, and I'm sure younger readers will find the solutions a little harder to predict.

Elen Caldecott's Marsh Road Mysteries are a must-read for any mystery-hungry young reader. It's great to see so many new mystery stories being published for this age group at the moment, as they do not appear to have been in vogue for some time. My thanks go to those wonderful people at Bloomsbury for sending me copies of the books to read.

Review: Urban Outlaws: Lockdown by Peter Jay Black

The Urban Outlaws have been betrayed - and defeated. Or so Hector thought when he stole the world's most advanced computer virus. But Hector will need to try much harder than just crossing the Atlantic if he wants to outsmart Jack and his team ...

With the help of a shadowy figure known as The Shepherd, the Urban Outlaws risk everything and head to the States. They plan to take Hector down and stop him from using the virus as the ultimate hacking tool - the world's secrets, and their own, are in his fingertips and if they don't act fast, our lives will be changed forever.

The stakes are higher than ever in the third book of this high-octane adventure series for fans of Robert Muchamore, Anthony Horowitz and Alex Scarrow.

Warning: may contain spoilers for previous Urban Outlaw books.

Peter Jay Black's Urban Outlaws series is fast becoming a future contender for my Book Zone Box Set feature (Reminder: to qualify a series needs to have at least four books). Lockdown is the third book in this exciting, hi-octane series that has now become one of my favourite series of the last year or so, and it more than lives up to the promise established by its predecessors.

The Outlaws are still reeling from Hector's betrayal in Blackout, and revenge will be no easy feat as he has now taken himself off to the other side of the Atlantic. However, with the super virus now in his hands they feel they have no option but to try, even if it means getting into bed with another potential devil (aka The Shepherd) to do so. However, once they land stateside it is business as usual, which for the Urban Outlaws means stunts, tech, hacking and action aplenty. The team also have the assistance a few new friends: Serene, sister of their mentor Noble, Lux, a streetwise NYC expert, and her friend Drake, the local transport expert (i.e. he can get his hands on any transport they need). These extra pairs of hands, and the local knowledge they bring, may just be the extra factor they need to track down and defeat Hector.

Like any good heist story, be it written or on the big or small screen, it's no use trying to guess if or how the team will be successful in their various not-quite-legal activities. Just as you think you've worked out how they might pull off their latest caper, another obstacle throws itself in their way and their plans have to change on the fly. However, resourcefulness seems to be their collective middle name, so strap in and get ready for twist after twist and turn after turn.

The first Urban Outlaws book was published back in March 2014, and this third volume was released in September. We had to wait nearly a year between books one and two, but the mere seven months between episodes two and three is exactly what this series needed to maintain the excitement and momentum already established, and it's great to see that book four, Counterstrike, will be published in April 2016. I can't wait!

My thanks go to those fabulous people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Mutant City by Steve Feasey

Fifty years ago, the world was almost destroyed by a chemical war. Now the world is divided: the mutants and the pure, the broken and the privileged, the damaged and the perfect.

Thirteen years ago, a covert government experimental facility was shut down and its residents killed. The secrets it held died with them. But five extraordinary kids survived.

Today four teenagers are about to discover that their mutant blood brings with it special powers. Rush and three brothers and sisters he can't remember. Two rival factions are chasing them. One by one, they face the enemy. Together, they might just stay alive . . .

I am a big fan of Steve Feasey's Changeling series; if you have kids who are 9+ who like werewolf stories and have not yet discovered these books then they are well worth you getting your hands on them. Zombie Dawn, the fifth and final book in that series, was published back in 2011, and I know I'm not the only fan who has been waiting impatiently to see what Steve produced next. Finally, three years on, from a different publisher and aimed at a slightly older age group, we have Mutant City and it is well worth the wait.

Mutant City is set in a post-apocalyptic world where much of the landscape has been turned into a dangerous wasteland created by all the of the nastiest weapons that you can think of. A large number of people were lucky, living underground for years, until it was deemed safe to emerge. These people now live in City Four in luxury and safety, in a society where disease and imperfections have been eradicated. Unfortunately though, a significant number of people ere not able to make it underground, and since then they have been living in the scorched earth wasteland (think the Cursed Earth outside the walls of Dredd's Mega-City One), many of them migrating towards the city where they have to live outside its walls in slums. Many of these people are physically and/or mentally damaged by the radiation and chemical residues from the war, and disease and starvation are rife. 

So far so good. Steve has created a world of the haves and the have-nots, much like a futuristic version of parts of our own world: South Africa under apartheid; the favelas in Brazil; places wherever a minority of people possess a majority of the power and wealth, whilst the majority live in misery. What makes this different from all those other YA post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories is the mutant twist. We aren't talking people whose bodies have been mutated by radiation here: the heroes of Steve Feasey's story are a small group of young people who, a number of years before, were genetically altered, and now find special powers emerging, much to their confusion. Split up and spirited away to safety by rebels whilst they were small children, circumstances now dictate that they come out of hiding. However, due to a telepathic mental-block placed on them by one of their fellow mutants they have no idea why they are now felt drawn towards City Four, journeys that will be fraught with danger for everyone one of them.

Bloomsbury have billed this as being great for fans of Marvel's X-Men, and I see no reason to disagree with this. In fact, if I hadn't read this in the press release I would probably have used the same comparison myself. These youngsters each have a special utility that is largely hidden, although if looked at carefully a normal human would probably feel that there was something slightly different about them; something not-quite-right. Just like the X-Men is very much about the various characters, so too is Mutant City, although as well as being a strength of the book it also creates a slight flaw. Steve Feasey has created a fantastic ensemble of chacarters in Mutant City, but as all of these five special young people (and the various villains and supporting cast) need to be introduced to readers, and as all have been kept separated for years, this means multiple POV shifts. The effect of these is two-fold: in the early stages of the book it means that the plot moves on quite slowly in places, and the sudden shifts to a different character's POV felt slightly jarring in places. There was one shift in particular that had me checking that I didn't have a few pages missing in my proof copy.

Please believe me though when I say that it is well worth persevering though these minor issues as once the story gets going the pace really picks up and we are treated to an action-packed science fiction adventure. As I've already said, the main characters are the stand-out element of this book, and the way they interact injects both humour and pathos into the story. In addition, the host of secondary characters, including a particularly  nasty cast of villains, also add to the plot, and set this up to be the first in what I expect to be a thrilling and highly entertaining science fiction series that is perfect for 11+ readers. The X-Men comparison is also a great way to get it into the hands of reluctant readers who are fans of the various X-Men and superhero movies that have become so popular in recent years.
My thanks go to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of the book.

Review: The Wrath of the Lizard Lord by Jon Mayhew

Prince Dakkar and his mentor Count Oginski discover a plot by arch-enemy Cryptos to kill Napoleon. Arriving on their revolutionary submersible to intercept Cryptos, they glimpse a terrifying monster that seems to escape back into the bowels of the Earth. It leads them to discover an amazing underground world, and a plan more nefarious than they could ever have believed - even from Cryptos.

The stage is set for an epic showdown complete with a giant reptilian cavalry and the Battle of Waterloo, in another breathlessly paced and endlessly inventive adventure for fans of Percy Jackson.

It isn't obvious from the the cover (or spine) of this book, but The Wrath of the Lizard Lord is the second book in Jon Mayhew's Monster Odyssey series, and a direct sequel to The Eye of Neptune. It is thus the second adventure for Prince Dakkar, Jon Mayhew's teen protagonist who will one day become Captain Nemo. Before I say any more about this book, there is just one thing I would love to get off my chest: why on earth is this series not called The Adventures of Young Nemo (or similar)? The Young Bond, Young Sherlock and rebooted Tarzan books seem to have garnered far more reviews and chatter online that either of the two Monster Odyssey books, and I genuinely feel that this is because they aren't being billed as 'Young Nemo'. I hope the scarcity of reviews does not also mean poor sales, as that would be a travesty as both of these Monster Odyssey books are brilliant, all-action adventure stories that are pure, unadulterated fun to read.

Dakkar is very different from the spoiled and arrogant brat we were first introduced to in The Eye of Neptune. As a result of his experiences battling Count Cryptos in that story he has matured and whilst still somewhat headstrong, he is also courageous and beginning to shoe true leadership qualities. These qualities become even more important in this outing as his mentor, Oginski, is badly injured during an abortive attempt to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte from Elba, and Dakkar soon finds himself in the middle of another megalomaniac's quest for world domination. Readers of The Eye of Neptune will already know that Count Cryptos had five other brothers, all bearing the name Cryptos, and all just as hungry for power on a global scale.

Like its predecessor, The Wrath of the Lizard Lord is an edge-of-your-seat adventure story that draws inspiration from one of Jules Verne's classics, this time Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Thus we have nasty prehistoric creatures, giants (of the human-like kind), and a fantastic underground world that very few people know exists. Throw in a few familar faces from Dakkar's first adventure, a character called Mary based very loosely on real-life Victorian fossil-hunter Mary Anning, and a plot to change the course of history (well, the history that we know), and you have the recipe for a hugely fulfilling story that is exciting enough to satisfy the hunger of any young fan of action/adventure stories. 

I hope these books are attracting the high levels of readership that they deserve. The ability to grab a reader has become par for the course in any book written by Jon Mayhew, and The Wrath of the Lizard Lord is no exception, and I'm certainly looking forward to reading Prince Dakkar's next adventure. According to the Bloomsbury website, this third book, titled The Curse of the Ice Serpent, is out in January 2015 and it sounds great:

Having stopped two of the six evil Oginski brothers, Dakkar now faces double danger from the Oginski twins – possibly the most cunning and devious of the brothers yet.

Set in the icy wastes of Greenland, Dakkar must battle giant bears, vicious arctic sharks and a sabretooth tiger as he hunts for the fabled Thermolith, a source of great heat energy which the Oginskis also seek, in order to complete their preparations for a new world order with themselves at the helm.

My thanks go to the wonderful people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of The Wrath of the Lizard Lord.

Review: Spacejackers by Huw Powell

Abandoned as a baby on the planet Remota, deep in the seventh solar system, Jake Cutler lives a sheltered life. But all that changes when his home is invaded by ruthless space pirates with just one target: him.

Soon Jake is on the run with a bounty hunter and the suspicious-looking crew of a spaceship called the Dark Horse. Forced to contend with zero-gravity, shipwrecks and black holes, Jake must discover the truth about his past before he is hunted down and caught. And as for the crew of the Dark Horse, could there be more to his new-found friends than meets the eye?

The action-packed first book in the Spacejackers trilogy is full of aliens, space monsters, gadgets, battleships - and one boy's search for his destiny.

In the (very nearly) five years that I have been writing this blog I have lost count of the number of times that I have bemoaned the dearth of space-set books for middle grade (and young adult) readers. It is something that I struggle to understand, especially where younger readers are concerned as kids, and boys in particular, love space and aliens. In fact, until recently I could only name two examples published in the last five years: Space Crime Conspiracy by Gareth P. Jones and the wonderful Johnny Mackintosh trilogy by Keith Mansfield (apologies to any authors if I have made any glaring omissions).  

Assuming agents, editors and publishers know their onions (and I believe they do), the only conclusion I can come to is that in recent years space-set books have been considered uncool and were not big sellers. However,a handful of releases from the past twelve months may suggest that this is no longer the case, and with Guardians of the Galaxy being a huge success in cinemas, and the planned new Star Wars films, perhaps we are at the start of a renaissance for children's stories set in space. First up, August 2013 saw the release of the brilliant Phoenix by S.F. Said (recently announced as being on the shortlist for the 2014 Guardian Children's Fiction prize), and more recently Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre released their wonderful Cakes in Space. And between the two of these, released back in July, is this little beauty: Spacejackers by Huw Powell. (*edit: Huw has kindly reminded me about another fairly recently published book: Harvey Drew and the Bin Men from Outer Space).

Spacejackers is the kind of book I wish had been around back at the tail end of the 1970s/early 1980s. Like many boys of my age at the time, I was Star Wars mad, but sadly there were very few fiction books around aimed at my age group, and I had to make do with the novelisations of the Star Wars films, the spin-off Splinter of the Mind's Eye, and the novelisation of Battlestar Galactica. If Spacejackers had been around back then I would have been one very happy boy indeed, as it has everything that attracted that 8-10 year old boy to Star Wars: action, adventure, space battles, colourful characters (some of whom are space pirates FTW!), and an orphaned boy in search of answers to his past, and his future destiny. All of this is delivered at a pace that will keep even the most reluctant of readers wanting to read well past his/her bedtime. 

Spacejackers isn't perfect - despite some great characters, their development is not as complete as some might wish for and others may find the plot a thin in places (by which, I'm meaning stuffy old teachers and kill-joy adult critics), but in this case it does not matter a jot. Reading, especially for this Middle Grade age range, should be Fun (capital F intended). It should be Exciting (ditto). This is such a critical age in the life of a child, and if they aren't book lovers by the time they reach young adulthood, then they may not be until they become adults, or even worse, never at all. We need more books like this, that are just pure escapist fun. Especially (says the  10 year old me) when they are set in space!

My thanks go to the fab people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of Spacejackers.

Review: Urban Outlaws by Peter Jay Black

In a bunker hidden deep beneath London live five extraordinary kids: meet world-famous hacker Jack, gadget geek Charlie, free runner Slink, comms chief Obi and decoy diva Wren. They're not just friends; they're URBAN OUTLAWS. They outsmart London's crime gangs and hand out their dirty money through Random Acts of Kindness (R.A.K.s).

There is little I can add to the above publisher's blurb without spoiling the story (and I've cut the blurb short anyway as, having read the book, I feel that there is a spoiler within it). In simplest terms, this is a Robin Hood story for the high tech generation. Through a variety of different but similar circumstances, five kids have chosen to live outside the law, and use their various talents to rob the corrupt, ultra-rich criminal classes and share this new wealth among the needy and under privileged.

The book opens with the Outlaws about to start their latest heist, the plan being to steal huge amounts of money from Benito Del Sarto, one of the country's biggest dealers of illegal arms. As they escape from the scene of their crime they stumble onto something that surveillance and computer expert Obi believes is massive - the existence of an advanced quantum computer, and piece of equipment that many in the tech community believe is only an urban myth. Suddenly the team find themselves way out of their depth, as they fight to gain possession of an item that, if it exists and falls into the wrong hands, could have severe implications on a global scale.

Forget the Robin Hood allegory, this is Leverage for 9+ kids and I loved it! Leverage is one of my favourite TV shows - I love the chemistry that exists between the characters, with each one bringing a different skill to the party, and this is exactly what Urban Outlaws does. Yes, suspension of disbelief will be an essential requirement when reading this book, and the cynical among you should just p*** off right now and go hunt for your inner child before picking this book up. Seriously, if books like this had been around when I was a kid I may never have left my home except to go reluctantly to school.

This is one of those books that you will have to prise from kids' hands to stop them reading (although shame on you for even contemplating such a heinous act). I certainly refused to do anything until I had finished it, and read it from cover to cover in a single sitting. However, it is a fairly quick read as almost every chapter is full of great action sequences, peril for our team of heroes and great uses of high tech gadgets, so readers will find themselves flying through the story at a frenetic and almost heart-bursting pace.

This is a book for every kind of kid - the sporty ones will love Slink, the free-runner; the tech geeks will love Jack, Charlie and Obi; the couch potatoes will love Obi and the action junkies will love all of them; there are great male characters and great female characters, with even Wren, the youngest and newest member of the team, having her moment (although I really hope she will get more of a chance to shine in future books). Hell, I'm over 40 and I really, really wanted to be one of the team so I can only imagine how excited younger readers will get at the thought of having adventures like these.

My thanks go to the fab people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to read. You can find out a little more about Urban Outlaws and author Peter Jay Black at http://www.urbanoutlawsbunker.com/

Review: Knightley & Son by Rohan Gavin

Meet Knightley and Son - two great detectives for the price of one . . .

Darkus Knightley is not your average thirteen-year-old: ferociously logical, super-smart and with a fondness for tweed, detective work is in his blood. His dad Alan Knightley was London's top private investigator and an expert in crimes too strange for Scotland Yard to handle, but four years ago the unexplained finally caught up with him - and he fell into a mysterious coma. Darkus is determined to follow in his father's footsteps and find out what really happened. But when Alan suddenly wakes up, his memory is wonky and he needs help. The game is afoot for Knightley & Son - with a mystery that gets weirder by the minute, a bestselling book that makes its readers commit terrible crimes, and a sinister organisation known as the Combination . . .

Darkus Knightley's life has been almost as unfortunate as his first name in recent years. His father, Alan Knightley, a detective with a penchant for unusual cases, has been deep in a mysterious coma for four years. Darkus' mother is now married to the presenter of a bargain-basement version of Top Gear, and his relationship with his step-sister Tilly is more than a little complicated. Darkus is very much his father's son - he talks like him, dresses like him, and has spent the previous four years honing his own investigative skills by examining his father's case files.

As if life wasn't complicated enough, Darkus is accosted in the street by a mysterious man who claims to be his Uncle Bill, not strictly a blood relative but a very close friend of his father nonetheless. He also comes with incredible news - just the evening before Alan Knightley awoke from his coma and did a runner from his hospital ward and when he finally reappears he has only one thing on his mind - to track down an oganisation he refers to as The Combination, one which he is convinced is behind a vast number of crimes. Elsewhere, a new self-help book is having a terrible effect on many who read it, causing them to commit crimes that are completely out of character. Could the book, the crimes and Alan Knightley's investigations be connected? It's up to Darkus and Tilly to find out.

This is a really fun mystery adventure story that is perfect for 10+ readers. Darkus is pretty much a young Sherlock Holmes, sharing many of the great detective's incredible mental abilities, as well as a number of his many quirks. I know from talking to kids at school that the BBC's Sherlock has been incredibly popular with many of them, of all ages, and although it is broadcast later on the evening there are a lot of our Year 7s who are huge fans of Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Holmes. Along with Andrew Lane's brilliant Young Sherlock series, Knightley and Son is the perfect book to put into the hands of these young people, and could also lead to them dipping into Arthur Conan Doyle's stories as they progress with their reading.

In Darkus Knightley, author Rohan Gavin has created a protagonist that readers will grow to love, and I hope there will be many more Knightley and Son books from the author and his publisher Bloomsbury in the future. He will have great appeal to young readers who feel they aren't part of the in-crowd - Darkus doesn't do most of the things that his supposedly 'cool' peers do, but he doesn't care as he is happy with his own interests (or should that be obsessions?). Although I have likened Darkus to a young Holmes, this story is most definitely not a Sherlock wannabe. Yes, Darkus has incredible intellectual acuity and a fondness for wearing tweed, but it is his relationship with his father that adds that much needed element of uniqueness. Darkus is desperate to be accepted by his father for the talent that he is, his biggest fear that now that his father is out of the coma he will insist on Darkus taking a back seat, well out of harm's way.

The book finishes with the promise that "Knightley and Son will return" and I'm definitely ready for more of these clever, action-packed and humorous adventures featuring the father and son duo. My thanks go to the fab people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Monster Odyssey: The Eye of Neptune by Jon Mayhew

Prince Dakkar, son of an Indian rajah, has issues with authority. Expelled from the world's finest schools, he is sent to an unconventional educator, Count Oginski. Dakkar plans his escape immediately. But something about the Count intrigues him, including a top-secret project which he shares with Dakkar - a submarine. But others are interested in the Count's invention and what it might achieve and, when masked men kidnap the Count, leaving Dakkar for dead, he doesn't know who was responsible. It could have been British Intelligence, or perhaps a sinister figure known only as Cryptos. Either way, Dakkar is determined to rescue the Count. Taking the prototype submarine, he sets off for adventure.

Cue shark attack, giant sea creatures, spies and an evil megalomaniac. From his undersea refuge, Dakkar plans to take them all on . . . with a bit of help from a girl.

In the past few years we have seen a number of children’s authors producing stories featuring characters created by other authors. For me the two that stand out above the rest have been Andrew Lane’s Young Sherlock books and Charlie Higson’s Young Bond. Now there is another player at the table, his name is Jon Mayhew, and with The Eye of Neptune, the first book in his Monster Odyssey series, the cards suddenly seem stacked in his favour. Jon has taken Prince Dakkar, one of the most famous characters from science fiction/speculative fiction and produced a rip-roaring origins adventure for him.

“Prince Dakkar, who is he?” I hear some of you cry. And I guess you could be slightly forgiven for not recognising the given name of one of Jules Verne’s most famous and enduring creations – the one and only Captain Nemo. Yes, that Captain Nemo . He of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea fame, one of my all-time favourite books (even if Verne does get a little too tied up with lengthy descriptions of the plethora of underwater flora and fauna that are observed during the adventures of the Nautilus and its crew).

I’m finding it quite difficult to add any more of a synopsis of the story other than that which is outlined in the above blurb that was taken from the book’s Amazon listing. Those blurbs on Amazon are often not particularly helpful, but in this case the publishers have nailed it, and the book is exactly what is says on the tin. However, to put it into my own words, the rebellious teenager, Prince Dakkar, finds himself suddenly thrown into a huge conspiracy involving a suitably evil megalomaniac with old-school plans for world domination. Thus begins a submarine adventure that sees the arrogant and authority-challenging Prince’s character changed almost beyond recognition as he makes new friends, fights pirates and battles to escape the jaws of more sea monsters than you would find in a box set of Harryhausen films.

I have been a huge fan of Jon’s writing ever since I was sent a copy of Mortlock, back in the very early days of The Book Zone. All three of the books set in that gruesomely dark and delightfully twisted Victorian world were superb reads, with jon showing that he is a master storyteller. Despite some pretty horrific moments (usually involving sea monsters), The Eye of Neptune is not as dark as the Mortlock ‘series’ but this is a good thing as that level of darkness would not have suited this kind of old-school Boys’ Own style adventure. Instead of creeping dread, we are filled with a longing for action and adventure as the story races along at a suitably exciting pace, with lashings of humour thrown in for good measure. This is the kind of story where readers will find themselves desperate to be in the shoes of the main characters of Prince Dakkar, and his new friend Georgia Fulton, despite the many dangers they face.

I believe there is at least one more book due to be released featuring Prince Dakkar, and as a fan of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea I can’t wait to find out how Mayhew continues to develop his young character, giving him the experiences that mould him into the enigmatic anti-hero of Verne’s classic stories.

My thanks go to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of Monster Odyssey: The Eye of Neptune to read.

News: Neil Gaiman talks about his new children's book over at SFX

I love Neil Gaiman's writing, and Neverwhere is one of my top 5 all time favourite books. Naturally, I am rather excited that this year he has not one but two new books scheduled for publication. The first of these, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is due out from Headline in June but I am possibly more excited about his new children's book, Fortunately, The Milk which will be published by Neil in October. I had some more information about this book and a link to a video on the SFX website that I just had to share with you:

You can head over to the SFX website today to see an exclusive video clip of Neil talking about this fab new book. Fortunately, the Milk will be a time-travelling adventure for young readers featuring aliens, dinosaurs, volcano gods and a pint of milk that saves the universe! The book will be illustrated throughout by Chris Riddell, and will be the third Neil Gaiman project that Chris Riddell has worked on. Chris has previously illustrated the tenth anniversary edition of Coraline and the Carnegie Medal winning The Graveyard Book, for which Chris was Kate Greenaway Medal shortlisted.

Coming Up In 2013 #6: Monster Odyssey: The Eye of Neptune by Jon Mayhew

I have been a big fan of Jon Mayhew's writing ever since I first read the brilliant Mortlock. This superb gothic horror story was followed by two sort-of-sequels, all set in the same Victorian world, and both of them were as good, if not better than the first book. His new book, Monster Odyssey: The Eye of Neptune, is the first in a new series and is due to be published by Bloomsbury Children's Books in May this year. It is a departure from his previous macabre Victorian setting, but I am sure will be just as good a read, and I can't wait for May to arrive. In the meantime, here's Jon to tell us a little about Monster Odyssey, in his own words:

Dakkar – son of an Indian prince and heir to the kingdom of Bundelkhand – has been expelled from the best schools in Europe. Now he’s stuck in a remote castle studying with the mysterious Count Oginski, genius inventor of a top-secret machine: the world’s first submersible.

But in a dangerous world of spies and secrecy , someone would do anything to capture Oginski’s invention. When the count is kidnapped and Dakkar left for dead, the boy escapes in the submarine. And so begins a thrilling battle facing dangerous foes – horrifying creatures of the deep, lethal giant squid, and most of all a sinister figure known as Cryptos, hell-bent on taking over the world . Can Dakkar defeat such evil without becoming a monster himself?

I’m really looking forward to launching this new story as it concerns the youth of one of literature’s most intriguing characters: Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo! A departure from the dark streets of Victorian London, this story spans the globe and I had great fun bringing the various sea monsters to life. I wanted to explore what turned Prince Dakkar into Captain Nemo but wanted to capture the action and fantasy that Verne’s imagination gave us. I also wanted to create a fairly realistic historical setting. So expect pirates, naval battles but lookout for giant squid, sharks, and monsters of the deep aplenty! 

Review: Shiverton Hall by Emerald Fennell

Arthur Bannister has been unexpectedly accepted into Shiverton Hall, which, as it turns out, is an incredibly spooky school, full of surprises. And it is just as well that Shiverton Hall has made its offer, because Arthur had a horrible time at his previous school, and was desperate to leave. Timely indeed . . .

But Arthur has no time to worry about the strange coincidence. He is too busy trying to make head or tail of Shiverton Hall, dogged as it is by tales of curses and bad fortune. At least there are a few friendly faces: George, who shows him around; also Penny and Jake. But not all the faces are friendly. There are the bullying Forge triplets for starters. And then there is the acid tongue of the headmistress, Professor Long-Pitt, who seems to go out of her way to make Arthur's life a misery.

Luckily Arthur has his new friends to cheer him up. Although there are some friends that you don't want to have at all, as Arthur is soon to find out.

Warning... for reasons I will explain in the next paragraph, this review may contain spoilers.

I am struggling to work out where to start with this review, so forgive me if it comes across as a little rambling (more so than usual, at least). The problem I am having is that Shiverton Hall, the debut children's book by Emerald Fennell, is actually rather good, but at the same time it has a plot that contains elements that are similar to one of my all time favourite children's horror series - Barry Hutchison's Invisible Fiends. And whilst Shiverton Hall is a chilling and atmospheric horror story, it just does not quite match up to Barry's brilliant series in my humble opinion.

The similarity between the two books is a fundamental one - both involve the return of the characters' childhood invisible friends, but with a demonic and bloodthirsty mentality. Some might call that a spoiler for Shiverton Hall, but having read it and then gone back to skim read parts of it for this review, I'm not so sure. Young readers who have not yet discovered Barry's series will be able to judge this book far more objectively than I can, and any of them who love creepy ghost stories that invade their dreams will find this story a real treat. Unfortunately though, those who have like me read Barry's books may see the twist in the story coming from a mile away. However, that's where the similarity ends, as the reason for their coming back differs between the two books. 

I'm glad I've got that off my chest, and I will now strive for objectivity as I tell you a little more about Shiverton Hall. Main character Arthur Bannister has 'won' a scholarship to the mysterious and isolated school that is Shiverton Hall. Not that he can remember applying for such a place - he just received a letter in the post one day. Very early in the story the author drops enough hints to suggest that Arthur had to leave his previous school under somewhat of a dark cloud, and so this letter heralds a new start for Arthur, even if he is quite nervous about going to a boarding school. Once there, he quickly makes a few friends, whilst also managing to upset his house's resident thugs, the Forge triplets. So far, so like any other start to a new school. However, Shiverton Hall has a particularly gruesome history, and this is gradually revealed throughout the book by a series of ghostly anecdotes, told by Arthur's new friend George, whose grandfather just happens to be an expert on the bloody history of Shiverton Hall. I found George's stories really added to the story, rather than distract from the main plot, and they helped keep the tension building.

Shiverton Hall is a well written debut novel, and the author particularly excels at creating an atmosphere of creeping dread. Shiverton Hall itself can be seen as an extra character in the plot, and as the first book in the series I feel that there will be a great deal more menace heading in the direction of Arthur and his friends in the future. I am very much looking forward to reading a further instalment, as the invisible friends strand is brought to a conclusion in this story, and I would like to see what the author does with her spooky school next. It is being marketed as a book for 9-11 year olds, and this is about right, although fragile readers who are new to horror may find it a little too scary. However, there isn't even a hint of gore, so if you like horror but gallons of blood tend to turn you away from books, then this is one for you.

Shiverton Hall is scheduled to be released as an ebook on Christmas Day, and then as a paperback on 3rd January. My thanks go to the lovely people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Earthfall by Mark Walden

If you are caught, you will not return.

If you escape, they will hunt you down.

The past is dead. 

You are the future. 

If life on Earth is to survive 

You must not be captured. 

Get ready to run. 

Everything depends on you. 

Prepare for 

Earthfall 

It is no secret that Mark Walden's H.I.V.E. books rank amongst my favourite series of the last few years, so I was intrigued when I first heard that he was writing a new series. In that previous series Walden proved that he has a talent for writing fast paced, exciting action stories with a sci-fi twist, and now Earthfall shows that he is no one-trick pony. Science fiction has a much greater emphasis in this story, but the all the other elements that we have come to love in the H.I.V.E. books are also all present and correct: young heroes who have to overcome insurmountable odds if they are to survive; heart pounding action/chase scenes; high tech gadgetry; and a plot that draws the reader in and then races along so that before you know it you have read the book in a single sitting.

Alien invasion of earth stories have made many appearances recently on both the small and the big  screen (Battle for Los Angeles, Battleship, Skyline, Falling Skies, the V reboot), and of course they have been popular themes for video games for some years. Sadly, until relatively recently this popularity has not extended to modern books for kids, Keith Mansfield's brilliant Johnny Mackintosh stories being the exception, and we have been crying out for more well-written sci-fi for young people. POD by Steven Wallenfels managed to beat Walden's Earthfall as far as release dates were concerned, but much as I enjoyed POD, I found Earthfall to be a vastly more enjoyable read.

The story starts with an as yet unnamed boy, fleeing through the streets from the things he refers to as drones. We soon discover that he has spent the past eighteen months hiding out beneath the London streets, thinking he is the only free person  in London, and surviving off anything he can scavenge. As the story proceeds we find out that eighteen months earlier everyone in London, and potentially the whole world, were turned into mind-controlled automatons as huge objects, miles in diameter, appear above the skies of the world's major cities.

After a year and a half of living in solitude, Sam is saved from the alien machines by Rachel, a machine gun toting teen, and he soon discovers that he is no longer alone - a small group of teens, led by a scientist and an ex member of the special forces, have been working together to find a way of defeating the alien menace. With Sam now on board, the fight for freedom ratchets up another level and what follows is an edge-of-your-seat race to find a way to destroy the aliens before the group are tracked down and destroyed.

Aliens invading earth stories have been around for decades, and so readers will be forgiven for thinking that elements of the story have been seen before. However, Mark Walden puts enough of his own spin on the story to make it seem fresh. Naturally, being a Mark Walden book, there is also a lot more to the story than just a small group of humans fighting for freedom, and there are enough twists in the story to keep readers guessing about the final outcome.

Mark Walden is gong to be a busy guy for the next few years if he is to keep his fans, both old and new, happy. This is the first in a new series (I do not know how many books are planned yet), and of course we are still owed at least one (and hopefully more) H.I.V.E. book, given that Aftershock ended on such a huge cliffhanger. My thanks go to the good people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy of Earthfall to review.

Review: The Bonehill Curse by Jon Mayhew

Necessity Bonehill is arrogant, a bully and trapped in Rookery Heights Academy for Young Ladies. Bored and aimless, she spends her time training with the retired, and slightly insane, Sergeant Major Morris or fighting with the local peasant boys. So when her Uncle Carlos sends her a seemingly empty bottle with the instructions, “Never open it,” she can’t resist the temptation and pulls the cork.

But Necessity unleashes an evil genie, a demon of pestilence and a creature that bears her parents a terrible grudge. With only seven days to rescue them, Ness has to find out how to kill the genie. She begins a desperate quest that takes her through the dark streets of London and to the Oasis of the Amarant in uncharted Africa. If she fails, her parents die and the world will fall prey to the genie’s hideous plague.

The Bonehill Curse is Jon Mayhew's third, and apparently final story set in the dark Victorian world that he introduced to us in Mortlock, and it is yet another fantastic dark fantasy story that has huge appeal for boys and girls alike. It has all the stand out elements  that we have come to expect from Jon Mayhew: great characters; brilliant, atmospheric descriptions of a Victorian London where magic lurks in the background; and superb plotting. As with those earlier two books Jon has used his considerable writing talent to put all of these elements together to create this old-school adventure story that has an undercurrent of horror running through it, as well as a soupçon of classic Arabian Nights magic. 

I can never make up my mind what I like the most about Jon Mayhew's now three books. Much as I love his dark storytelling, I always end up deliberating between whether it his characters or his descriptive writing that stand out the most for me. I guess if I was strapped to a chair and had hot pins shoved under my toenails until I gave an answer I would probably go for his characters, and those is The Bonehill Curse are as good as any he has previously written. Necessity Bonehill is a delight to read - she starts off as an arrogant bully, but as we progress through the adventures that follow her unleashing of the evil djinn we see her have to change in order to survive. However, it is one thing to create a great main character, but Jon Mayhew also manages to breathe colour and life into every member of his supporting cast. Even the djinn, a character whose developemt could quite easily have been overlooked by a lesser writer, is perfectly created and becomes much more than just an ancient evil entity.

As with both of his previous books The Bonehill Curse moves along at a cracking pace, and even at 350ish pages long could very easily become a read-in-a-single-sitting book if time permits. For the third time Mayhew sucked me into his dark Victorian world and I really did not want to leave it. There is also a delightful twist that I have to admit took me completely by surprise, and made the story even better for that.

If you have not yet read Mortlock or The Demon Collector then this is not a problem as all three can be read as standalone stories. However, Jon very cleverly references the books that came before and it is fun spotting these small crossover tidbits so I strongly recommend you read them in order. Jon has said that this is the last one in the 'trilogy' as he moves on to other unrelated stories, but I for one would love to read more stories set in the world of Mortlock.

The Bonehill Curse was published by Bloomsbury on 10th May and mt thanks go to the nice people at Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to review.

The Making of a Monster Blog Tour (Day 1) - Guest post by Chris Priestley

Yesterday I posted my review of Mister Creecher, Chris Priestley's brilliant 'filling in' of an intriguing gap in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein story. I have been a fan of Chris's writing ever since I first discovered his Tom Marlowe adventures, but my love of his writing increased hugely back in 2007 when I read his first volume of horror short stories, Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror. Today we are incredibly fortunate to be joined by Chris as he kicks off his Mister Creecher Blog Tour.

How Frankenstein changed my life 

I can’t remember exactly how old I was when I first saw James Whale’s famous 1932 adaptation of Frankenstein, but I would have been in my mid teens, living on a council estate on the western edges of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I do remember the thrill of it though.

There is something about Boris Karloff’s creature that sears itself into your soul. I already knew that cadaverous face, of course. It is one of the most famous faces in the world, as well known as the Marilyn Monroe or the Mona Lisa.

It was only later that I read the novel and discovered a very different creature; one who could express his feelings and talk about his desires. I loved the arctic scenes that frame the novel and was amazed to discover that Frankenstein and his creature come to England and go to London, Oxford and the Lake District; places I knew well.

I learned of the story behind the novel - that the teenage Mary Shelley came up with the story in a Swiss villa rented by Lord Byron. Mary Godwin as she was then, was there with her lover, Percy Bysshe Shelley and her half-sister Claire Clairmont and Byron’s doctor John Polidori. A ghost story competition was initiated and Mary’s resulting nightmare spawned Frankenstein.

My fascination grew and grew. When I went to art college in 1976, I submitted a proposal to do a graphic novel of Frankenstein, but my tutor saw how much work was involved and talked me out of it, saying I should return to it later in my studies. I never did.

When I left college I tried making my way as an illustrator and a chance meeting in a pub on one of my visits home, led to me doing some work for a theatre company called The Dog Company. The man at the centre of this theatre company was Clive Barker and he had written a play called Frankenstein in Love for which he needed a poster.

Unbeknown to me, Clive was writing a collection of horror short stories - a collection that would be published as The Books of Blood and, thanks in part to to a famous Stephen King quote, would make his name and propel him from Crouch End to LA.

I nervously showed Clive a story I had written about my grandfather and I was thrilled to find that he immediately spoke to me as one writer to another. He made some suggestions, and even said that he knew of places who might publish it. Maybe I was a writer after all.

But I was also an illustrator and a painter and I was struggling to build my career as an artist. Wanting to be a writer as well seemed greedy. And frankly, it seemed more difficult, more unattainable.

I moved out of London to Norfolk and commuted in to work for The Economist and later The Independent, working as a cartoonist. On the long journeys home, I found myself writing again, filling notebooks with ideas and the occasional short story. And I kept reading about Mary Shelley and the Romantic poets, fascinated by their tragic, interweaving lives.

It was Chris Riddell with whom I worked at The Economist who first suggested that I write for children, and he who took the resulting story to his editor at Random House. Luckily they liked it, and though they didn’t publish that one, they published the next, and I have been a full-time writer ever since. That first book was for younger children, but my books have been getting darker ever since, my latest book follows on from a series of books exploring my fascination with Gothic horror and uncanny fction.

Mister Creecher imagines a meeting between Frankenstein’s creature and a teenage boy on New Year’s Day, 1818, the date of Frankenstein’s publication. It is the fruit of a forty year long obsession, and I fervently hope that readers of Mister Creecher will be drawn to reading Mary Shelley’s strange and thought-provoking novel.

And maybe they will begin a life-long obsession of their own. 

~~~

Huge thanks to Chris for taking the time to wrote this for The Book Zone. Tomorrow Chris will continue his blog tour by be stopping off at Bart's Bookshelf.

Review: Mister Creecher by Chris Priestley

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.

In recent years a number of authors of books for children and young adults have written books that focus on the early years of famous, well-established characters. Notable examples of this are Charlie Higson's Young Bond, Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock Holmes and Andy Briggs's Tarzan reboot. In Mister Creecher YA horror supremo, Chris Priestly, has done things a little differently, by taking a famous character, in this case Frankenstein's monster, and added to Mary Shelley's original story. In that story there is a brief mention of Victor Frankenstein visiting London and other parts of England with his friend Henry Clerval, but no mention at all of the monster. And yet, later events suggest that the monster must have been tracking the pair through their journey up through England. Fascinated by this, Chris Priestley decided de would fill in the blanks, and you can read more about this decision over at his blog.

The book opens with Billy, an orphan and pickpocket, discovering what he thinks is a corpse, lying in the street. As he is about to check the body for any valuables he is interrupted by Fletcher, a fellow ne'er do well to whom Billy owes money. As Fletcher pulls a knife on Billy the supposedly dead body comes to life, and comes to Billy's rescue. This newly reanimated body is a huge monster of a man, who makes short shrift of Fletcher and his cronies. This man is none other than Frankenstein's monster, and so begins a rather unlikely partnership between the two.

Due to a mishearing of the creatures response to one of his questions, Billy comes to refer to his new associate as Mister Creecher. Creecher needs Billy to help him to follow Victor Frankenstein, who has promised his monster that eh will make him a bride. In return, the monster helps Billy with a variety of muggings that soon have him living a life a of luxury compared with the life he was living prior to their meeting. The story eventually takes the pair on a road trip like no other, as they follow Frankenstein and Clerval from London to Oxford and then on to the North.

The story examines a number of themes, most notably what it means to be human. Creecher is wants to be seen as a human being, and is desperate to fit in with society instead of being feared as a monster due to his ghastly appearance. To this end he spends hours reading books, studying the way the characters in the stories interact and trying to understand the nature of human emotions. Billy on the other hand is human (obviously) but has few morals and little interest in any form of traditional education. This leaves us asking ourselves who is the most human of the two?

Issues surrounding friendship are also a key element of the story. Initially Creecher uses fear and intimidation to get Billy to help him, but over time their relationship develops into something much greater than master and servant as they become firm friends, despite their differences. However, as a reader we can only view this friendship as it grows with a deep sadness, as we know that as Priestley's story is part of a story where the ending has already been told, we know that the friendship simply cannot last and somehow things will fall apart for the duo before the end of the story.

Whilst I am on the subject of the end of the story, if you have read anything about this book you will already know that Chris Priestley injects a surprise twist at the story's close. I did not see it coming at all, and I had a face palm moment before a huge smile broke out on my face as a number of dropped clues fell into place all at once.

I loved this book and I am sure that any horror-loving 11+ child who picks it up will share these feelings. It is a while since I read Mary Shelley's original, but from memory I felt that Chris Priestley's story matched the tone very well. His descriptions of the historical settings in the story, from the sordid streets of regency London to the other, more rural, locations the pair travel to are so well written that I was drawn completely into the time and place. I would expect that many young people who read this will be intrigued and/or excited enough to go out and get their hands on a copy of Mary Shelley's book.

Mister Creecher was published by Bloomsbury in a hardcover edition last year, but the paperback edition has only just been released. My thanks go to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy to review. Please come back tomorrow when Chris Priestley will be visiting us to tell readers of The Book Zone about how Frankenstein changed his life.

    

Coming Up In 2012 #9: The Bonehill Curse by Jon Mayhew (and exclusive cover reveal)

My Coming Up In 2012 feature focuses on new first in series or standalone books due out this year. Some may question my inclusion of Jon Mayhew's new book, The Bonehill Curse, as it is set in the same world as his previous two stories, Mortlock and The Demon Collector. Well I make the rules, and I love those two books and their dark Victorian setting, so I have decided that The Bonehill Curse fully deserves to be a part of this feature. Of course, Jon being the great guy that he is, very kindly agreed to write something especially for us. He also sent along the image of the cover, which is very different from the one that has been doing the rounds on the internet. He tells me that this is a recent change, and that this is an exclusive reveal for The Book Zone - it is well woth clicking on the image to see it in all its hi-res glory, and I have to say that I like it much more than the one that had previously been touted as the cover for the book. The Bonehill Curse is scheduled to be published by Bloomsbury in May.

Coming up in May 2012, the final book set in the world of Mortlock. Necessity Bonehill is arrogant, a bully and trapped in Rookery Heights Academy for Young Ladies. Bored and aimless, she spends her time training with the retired, and slightly insane, Sergeant Major Morris or fighting with the local peasant boys. So when her Uncle Carlos sends her a seemingly empty bottle with the instructions, “Never open it,” she can’t resist the temptation and pulls the cork.

But Necessity unleashes an evil genie, a demon of pestilence and a creature that bears her parents a terrible grudge. With only seven days to rescue them, Ness has to find out how to kill the genie. She begins a desperate quest that takes her through the dark streets of London and to the Oasis of the Amarant in uncharted Africa. If she fails, her parents die and the world will fall prey to the genie’s hideous plague. Her nightmare magic-carpet ride brings her face to face with the Pestilents, the genie’s living dead servants, a vampire army and worst of all…herself.

The Arabian Nights viewed through a murky gothic lens with a fist-fighting girl for company! What would you wish for?