Review: Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief by Gabrielle Kent

When Alfie Bloom inherited a castle and a centuries-old magic, his dull and lonely life was changed forever. But Alfie's new life has come with dangers he never could have expected. When Ashford the butler is kidnapped in the middle of the night, the castle comes under threat from a terrifying enemy. Trapped inside with only his twin cousins and best friend Amy, it's up to Alfie to defend his inheritance and prevent a terrible fate from befalling the whole of England!

*** Reader beware - this review is likely to contain spoilers for the first Alfie Bllom book.

Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle was one of my favourite books of 2015, and its sequel, Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief has been right up there on my list of most anticipated books of 2016. I described Gabrielle's first Alfie Bloom book as having 'perfect pace and and flow' and the author as a 'damn fine storyteller'. No pressure then, as far as the sequel is concerned!

Said sequel got preordered for my Kindle months ago, but due to the craziness of work I completely missed its release, and it was only as I was about to start reading another book that I just purchased that I saw it sitting there quietly, desperate to be read. All thoughts of reading that other book disappeared, as I dived back into the magical world of exciting adventure that Gabrielle Kent has created. 

Despite now being settled at Hexbridge Castle, Alfie and his friends have still not managed to explore the whole of this mysterious building, which still holds many secrets from them. As does Ashford, the enigmatic butler that came with the Castle when the Bloom's moved it. Readers of the first book will know that there is an air of mystery surrounding this character, and we were left wanting to know much more about him. In this second book, our wants in this particular area are met fully - Ashford's past and present actions are central to the plot of The Talisman Thief, and we see his character developed much more fully.

Last time it was dragons that Alfie found himself up against, and this time it is elves. And these are certainly not elves of the cute and friendly variety - they are far more akin to Tolkien's arrogant and warrior-like elves that we see in The Hobbit. They have been wronged and they want retribution, and their targets are set firmly on Ashford, Alfie and anyone else who gets in their way.

When I wrote my review of Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle I took some pride in that fact that I had spotted one particular plot twist that had not yet been resolved. Gabrielle Kent sent me a message (of which I will say no more, for fear of creating spoilers), but I have felt more than a little smug since. Well they say that pride comes before a fall, and I feel that I have fallen big time. The plot of The Talisman Thief has some MASSIVE twists that hit me right between the eyes and had my jaw dropping to the ground. 

Alfie Bloom and the Talisman Thief is a superb sequel, and I am sure it will be making an appearance in my favourite books of 2016. I have been in something of a reading slump recently as far as children's books are concerned, and have found myself reading far more adult and non-fiction books that I would have in recent years. However, like a phoenix from the ashes, I have been lifted out of this by two books: this wonderful magical adventure story, and Jennifer Bell's wonderful debut, The Crooked Sixpence. Hopefully I can now stay in this mood and catch up on my ultra-wobbly middle grade TBR pile.

Review: Doctor Who Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards

A stunning illustrated collection of fifteen dark and ancient fairy tales from the world of Doctor Who.

These captivating stories include mysterious myths and legends about heroes and monsters of all kinds, from every corner of the universe. Originally told to young Time Lords at bedtime, these twisted tales are an enchanting read for Doctor Who fans of all ages.

I am a lifelong fan of Doctor Who and as a child/young teen I spent may an hour reading as many of the Target novelisations as I could get my hands on (as ever, the local library did not let me down). However, somewhere along the way I stopped reading Doctor Who fiction - I wonder whether it was due to the sheer volume of books that were being published, especially after the show was cancelled by the BBC back in 1989 and writers/published filled the gap with New Adventures and Missing Adventures. I intend to remedy this in 2016 as a friend has recently recommended two books that I really like the sound of: Harvest of Time by Alastair Reynolds and The Wheel of Ice by Stephen Baxter.

But I am getting ahead of myself. A couple of months ago I had a lovely surprise package in the post, courtesy of those lovely people at Puffin. Said package included a copy of Doctor Who: The Dangerous Book of Monsters (devoured in a single sitting btw), and Doctor Who: Time Lord Fairy Tales. It was the latter of the two that really piqued my interest - it is an anthology of fairy tales, each of which has a Doctor Who twist. Most of the classic tales they are based on are instantly recognisable (including Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff and many more) but writer Justin Richards has very cleverly twisted them around to make them tales that just might be told to Gallifreyan kids.

I have to be honest, it took me a couple of stories to really get into the book, as it was aimed at a younger audience than I had originally presumed, and the tone of the stories is most definitely fairy-tale-ish in nature. However, once I had got my head around this I found myself really enjoying most of the tales. A number of the stories do not even feature the Doctor himself (and even when he appears it is usually little more than a cameo role to help save the day), but many of the classic Whovian monsters are there in one form or another, including Sontarans, Cybermen and Weeping Angels and some of the less well known to modern viewers, such as the Nimon and the Wirrn. 

Each story comes with its own wonderful illustration by David Wardle, all produced in a classic wood block printing style that perfectly matches the fairy tale theme of the book. Adult readers may recognise the style from the cover of Essie Fox's The Somnambulist, which Wardle also created.

For those of you who love audio books, a little googling has revealed that all of these tales are available to purchase as downloads from iTunes and Amazon, read by the likes of Paul McGann, Michelle Gomez, Sophie Aldred and even Tom Baker. I'm not a big fan of audio books (I have attention span problems), but these sound cracking so I might have to have a listen in the future. It also looks like there is a planned CD release for April, for those of you who prefer a physical copy.

Time Lord Fairy Tales is great fun and deserves a place on the shelves of any fan of Doctor Who, young or old. It has certainly whetted my appetite for more Doctor Who fiction, so if any of you have any recommendations they would be very gratefully received.

Review: The Black Lotus by Kieran Fanning

Ghost, Cormac and Kate are not like other kids.

Ghost can turn invisible, Cormac can run up walls and Kate can talk to animals - all abilities which make them perfect recruits for the Black Lotus, a training school for ninjas. But when the Moon Sword - a source of unimaginable power - is stolen by samurai, the three are forced to put their new skills to the test in sixteenth-century Japan ...

Add too many ingredients to a bread or cake on the Great British Bake Off and you'll have to suffer the wrath of Paul Hollywood. Do the same when writing a book and you may not face wrath, but it will make your story appear disjointed and confused. Kieran Fanning's debut middle grade novel, The Black Lotus, has young people with super powers, martial arts, fantasy swords with magical powers, ninjas and samurai - that's a hell of a lot of ingredients for a literary cake yet somehow Fanning pulls it off to produce a mouthwatering adventure story that will satisfy the appetites of action-hungry young readers.

The Black Lotus is set in an alternate 21st Century planet Earth, where much of the world is part of President Goda's samurai empire. London, Paris, Rio... all are part of Goda's empire and it seems that the USA is one of the few nations that lies outside of his influence. For the time being at least.

We are initially introduced to this world through the lives of three teenagers from very diverse backgrounds, although all three have at least two things in common - they all believe themselves to be orphans and all three of them have a special power. Ghost lives in a Rio de Janeiro favela, and can turn himself invisible if he concentrates hard enough; Cormac lives in a Hinin House, or orphanage, in Ballyhook, Ireland and can run so fast that he is able to run up vertical walls; and Kate lives on the streets of NYC having run away from a children's home. Kate's special gift is that of communicating with animals, literally speaking with them. All three think they have managed to keep their special abilities, however all three have come to the attention of the Black Lotus, a group of ninja freedom fighters who have spent centuries fighting against the totalitarian rule of Goda (yes, you read me correctly - NINJA FREEDOM FIGHTERS). Soon the three find themselves teaming up to join this fight, and on an adventure that sees them travelling back to 16th Century Japan to retrieve a magical sword that goad could use to subjugate the rest of the world.

To describe The Black Lotus as cinematic would be a disservice to Kieran, as to me it can imply that a story relies far too much on action set-pieces, and yet this book would make a damn fine action/adventure film. The Black Lotus certainly isn't just a chain of action scenes with little in between them. In fact, although the action scenes are fast-paced and exciting to read (and are full of NINJA martial arts wonderfulness), it is the relationship between the three young heroes that makes this story work so well. Each one has different back histories and thus different motivations, and although, for plot reasons, we find out more about one of the three than the others, it is still very easy for the reader to empathise with all three.

The Black Lotus is yet another fab addition to the plethora of great middle grade books that have been published in the UK in 2015. It is certainly a book that will have young readers clamouring for a sequel, although I would guess that we have quite a wait for that ahead of us as The Black Lotus was only released two weeks ago. 

And did I say that it has lots of ninjas?

My thanks go to the fab people at Chicken House for sending me a copy to read.

Review: Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle by Gabrielle Kent

Alfie Bloom is just an ordinary boy. Until he receives a letter summoning him to raven-like solicitor Caspian Bone's office. Here, Alfie learns that he has inherited a castle. And through mysterious circumstances surrounding his birth, he has also been entrusted as the caretaker of a centuries-old magic. Unfortunately for Alfie, dangerous forces are after this powerful magic. With the help of his cousins Maddie and Robin, Artan the flying bearskin rug, and Ashford (a rather special butler), Alfie must keep the magic safe from terrifying adversaries and make sure the secrets of Hexbridge Castle stay secret for ever...

I first read Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Castle back in January. I had just come out of an event that Scholastic had held about their middle grade and picture book list for 2015, and there was one book that had my interest well and truly piqued above all the others. Everything I had been told about Gabrielle Kent's debut screamed "Read me" and so I started it on the train home. I was gripped by the magical adventure story, but I couldn't say that I truly loved it. 

I give all of the books I read a star rating on Goodreads, as much as a personal record of my reading than for anything else, and I gave Alfie Bloom 4 stars. It just did not feel as good as other books I had rated 5 stars at that point, such as Abi Elphinstone's The Dreamsnatcher. When this 'starring' appeared on Twitter, I received a couple of tweets from the author, first for the 4 stars but also to say that the final version had undergone a fair few revisions since the proofs had been printed, including "Revelations moved around and I changed bits that didn't work". As you will no doubt of spotted, I have not been particularly active on this blog this year, and I never got around to posting a review before the book was published in June. However, as we broke up for the summer holidays and I was tidying away some books, I spotted that proof and decided that I would buy the final version for my kindle to take away on holiday with me. And this time I LOVED it! Definitely worthy of 5 Goodreads stars!

It's very rare that I find the time to re-read books these days, especially so soon after a first reading, but I am so glad that I gave Alfie Bloom another chance, as I was completely captivated this time around (and it also made a rather choppy Channel crossing a lot more pleasurable). I've not done a page by page comparison so I can't tell you exactly what had changed between the proof and final versions, but in my mind the final version had a plot that possessed perfect pace and flow.

Apart from being a damn fine storyteller, Gabrielle Kent is obviously a fellow lover of children's literature as Alfie Bloom contains elements that in some ways almost make it read as a homage to the great children's writers and books of the past, in the best possible way. The two headmistresses of the local Hexbridge school, the nemeses of every child who has had to be educated there, are incredibly Dahlesque in their nastiness and the punishments they dole out to their students might even have Dahl's Miss Trunchbull reporting them to Ofsted for cruelty to children. And this is just a starter - there are elements of Enid Blyton, E. Nesbit and Diana Wynne Jones in this story, particularly in the way Alfie interacts with his cousins, and their shared sense of adventure.

Following the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter books, there were a lot of similarly themed but far lesser books released as publishers looked to cash in. We then went through a period of (too many) years where it seemed that publishers felt that magic was no longer cool or marketable. Obviously enough time has now passed since Potter, and new adventure stories featuring magic are now appearing on book store shelves again. Recent notable and thoroughly enjoyable examples include Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret by D.D. Everest and Magisterium: The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. Alfie Bloom and the Secrets of Hexbridge Hall is another, and in my opinion it is easily the best so far. It has shapeshifters, mythical creatures, time travel, ancient druidic magic, a rather splendid and mysterious butler, and the wonderful Hexbridge Castle itself - almost a character in its own right.

This is the first book in a series (I have no idea how many books are planned, but I really hope there are LOTS of them), and Gabrielle Kent very kindly does not leave us with a kind of cliffhanger ending. There are a small number of threads left untied which I am sure will be further explored in the sequel. There is one in particular that I am very keen to see how it is developed as there is a teacher at the school in Hexbridge who possesses a certain air of mystery. If my knowledge of traditional French & English fables is anything to go by (gained more on a 1970s Fairport Convention song than any in depth study of the subject) then I have a feeling that she has already played a bigger part in the story than some readers may have realised (and there's also that Wayne's World line: "In French, she would be called "la renarde" and she would be hunted with only her cunning to protect her".

I seem to be saying this a lot this year, but this is yet another book that richly deserves a place in my Top 10 books of 2015. I am starting to worry that I may have said this more than ten times though! It is middle grade fantasy adventure at its very best, and I can't wait to read the sequel.

Guest Post by Matt Brown (author of Compton Valance: The Time-Travelling Sandwich Bites Back)

Back at the beginning of August I posted a review of Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe, the debut book by writer Matt Brown. It was definitely one of the funniest books I have read this year, and I enjoyed it so much that when a copy arrived from those lovely people at Usborne, on the very same day that my copy of David Walliams's Awful Auntie arrived, it was Matt Brown's book that I chose to read first. Seriously, if you have a child who loves funny stories and hilarious toilet humour then I urge you to get them a copy of the first book, and when they love that go and get them a copy of this second book, which is just as funny and just as full of crazy time travel adventure as its predecessor.

Naturally, when I was asked if I would be interested in hosting a guest piece from Matt on The Book Zone and did not hesitate to say "yes, please!", so it gives me great pleasure to hand you over to Matt Brown:

Prepare yourselves for a shock.  This is me when I was ten…

When I was ten I spent a lot of time thinking about where I would go if I had a time machine.  This was probably due to my love of time travel telly, books and movies. I always wondered what life will be like in the future – and lots of the Science Fiction stories I loved at this age helped me imagine what the future might look like. I think my fascination might also have something to do with the fact that I was born in the last half of the last century.  As a kid in the 1980s I always tried to picture what my life would be like in the year 2000, which at the time seemed like an impossibly long way into the future.  I thought that we’d all be eating pills for food and living with robots.

If you have read the first book in the Compton Valance series, you might have noticed some references to some of my favourite sci-fi stories. For example, Compton Valance’s horrible teacher is called Mr Strickland.  I got Strickland’s name from Back To The Future because Marty McFly’s horrible teacher is called… Mr Strickland. And you might have noticed that Compton lives in Morlock Cottage.  I got the name Morlock from HG Well’s classic time travel book, The Time Machine.  The Morlocks are a fictional species from over 800,000 years in the future.  This reference is continued in the third Compton book that I’ve just finished writing with a new character called Lola Weena.

Doctor Who was also a show that I loved as a kid (and as an adult).  I really love how this crazy, oddly-dressed British bloke travels around through space and time and into the darkest corners of the universe.  My character Samuel Nathaniel Daniels, part man-from-the-future and part civil servant, wears a tight silver suit and a tiny bowler hat perched on top of his head. This look was definitely inspired by the strange wardrobe of clothes that The Doctor wears. 

So many other sci-fi stories have inspired me and while their influence might not be as obvious as the ones I’ve mentioned, their grip on me as a writer was just as powerful.  Stories like The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, the world of Judge Dredd in the 2000AD comics, TV shows like Buck Rogers and movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey.  All of these stories and a whole load more have in some way, small and large, wheedled their way in to my Compton Valance stories.  Some were intended and others were accidental. But then that’s the wonderful thing about writing, isn’t it?  We are all magpies, collecting references wherever we go and readying them to line our story nests at a moment’s notice.

When you read the book see if you can spot the other influences that have made it in!

~~~

Matt Brown is the author of the Compton Valance series, two fantastically funny and delightfully disgusting time-travelling adventures, perfect for fans of The Wimpy Kid and David Walliams. The second book in the series, The Time-Travelling Sandwich Bites Back, is out now.

For more information and loads of fun things to do visit www.comptonvalance.com. You can also follow Matt on Twitter at @frazzleddaddy. 

Review: Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe by Matt Brown

When Compton Valance and his best friend Bryan Nylon discover the world's first TIME MACHINE (aka a mouldy, thirteen-week-old-cheese-and-pickled-egg sandwich), they become the most powerful boys in the universe. But how will Compton and Bryan decide to use their incredible new time-travelling powers? Will they use them for good? Will they use them for evil? Or will they just focus their efforts on perfecting a formula for the world's first pair of custard trousers? Things are about to get totally scrambled for Compton Valance.

This is how Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe opens:

Do you need to read any further to know that a child is just so going to love this book? Okay, so maybe we shouldn't judge a book from its first page (even though so many kids do exactly this), so how about a page from a little further into the book:

Yep, from beginning to end Matt Brown's debut book for kids is laugh-out-loud funny, and chock full of toilet humour, crazy adventure and ridiculous characters with even more ridiculous names (Bryan Nylon, Bernard 'Strictly' Strickland and Samuel Nathaniel Daniels, to name but three). 

Time travel does lend itself perfectly to comedy adventures, but Compton's adventures through time are almost secondary to everything else in this book. The sheer overwhelming (in a good way) force that is the humour hits you squarely between the eyes on page on, and leaves you in a giggling mess with snot dribbling down your chin come the final page. But that's not to say the plot suffers, although younger readers may struggle at times with the way their travelling through time repeatedly messes with timelines. More confident readers, who are able to focus on the plot whilst rolling on the floor laughing at the jokes, should have little problem following the story, especially as Matt Brown very kindly includes occasional footnotes as an aid (and, of course, to add even more comedy).

Matt Brown's comedy words are aided and abetted by the wonderful and madcap cartoon-style illustrations of Lizzie Finlay, who I am sure also had a hand in the way the text is presented, with varying typeface styles and sizes, adding emphasis and impact to the humour in the same way a live stand-up comedian would use timing. 

Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe is the first in what I hope will be a lengthy series. In my opinion, it is much funnier than the Wimpy kid and Captain Underpants stories, and Matt Brown is another author to add to the growing list of homegrown talent that are now beginning to rival the likes of Jeff Kinney and Dave Pilkey. If you want to find out more about Matt Brown and his book then I urge you to head on over to the Compton valance micro-site at www.comptonvalance.com. The book is also featuring as part of Pizza Hut's The Hut Book Club until September so if you're heading out for pizza look out for samplers.

Compton Valance: The Most Powerful Boy in the Universe was published at the beginning of June, and its sequel, Compton Valance: The Time Travelling Sandwich Bites Back is due to be published in October. My thanks go the the fab people at Usborne for sending me a copy of the book.

Review: Sorrowline by Niel Bushnell

Twelve-year-old Jack Morrow is used to life being complicated. His mother died five years ago, and his father is now headed for prison. But then Jack discovers he's a Yard Boy - someone with the ability to travel through Sorrowlines, the channels that connect every gravestone with the date of the person's death - and he is quickly pulled into an adventure beyond anything he could have possibly imagined.

Finding himself in 1940s war-torn London, with his then-teenage grandfather, Davey, Jack soon realises that his arrival in the past has not gone unnoticed. The evil forces of a secret world are determined to find him - and to find out all he knows.

As Jack struggles to survive, he comes ever closer to unlocking the dark secret at the heart of his family, and to - just maybe - changing his own destiny . . .

Like many main characters in books written for this age, 13-year-old Jack’s lot in life is not a happy one. His mother was killed when he was younger, and now his father is heading for a lengthy spell behind bars. Just before his father ‘goes away’, on a visit to his mother’s grave, Jack places his hand longingly on his mother’s headstone and is pretty much pulled into it. The next thing he knows, he is still in the graveyard but the headstone, and his father who was only seconds ago sitting on a nearby bench, have disappeared. Strange? You bet, but things get even stranger as Jack’s grandfather appears and informs him:

a) He is a Yard Boy, able to travel through time using the Sorrowlines;

b) Jack’s life is in danger;

c) Jack must travel back to 1940 and track down the younger version of his grandfather, where all will be explained.

Like most 13-year-olds would, Jack has more than a little trouble believing what he perceives to be a smelly old homeless guy, but then the Dustmen appear, and before he knows it Jack is fleeing for his life through the graveyard, hunting for a headstone marked 1940 that will take him back in time. So begins a wonderful and exciting time travel adventure featuring people from an alternate world, knights that simply will not die, Boagymen who can travel between the smallest rooms/cupboards in houses and transport you pretty much anywhere you want to go (at a cost), vicious creatures called Weavers. And of course, a story like this would not be complete without a particularly nasty  villain, in this case the power hungry and ruthless Rouland.

I love time travel stories, and in recent years we have been treated to the brilliant TimeRiders series by Alex Scarrow, and Damien Dibben’s exciting action adventure series, The History Keepers. Some might therefore question the need for another time travel series for readers of this age but author Niel Bushnell proves that an original concept can inject freshness into the genre, and with books like Sorrowline there continues to be room for even more time travel stories for young readers.

Niel Bushnell never patronises his readers by dumbing down the plot - as with some of the best time travel stories this book has a fairly complicated plot that keeps readers on their toes, looking for clues to events in the future as the past part of the story continues to develop. The question of whether changing events in the past can alter the present/future naturally raises its head and Niel Bushnell deals with this in a way that should keep all of his readers happy. 

Jack is just one of a handful of great (and believable) characters in Sorrowlines, as he makes various allies and enemies as he travels back in time. However, unlike many books of this ilk it was very refreshing to see that Jack simply does not know who he can and can't trust. Usually we see a main character make close friends very quickly with someone of a similar age, and they become the close companion in the main character's adventure. In Sorrowlines it seems that just about every character has their own agenda, and could possibly betray Jack at the drop of a hat, whether it be for financial or some other gain, or simply through sheer cowardice. Thus, it isn't only Jack who is plagued with confusion and uncertainty, as the reader also gets to share these emotions as the plot twists and turns.

Sorrowlines is an exciting adventure story that will have 10+ aged readers gripped from the beginning. It is also somewhat poignant in places as Jack's adventures give him a greater insight into the events from his own childhood, and he searches desperately for a way to change his past.

My thanks go to Niel Bushnell for sending me a copy to read.

Review: The History Keepers: Circus Maximus by Damian Dibben

The History Keepers are in terrible danger once more. Stocks of Atomium - the crucial ingredient which allows them to travel through time - are perilously low, and the agents must embark on a risky mission to find more. And now a new and even more evil member of the Zeldt family is planning a hideous take-over of the Ancient world, and they are forced to travel further back into history than ever before in order to save the day. Well, all of the days actually.

When I posted by review of The Storm Begins, the first book in Damian Dibben's action time-travel series, I had no option but to mention a certain other popular series for young people in this genre. Readers of this blog will know that I am a huge TimeRiders fan, but back in that review I confidently proclaimed that based on the fun I had reading The Storm Begins there was definitely room for another time-travel adventure featuring teen protagonists. The sequel, Circus Maximus, has only confirmed these initial feelings.

The Storm Begins was typical of many first-in-series books in that a certain portion of the story had to be given over to introducing the main characters, and the nature of the History Keepers group. With this already done, Damian Dibben is able to hit the ground running with Circus Maximus, with the first of the book's many action scenes starting in pretty much the very first chapter. From the conclusion of this scene onwards the pace of the plot is superfast, and is just the kind of story that could suck in even the most reluctant of readers.

One of my (very slight) criticisms of the first book was that despite being great fun to read the characters seemed a little two-dimensional. With this second book Dibben spends more time adding flesh to the likes of Jake Djones, Nathan Wylder and Charlie Chieverley, whilst also bringing some of his secondary characters out of the background and into the action. In addition, he also introduces a brand new villain - if you thought Prince Zeldt was nasty just wait until you 'meet' Agata Zeldt, "the most evil woman in history". Damian Dibben does OTT villains very well, and they really are the people you love to hate. (By the way, my only criticism of this book is the author's need to repeat this statement about Agata more tomes than is necessary, along with a few other pieces of information. We really only need to read them once). 

The two History Keepers books so far suggest that this could become a hugely popular series for the 9+ age group, especially if the planned movie is made of the series. These books are aimed at a slightly younger audience than the more complex TimeRiders series, their emphasis being much more on fun and adventure. The ending of Circus Maximus is not exactly a cliffhanger, but it most definitely sets things up for further adventures for Jake and his friends, and definitely left me wanting to read more.

My thanks go to the lovely people at Doubleday for sending me a copy to review.

Review: TimeRiders: City of Shadows by Alex Scarrow

Liam O'Connor should have died at sea in 1912.

Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in 2010.

Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But all three have been given a second chance - to work for an agency that no one knows exists. Its purpose: to prevent time travel destroying history . . .

Hunted by cyborg assassins from the future, the TimeRiders must abandon New York and go on the run. They escape to Victorian London and the streets where Jack the Ripper roams. But, before they can establish their new base, they make their most shattering discovery yet - and it will change everything . . .

Are you a fan of Alex Scarrow's TimeRiders series? If the answer is yes and you have not yet got your hands on a copy of the sixth book in the series, City of Shadows, then you must do so immediately. And if you have not yet read any of the books in this series then go out and get the first TimeRiders books as you have one hell of an exciting ride ahead of you.

Over the course of the first five books in this series Alex Scarrow has gradually woven an incredibly intricate plot, creating a multitude of seemingly unrelated threads. This does at times make reading each new book something of a challenge when six months have passed since the publication of the previous book, as the plots are so complex that remembering everything that has gone before is not always easy. For those five books we have been very much like Scarrow's trio of teen protagonists, very much in the dark as to the real nature of their task and finding things out as the story progresses. For those of you desperate to find answers to some of the questions that have been bugging you for so long then prepare to stunned. And shocked. And amazed. City of Shadows is the game changer for the whole series.

The significance of Sal's teddy bear?

The man who gets merged with a horse in The Eternal War?

Who sent the team of assassins after the TimerRider team in Gates of Rome?

Foster's story?

By alternating the story between a variety of different periods in time, and especially the future where we meet Waldstein properly, in this book Alex Scarrow provides answers to all of these questions, although staying true to form, he then goes on and creates even more questions for his readers. In fact, just like the characters we continue to be led to believe one thing, and then suddenly discover that we may have been wrong all along. Yep, this book will seriously mess with your head.

I feel it is only fair to add a small extra comment on this book for those fans who, like me, were looking forward to a story set predominantly in Victorian London, featuring Jack the Ripper. In actual fact, less than a third of the story is set in this era, with most of the narrative being devoted to 2001, and the actions the team have to take immediately following on from the end of Gates of Rome. This books is less about rectifying contamination events in time, and much more about how the characters survive as they have to cut themselves loose from their Brooklyn base. However, I don't think you will be disappointed with the story - I certainly wasn't.

I remember when the first TimeRiders book was published, another author told me that she had wanted to call one of the books in her series Time Riders, but her publisher had asked her to choose an alternative title as they felt that books with the word 'time' or 'time travel' in the title didn't sell. I don't know why they believed this - perhaps they had market research findings that suggested, despite the popularity of Doctor Who on TV, that children and young adults did not find time travel stories particularly cool or exciting? If that was the case then Alex Scarrow has single-handedly injected both of these elements into the genre and made it a very hot property indeed.

The seventh TimeRiders book is scheduled to be published in February 2012, so not too long to wait. Alex recently revealed the title and cover on the official TimeRiders blog and I'm already looking forward to reading it.

Relocated to Victorian London, the TimeRiders joy-ride back to 1666 to witness the Great Fire of London. In the ensuing chaos, Liam and their newest recruit, Rashim, find themselves trapped between the fire and the Thames. They escape onboard a river boat, only to be confronted by an unscrupulous captain with his heart set on treasures of the high seas . . .

Back in 1888, Maddy and the rest of the team are frantically trying to track them down. But with limited resources at their new base, can Liam and Rashim survive the bloodthirsty and barbaric age of piracy long enough to be rescued?

My thanks go to the lovely people at Puffin for sending me a copy of City of Shadows.

Review: Sam Silver - Undercover Pirate by Jan Burchett and Sara Vogler

Book 1: Skeleton Island

Sam Silver finds a gold doubloon which whisks him back in time to 1706. Suddenly he's on board a pirate ship - the Sea Wolf - with her fearsome captain and crew and sailing the Caribbean Sea. If Sam can't think of a very good reason why they should keep him alive, he'll be forced to walk the plank!

Book 2: The Ghost Ship

When Sam Silver and the crew of the Sea Wolf board a galleon looking for Spanish gold, they find it's already been stolen - by a ghost ship! Can our pirate heroes outwit a ghostly crew or is the treasure gone for ever?

Kids love pirates. Fact! Although I teach at secondary level many of my friends have kids in the 6-10 age range and nearly every one of them, boys and girls, is fascinated by pirates. Their parents tell me they are often getting non-fiction books about pirates out from the library, and they are always on the look out for pirate fiction. It is not an area I am expert on, although for the younger kids I have lost count how many time I have  recommended Jonny Duddle's The Pirate Cruncher and The Pirates Next Door to friends. Recently I received an email from the lovely people at Orion, asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing the first books in their new pirate series, Sam Silver: Undercover Pirate, and I felt that it would be letting down my friends and their kids if I said no.

Sam Silver is like any typical boy. He lives in Backwater Bay, where his parents own a chip shop, and like many kids of his age he has a collection of found items. When he finds a bottle on the beach with a note rolled inside he assumes it to be a cry for help, and imagines the fame he would achieve if his discovery led to the rescue of a stranded person. However, on opening the bottle he finds a note written in 1705, and signed by Joseph Silver, Captain of the Sea Wolf. Excited at the thought he might be descended from a pirate, his elation is raised even further by the letters mention of  buried treasure. Also in the bottle is a gold doubloon, but when Sam shakes this out of the bottle it looks like just an old dull brown coin. On rubbing it though Sam  is given the surprise of his life as his world begins to spin, and when he lands again he finds himself back in 1706, on a genuine pirate ship, surrounded by genuine pirates.

Being a suspicious bunch the pirates are about to make Sam walk the plank because of his strange clothes and way of speaking, but his is saved by this fate as he stutters out his name, and the pirate captain proclaims him to the the grandson of Joseph Silver, a highly respected pirate who went missing a year earlier. So begin the piratical adventures of Sam Silver as he starts to win over the mistrusting pirates and they set of in search of the treasure mentioned in the letter.

Skeleton Island, and its equally enjoyable sequel The Ghost Ship, are perfect stories for pirate-fixated kids aged 6 and above. At about 140 pages each they are just the right length for children of this age, and they are littered with images that help fire young imaginations even further. Naturally, they wouldn't be proper pirate books if they didn't have maps printed in the front, and we all know how much kids love maps.

The stories are full of action and adventure, with Sam being thrown in at the deep end and having to evade rival bloodthirsty pirates, or navigate his way safely through Tortuga (anyone who knows anything about pirates has heard of Tortuga), whilst in between the action having to carry out his pirate duties like swabbing the deck and manning the crow's nest. With Sam being a 21st century boy sent back in time, this adds another layer of discussion for younger readers who will be able to relate to him very easily, and will probably daydream about what they would do if they were ever lucky enough to find a magic gold doubloon that sent them back in time.

Orion tell me there are more adventures planned for Sam Silver in the future, and there are currently a total of seven books listed over at Amazon, so if you have kids of this age I suggest you buckle your swashes, shiver your timbers and go out and get your hands on these first two adventures. Or you could come back here later this week and have the chance of winning one of three pairs of books that I will be giving away.

Guest Post by Johnny O'Brien (Author of the Jack Christie Adventures)

When I started The Book Zone the first review I posted was for Day of the Assassins by Johnny O'Brien. It was a book I had really enjoyed and thought it was a great boy-friendly read with which to start this blog. Since then two more books in the Jack Christie Adventures have been published, with Day of Vengeance being the latest. Johnny did a Q and A for The Book Zone back in April, and now he is back as part his Jack Christie Adventures blog tour, with his answer to a question I posed him: 

How can writing about history engage younger readers, and particularly boys?

Mmmm. How can I best answer this question? Maybe the best way is to take you straight over to the skies above Kent. It’s August, 1940...

“Then Jack spotted it. A single BF109 heading for home.

“This is Red Two. Snapper ten o’clock low. Tally-Ho! Tally-Ho!”

“Good luck Red Two.”

“Breaking – port forty-five degrees.”

Jack tipped the Supermarine Mark 1B into a steep dive. The twenty-seven litre Merlin III engine screamed as the Spitfire topped four hundred miles an hour, slicing through the freezing air. As Jack levelled out, the G-force crushed him into his seat. Surely the wings would be ripped from the fuselage? But he had managed it perfectly. He peered through the spinning disc of the airscrew at the yellow-nosed Messerschmitt 109 only a hundred metres ahead. The German pilot hadn’t noticed Jack on his tail, so focused was he on his run for the Channel. Jack flicked the gun button to fire and put the reflector sight on. He eased the dot in the middle onto the 109’s fuselage and, as he eased closer, the Messerschmitt drew into the cross hairs. Jack pressed the button. The four .303 Browning machine guns and the two 20mm Hispano canons let rip and the cockpit filled with the smell of cordite. The flank of the 109 was peppered. Instantly, glycol from the cooling system ignited and there was an explosion of white vapour. The 109 flipped onto its back and started to arc into a long, lazy dive. A few seconds before, the German pilot had been heading for home – free. Now he was dead and plummeting to an icy grave, still strapped to his seat. It was no better than cold-blooded murder. Jack was hypnotised and trailed the 109 towards the metallic grey of the sea, far below.

It was a schoolboy error.

The first Jack knew about it was the streaks of angry tracer millimetres above his perspex canopy. A second 109. He should have known better. They always hunt in pairs.

“Red One, Red One – Snapper on my tail.”

But the R/T just crackled. Red One wasn’t coming to his rescue any time soon.

He remembered Angus’s words to him not an hour before: “Never fly straight and level for more than twenty seconds. If you do, you’ll die.”

The Supermarine Spitfire and the Messerschmitt BF109 were the best fighter planes of their day. They were comparable but each had particular strengths. Jack’s training cut in as he remembered the one strength of the Spitfire, which might just save his life. He threw the Spit into a savage turn and glanced over his shoulder. The 109 was still with him – a dirty orange flash from its guns showed that the German was still clamped to his tail like a limpet. Jack heard rounds rip into his fuselage and suddenly a bullet passed right through his canopy, inches from his face. Jack cursed his luck. Trust him to pick a fight with a real pro. He gulped in oxygen from the clammy mask.

Jack tightened the turn and glanced at the instruments to see how badly he was hit – glycol at 100 degrees; oil pressure 70lbs – miraculously still OK – but suddenly his head felt heavy... the brutal speed and tightness of the turn was causing him to black out. If he could hold on he might just survive. Words from his training flashed through his head, “A Spit can turn tighter than a 109 – hold it long enough and the 109 can’t stay with you – he will trace a gradually widening circle in the sky and you may just live...”

Suddenly, the Spitfire started to shake – a high-speed stall. Jack bit his lip to stop himself losing consciousness and a drop of blood trickled down the inside of his mask. He knew it was possible to hold the Spit in the stall... if you were a good enough pilot. He was about to find out if he was. Jack made a fourth turn and snatched a glance at the pursuing 109. Suddenly he saw it wobble – it was also stalling – Jack’s heart soared... the German pilot was being forced to ease the turn to avoid engine failure. It was a matter of millimetres but it would save Jack’s life. A few more mad loops in the sky and Jack started to gain on the 109. His neck muscles were screaming for him to stop, but in seconds the tables would be turned and Jack would have the 109 in his own cross hairs. Sure enough the 109 crept into his sight. Jack felt the adrenaline surge through him and he stabbed the fire button. Again, he heard the staccato rip of his guns, but he had fired prematurely and the rounds flew high and wide. He tried again. Nothing. He was out of ammo already.

Abruptly, his adversary released the 109 from its turn and, just for a moment, Jack caught his eyes peeking out from the white strip of face between helmet and mask. The German pilot touched his temple briefly with an outstretched palm – it was a wry acknowledgement, which meant simply, “Until next time, my friend.”

The sun flashed briefly on the grey tail fin of the 109 as he finally broke for home and then... he was gone.

Jack was alone again in the great blue emptiness, ten thousand feet above the green meadows of Kent.

Alive.

Still there? Good. If you are a young reader, and perhaps particularly a young male reader, I do hope you enjoyed this short extract from Day of Vengeance, the third in the Jack Christie series. I hope you were ‘engaged’ and I hope you would like to read on.

As well as, hopefully, being entertained, you may not realise it, but you have also learnt quite a lot. In a mere page of text, you’ve learnt some of the things that I had to learn in order to write it: you’ve learnt something about the respective capabilities of the two best fighter aircraft of their day, you’ve learnt something about the aerial tactics about how they would engage, you’ve learnt something about the specifications of the aircraft and you may possibly, have learnt something about what it might have felt like to be there. In doing so, you might sit back and reflect – what would I do in that situation, and would I have been good enough and brave enough? So – you might also have learnt something about yourself.

What you’ve been reading is history - a brilliant and thrilling subject which is endlessly fascinating but also teaches great skills which are applicable whatever you end up doing as in life – maybe even being a fighter pilot.

~~~

Huge thanks to Johnny for writing another brilliant guest post for The Book Zone. If you love time travel adventures with great historical settings then these books are for you.

Review: The History Keepers - The Storm Begins by Damian Dibben

Imagine if you lost your parents – not just in place, but in time.

Jake Djones’ mum and dad have gone missing and they could be anywhere in the world – at any time in history. Because the Djones family have an astonishing secret, which for years they’ve managed to keep - even from each other. They belong to the HISTORY KEEPERS: a secret society which travels through the centuries to prevent evil enemies from meddling with History itself.

In the quest to find his parents, Jake is whisked from 21st Century London to 19th century France, the headquarters of the mysterious History Keepers, where he discovers the truth about his family's disappearance - and the diabolical Prince Zeldt's plan to destroy the world as we know it . . .

Confession time: When I received this book from the generous people at Doubleday I had already decided that I didn't want to like it. Ouch! Yes, I know that sounds like a pretty unprofessional thing for a reviewer to decide but I had a very good reason for it. Honest. You see, I already love another series of books where teen heroes go back in time to prevent history from being meddled with in the form of Alex Scarrow's super-brilliant TimeRiders. Why on earth would I want another? And surely if, let's say, another one came along, then it would pale into insignificance when compared with Scarrow's work? So it wouldn't be like I was being unfaithful or anything would it? Oh dear. Not only did I read The History Keepers, but I also totally loved it as well. However, TimeRiders you need not worry as this book has not taken your place as the object of my time-travel story affection, but it has just joined you and I am afraid that you are just going to have to share!  

OK... juvenile attempts at humour aside, I know you really want to know whether this book is worth reading. Definitely. Although time-travel plays a central part in the plot, it is first and foremost a cracking adventure story that is perfect for the 9+ age group. You want your swashes buckled? Then this is the story for you. Prefer the pace of the stories you read to be on the fast side? Then jump on this bob-sleigh of a story and enjoy the ride! You may not get fully fleshed out, three-dimensional characters, or a realistic dissection of the complexities of time-travel (Paradox? What paradox?), but if you want a fun, fun, fun adventure story with no pretensions then get your order in now for the 1st September released date of this first book in The History Keepers series, subtitled The Storm Begins.

The book introduces us to Jake Djones, who at the beginning finds himself the subject of what seems to be a kidnap attempt, but which he soon discovers is a somewhat bumbling attempt to keep him safe from, at this point in the story, an unnamed foe or foes. Jake very soon discovers that his parents have been keeping secrets from him, the sort of secrets that can be pretty life-changing. Like the fact that in the past they were agents for The History Keepers, a secret agency of time-police, and that instead of being at a kitchen-fitters' trade event in Birmingham they have gone missing somewhere in history, most likely sixteenth century Venice. Of course, Jake takes all of this in his stride, and even decides to accompany a couple of teen History Keeper agents on their rescue mission by hiding on their time-travel vehicle of choice, in this case a sixteenth century Genoese merchant galley. Yes, suspension of disbelief is certainly the order of the day, but so is pretty much any other time travel story.

I intimated earlier that the characters are not exactly three dimensional, but that does not mean that they are not fun to read. Aside from Jake, there is also the kick-ass Topaz St Honore (Jake's parents are not the only ones who try to keep secrets from Jakes); the totally self-obsessed Nathan Wylder (possibly the greatest agent if the history of The History Keepers... well, he thinks he is); and Charlie Chieverley, technical whizz, but certainly not your typical, reserved geek-type. I think readers in the 9+ age group will love reading about this foursome of young heroes, and most will be able to identify with at least one of them in some small way. As the book progresses we slowly begin to find out a little more about what makes each of them tick, but I have a feeling that the sequel will bring more revelations as to their various backgrounds.

The plot itself is at times a little predictable, but not to the point that young readers will be put off as there are also enough surprise twists and bombshell reveals to not only keep them turning the pages of this volume, but also eagerly waiting for the sequel, whenever that may be. Going back to my original comments about the TimeRiders series, this book certainly compares pretty favourably, although it is aimed at a slightly younger audience; it certainly does not contain the levels of violence that occasionally appear in that other series. On the press release it states that author Damian Dibben has worked extensively as a screenwriter, and The History Keepers does feel very cinematic. It comes as little surprise to me I then discovered that Working Title have optioned the book, but as we know the journey between optioning and a final film at the cinema is often a long one. Every publisher and film maker is desperately looking for the new Harry Potter, but this probably isn't it. However, could it be the next Percy Jackson? Maybe. 

Guest Post by Johnny O'Brien (Author of the Jack Christie Adventures)

The very first book review I posted on the Book Zone back in October 2009 was for Day of the Assassins by Johnny O'Brien. I can't remember why I chose this book specifically to kick-start my blog, other than that I had really enjoyed its time travel adventure storyline. Since then Templar have published the sequel, Day of Deliverance, which I reviewed last September and which is now available in paperback. Johnny has now very kindly written a guest post for the Book Zone which I want to share with you today - the first part is written in Jack Christie's voice (a very nice exclusive for the Book Zone), and then this is followed up with a Q&A in which Johnny tells us a little more about his books:

Jack’s blog post 

I am going to start writing all this down because I am not sure where it is really going to end and whether it’s finished yet. It’s been all quiet on the Revisionist front for a good few months, but they’re still out there and everyone at VIGIL seems to be getting twitchy. It’s not helped by what happened today. Angus and I were down at old Gino’s – I’ve got to tell you that Angus’s eating habits are getting worse – a Ginochino and four chip butties. Gross. When that last chip butty started to leak and the ketchup went all over the place – tell you, it looked like some kind of nuclear accident. Anyway, Angus had the bright idea of going up to the old fire tower at the top of the forest on the bike. We’re not supposed to be up there for a start. Anyway, first we nearly mow down this hiker on one of the trails and then when we get to the fire tower at the top of the hill (great views by the way), we find that someone’s been living up there. There’s all his stuff there and, here’s the spooky bit, there are a couple of books – one called ‘Principles of Quantum Mechanics’ and the other is Shakespeare and it’s opened at an entry in Hamlet, and it’s one of the speeches that I have learnt for the school play we’re doing with Beattie. How weird is that? But that’s nothing to what happens next. Even Angus is getting a bit spooked at this point, we don’t know who this guy is or whether he’s going to come back at any minute so we decide to leave. Just as we go, I see a letter pinned to the back of the door. It’s addressed to me. Yep. Me. I nearly have a heart attack. I rip it open and... this is what it says:

“Jack,

I had hoped to be able to meet you in person and have time for a proper talk. However, I fear that VIGIL may soon learn of my location and therefore I have had to leave in haste. This is a sad time for me. You already know about my exile from my former colleagues in VIGIL. It grieves me that, because of this, I have not been able to see you or your mother over the past nine years. But now, I also find myself in disagreement with my friend Pendelshape and the Revisionist team. We were once so unanimous in our opposition to VIGIL. But now. . . Some months ago we started work on a new timeline simulation – one that aims to bring about great good for humanity. However, I could not accept further development of this simulation before I knew that you could be safely isolated from VIGIL and brought over to our side. Pendelshape and my Revisionist colleagues have become frustrated by my attitude, to say the least. We have argued and now, fearing their retribution, I have left them. Furthermore, with your safety in mind, I have, as of today, taken the unprecedented step of warning VIGIL of what I know of Pendelshape’s plans. I now find myself alone in the world – a fugitive. I never wanted to put you in this position or to expose you to all you have experienced. However, I live in hope that we can one day meet and that you will join me in my mission.

Dad”

This letter – it’s from Dad. I can’t believe it. And then it all comes together. He was the guy we nearly knocked over in the woods on the bike, and he’s been holed up here – a fugitive from VIGIL and now from this own guys – the Revisionists. Now he’s running away. I’m confused and I’m scared. And judging from the letter, I’m not the only one who’s scared. He’s talking about a new timeline simulation. That might be gobbledygook to you – but I know what that means – after all I was the one that got transported back in time to 1914 to the assassination in Sarajevo and nearly got killed in the process. Basically, it sounds like the Revisionists are planning to try and make another change to history. I’m with VIGIL on this one – it’s incredibly dangerous – and if that is their plan they will need to be stopped. I’m standing there, trying to work out what it all means, what to do, I’m thinking about Dad and if I’ll ever see him again... and then it all kicks off. The whole tower starts shaking and there’s a helicopter landing outside (yes – a helicopter) and a bunch of Landrovers and some guys with dogs. It’s VIGIL. They’ve been tracking my movements (of course – how could I forget) and they’ve already worked out that something’s up. I look at Angus and he knows what I know.

It’s starting again.

Johnny’s Q and A

How would you describe the Jack Christie books to potential readers?

The Jack Christie books are action stories which have a time travel theme involving our modern heroes (Jack and Angus) in real historical events (like the assassination in Sarajevo in 1914, the defeat of France in 1940, Elizabethan England and the Armada in 1588).

Day of the Assassins is the first in the series and is based just before the First World War. I got the idea when clearing out a cupboard at my Dad’s home in Scotland. It contained all this memorabilia from the First World War - when my Grandfather fought in the Irish Guards. There was all sorts of stuff including uniforms, medals and even a citation from Winston Churchill. My Grandfather was injured in the war and this triggered the idea for the book. Basically, it got me thinking about the choices people make and the consequences that follow – even from quite trivial decisions. This made me think about the causes of the First World War – and the trigger point of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914. I wondered what I would have done if I had been there – would I have stopped it and thereby perhaps prevented the war. It was a small jump from that to Jack and Angus – ordinary kids who go back in time and face exactly that choice.

Why Day of Deliverance?

The second book in the series is called ‘Day of Deliverance’. I wanted to do something Elizabethan – because it is such a fantastic period of history. Not only have you got the great political and religious turmoil of the age but you have this incredible artistic renaissance – Shakespeare, Marlowe and much more besides. It was then a case of looking for a possible historical turning point during the period around which to build the plot and so I came to focus on the Armada – which of course is one of the great stories in European history.

What about mixing real history and made up history?

The Jack Christie books involve the heroes in real turning points in history. And there are notes at the back to help you understand what is real and what really happened. Basically, I wanted people to have a great read but also maybe learn something in the process about history, so the notes are to help that. It does take quite a lot of research and you find yourself asking yourself some pretty odd questions. Here are a few:

- Would a fourteen year old boy fit inside the muzzle of a main battle gun on HMS Dreadnought? (Answer – yes, if he is particularly weedy).

-In Napoleon’s march to Moscow in 1812, how many of the 422,000 troops that set out made it back? (Answer: 10,000).

- What did Gavrilo Princip have in his hand and drop before he shot the Archduke Franz Ferdinand? (Answer: a sandwich. Sensible – never try and kill someone with a sandwich, it takes a long time and usually doesn’t work).

- Why do we light fires on bonfire night? (Clue: little to do with Guy Fawkes);

- Do people really free climb up the Colleges of Cambridge? (Yes – and have done so for centuries)

- What kind of beer would you drink in a London pub in 1588? (Many varieties – Mad Dog and Stride Wide are Jack and Angus’s favourites).

What’s next for Jack?

Day of the Assassins and Day of Deliverance will be followed by Day of Vengeance which is all about the Battle of Britain, defeat of France in 1940, the visit of Hitler to Paris in 1940 (check out Youtube for actual footage of this sinister historical event) and the German Vengeance programme. ‘Vengeance’ comes out in September and hot off the press and you heard it here first on The Book Zone (For Boys) – the fourth in the series is about China and the Taiping rebellion... twenty million people died in this event – more than in World War One – but you’ve never even heard of it, have you?

~~~

My huge thanks go to Johnny for taking the time to write this for The Book Zone. Please come back later in the week when I will be running a competition where you could win signed copies of the two Jack Christie books, and I will also be posting a link to an extract of Day of Deliverance.