Wereworld “7 Realms, 7 Beasts” Blog Tour and Review of Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling

I am really excited to be involved in the Wereworld "7 Realms, 7 Beasts" blog tour, taking place over the next week or so to celebrate the release of Shadow of the Hawk, the third book in Curtis Jobling's fab Wereworld series. My review of the book will follow a few words from Curtis, but by way of introduction to the great man, a short explanation about format of the tour is called for. In Shadow of the Hawk we get to see more of the amazing world Curtis has created, and even more importantly we get to meet more Werelords. Each day on the blog tour Curtis is going to introduce you to one of his new creations. He started off yesterday at I Want To Read That, so pop on over there once you have finished reading to find out more. For now, it's over to Curtis:



KRIEG, THE WERERHINO

One of the most experienced fighters of the Scorian arena, Krieg is the Furnace’s oldest surviving performing gladiator. The Rhino hails from the Blue Veldt Plains, one of Bast’s most ancient, settled lands. When the Catlords of the jungle marched south from their home, enslaving all who stood in their way, the Rhinos of Stroheim provided the greatest resistance. Krieg was the eldest son of King Otker, but his regal heritage counted for nothing when the Catlords exacted their vengeance upon the Rhinos. Taking away in chains of silver, Krieg was sold to the Lizardlords, a gift to Ignus’ arena for the amusement of the people of Scoria.

Every bit the image of a Rhino, even when in human form, Krieg’s neck is all but invisible, his head set deep within the thick folds of tough skin that cover his broad shoulders. His wide nose appears broken, flattened against his hard face, a trait particular to all of the Wererhinos, heavy horns ready to emerge at the moment’s notice. Renowned for having a fierce temper, Krieg long ago gave up all hope of returning to his homeland. Having been imprisoned for nearly twenty years, it seems unlikely Stroheim bears any resemblance to the city he was spirited away from in his youth.

Author’s note: Krieg steps into a familiar role for Drew, that of the ‘uncle’ he can confide in, turn to in times of need. While Duke Bergan and Duke Manfred were able to provide counsel in the earlier books of the series, taking a liking to him instantly, it’s more of an uphill struggle in the case of the Rhino. They’re from different worlds, with very different stories to tell, but their common ground – prisoners of Lord Ignus, enemies of the Catlords – ensure there’s room for their relationship to grow. In Drew, Krieg can see a lot of himself, albeit from many years ago, and with a remarkably different outlook. Being a grumpy old Rhino, he sees Drew as idealistic, a dreamer, little realising that the young Wolf’s determination runs deeper than that of anyone he’s ever met. Having a hot-headed ally who is as stubborn as a mule isn’t going to make life easy for Drew: he’s going to have to earn the Rhino’s respect. If that means he has to fight him, then so be it...

~~~

Huge thanks to Curtis for taking the time to write this for us. On Monday the tour will be continuing with an introduction to another Werelord, over at A Dream of Books. You should also head on over to Spinebreakers where you could win a signed set of the three Wereworld books that have been released so far.

Review

DREW FERRAN, THE RIGHTFUL KING OF WESTLAND, IS TRAPPED.

Enslaved by the Goatlord Kesslar, young werewolf Drew finds himself on the volcanic isle of Scoria, forced to fight in the arena for the Lizardlords. With the help of an unlikely ally, he must find a way to break free - but who has ever managed to escape?

Meanwhile, Hector the Wereboar flees the forces of the Catlords. Now on board the pirate ship Maelstrom, the enemy's net is closing in. Haunted by the spirits of the dead, Hector is soon left wondering who the true enemy is . . .

Be warned, reader. I will try my hardest not to include any spoilers about Shadow of the Hawk in this review, but I cannot promise the same about the previous two books in the series. If you have not yet read them then you may want to look away now.

It is no secret that I love the first two Wereworld books. The first was brilliant, and the second, Rage of Lions, even better. So much so that it made it into my list of top picks of 2012. I know that many others share my admiration for these books - so no pressure then Mr Jobling. 

Did I say pressure? The man must thrive on it as Shadow of the Hawk is yet another outstanding addition to the series, the only downside being that having finished I am now thoroughly annoyed that I won't be able to find out what happens next until the fourth book, Nest of Serpents, is published in June.

There is very little time in the story between the close of the last book, and where this one kicks off. Drew is held captive by the evil Kessler, a Weregoat who has made a name for himself as a slaver. He has only one plan for Drew - to deliver him to the Isle of Scoria and sell him as a slave. Meanwhile, his close friend Hector has managed to escape the armies of the Catlords, and is safely on board the Maelstrom, in the company of Manfred, Vega and Queen Amelie. I say safely, but that isn't strictly true - his dabbling in the dark arts is beginning to have quite an effect on the young Wereboar, but more about that later.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we are granted the opportunity to 'meet' a whole host of new Werecreatures in this book, and Curtis Jobling maximises this treat for his readers by taking his characters off to different places, just as Tolkien did in The Lord of the Rings. In The Fellowship of the Ring we are introduced to the lead characters, and then in The Two Towers Frodo and Sam head off for Mordor, whilst Pip and Merry are taken in a dfifferent direction by the Orcs. These diverging story strands enabled Tolkien to show us more of the incredible world he created, and Curtis uses a smiliar device in this book. Therefore, we get to meet a plethora of new characters on Scoria, where the enslaved Drew is forced to become a gladiator; and we also get to see other parts of Lyssia and its seven realms, and its inhabitants, as Drew and his party head out across the ocean. Mr Jobling seems to manage all of these new additions to his story with consummate ease.

Now that he is away from the friends he made in the first two books, we really get a chance to see how Drew grows as both a character, and as the rightful heir to the kingdom of Lyssia. His life has changed in a way that few young people can identify with - from farm boy, to prospective king, to slave/gladiator, all in a matter of months. Most young people would find this impossible to cope with, but the honest and loving upbringing that Drew experienced seems to have given him the foundations he needs to take all of this in his stride. In the first two books there were many moments where he suffered extreme (and totally understandable) self-doubt, but there were a few key scenes where his natural gift for good and kind leadership shone through. In this third book these moments begin to occur a little more often and we are now really beginning to see the potential king that lies within the boy. Drew also seems to be becoming more confident at leading, even to the point where he will lecture one of the realm's other kings about the evils of slavery. A king, it must be said, who could quite easily have Drew slapped in silver chains and executed for his disrespectful words.

Whilst all this is going on, there is of course the other plot strand running - that of Hector and his companions. I am sorry to say that the future is looking fairly bleak for Hector - he is now firmly attached to the vile of his dead brother Vincent, a spectre that is invisible to all except Hector, and who never misses a chance to goad his brother, gradually eating away at his self-esteem. It was a horribly fascinating experience to read as Hector slowly seems to descend into a kind of madness, the flames of his growing paranoia constantly fanned by Vincent's cruel taunts. Who knows where Curtis Jobling will take Hector next? Perhaps even betrayal of the people he called close friends? We will just have to wait and see.

There are two popular characters from the first two books in the series that are conspicuous by their absence in Shadow of the Hawk. Gretchen and Whitley also managed to escape the grasping claws of the Catlords at the end of the last book, but for the story of their adventures since we will have to wait until June. If you have seen the cover of Nest of Serpents you will probably have already guessed that they will feature quite heavily in that story. I guess Mr Jobling could quite easily have used their story as a third plot strand in Shadow of the Hawk, but instead he chose to focus on Trent Ferran, the son of the couple who brought up Drew as their son, and as good as being Drew's brother. As we discovered at the end of Rage of Lions, Trent is hungry for revenge on the creature he believes murdered his mother, and so we see him now riding with the armies of the Catlords, hunting and killing enemies of the new state. Will he find out the truth before it is too late, or will it all end in tears for the angry young man?

If there was a book award going for best series then Curtis Jobling would surely be on the shortlist, and if he won I for one would applaud the decision of the judges. If he manages to sustain the quality of storytelling across the remaining books in the series then the Wereworld books may one day become recognised as one of the best fantasy series for young people of all time.

News: Book Cover - Wereworld: Nest of Serpents by Curtis Jobling

On of the books I am most looking forward to reading in 2012 is Curtis Jobling's Shadow of the Hawk, the third book in his Wereworld series. I loved the first book, and then was completely blown away by the second, Rage of Lions, and I have a feeling that book three will be just as good (no pressure Mr Jobling). I am also really chuffed to have been asked to take part in the Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk blog tour - more details about that soon so please watch this space.

In the meantime, although the third book has not yet been released Curtis has already revealed on his blog the cover to the fourth book in the series, titled Wereworld: Nest of Serpents. It is yet another stunning cover from illustrator Andrew Farley - these books are going to look so good lined up on my book shelf come the completion of the series.

News: Book Cover - Wereworld: Shadow of the Hawk by Curtis Jobling

A few weeks ago the hugely talented Curtis Jobling tweeted an image of the cover to his third Wereworld book, Shadow of the Hawk, and I got so excited I asked him if he had a hi-res version I could show you all on The Book Zone. He very kindly sent through this image for the full wraparound cover of Shadow of the Hawk in all its glorious detail (and if you click on the image it should open up as super-sized). Yet another stunning cover from illustrator Andrew Farley. Not only that, but have a look at the story details on the back cover.... just a pity we have to wait until January 2012 to find out what happens to Drew next, after that cliffhanger ending to Rage of Lions.


(edit: You can now read my review here)

Review: Wereworld: Rage of Lions by Curtis Jobling

Young Werewolf Drew Ferran is the future king of Westland.

He has the makings of a great warrior - but first he must master the blade and the beast.

When Lady Gretchen is abducted by the Werelion Prince Lucas, Drew and his friends embark on a perilous chase to stop the prince fleeing to his homeland of Bast. As Drew encounters terrifying new Werelords along the way, he is led to the exotic city of Cape Gala, where the forces of Onyx, the Beast of Bast, await.

Now Drew must summon all of his courage and strength - because the Catlords are ready to attack . . . 

My first review of the 2011 was Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling. I opened that review with the following paragraph:

“Imagine a fantasy world on par with that created by Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings books, and then take away the orcs, elves, dwarves, etc. and throw in a werewolf. And some werelions. Oh yes, and whilst you're at it wererats, werefoxes, wereboar and even a wereshark. Add to this a huge amount of writing talent and the end product is Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling, the most exciting fantasy story I have read for years.”

Following that review I received a few emails from readers stating that they were going to go and buy the book based on my review, and specifically because of that opening Lord-of-the-Rings-mentioning statement. This played on my mind as I moved on to other books, and part of me wondered whether I had got a little too carried away in the excitement of the moment – had Rise of the Wolf really been that good? Nobody came back to me later calling me an idiot so I my worry gradually dissipated, until of course I received a copy of the sequel, Rage of Lions, from the generous people at Puffin. Would it live up to that dramatic opening paragraph of my review, or would I end up with egg on my face?

Oh my god! It is an amazing book. It is everything that Rise of the Wolf was, but turned up to 11. Rise of the Wolf now seems like Caffeine-free Diet Coke in comparison to this full-fat, seven spoonfuls of sugar, caffeine-laced beauty of a book. Why did I ever doubt myself? And what an easy book to review. Go back to my review of 1st January, read it carefully, and then just think bigger, better, faster, more:

More world building – I love this fantastic world of Lyssia and its people, and in this book we get to see so much more.

More fight scenes - aside from the world building, writing full-on action scenes that leave your heart ready to burst is one of Curtis Jobling’s huge strengths
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More Werelords (including a Ram, a Bull, and just wait until you read about the Cats of Bast).

More necromancy, darkness and despair (things get dark in this book – it is The Empire Strikes Back to Rise of the Wolf’s Star Wars)

More twists and turns than a twisty turning thing and more crossing, and double-crossing as the various factions in Lyssia vie for power, or change their allegiances to suit their own selfish purposes.

More jaw dropping moments – just wait to the final chapters of the book. You chin will be glued to the floor and you will be weeping with frustration at the thought of having to wait for the next instalment.

More details regarding the characters we already know – Mr Jobling answers the minority of critics who felt his characters needed more development in the first book.

Thank you Mr Jobling for these few more hours of sublime reading pleasure! What sort of bribe would you accept for an early read of the next book in the series.

News: Book Cover - Wereworld: Rage of Lions by Curtis Jobling

I really enjoyed Curtis Jobling's Rise of the Wolf, the first book in his Wereworld saga, when I read it back at the tale end of last year. It has since been a big hit in the school library, partly through my enthusiasm for it but also as a result of its eye-catching cover - with artwork by Andrew Farley and design by Patrick Knowles. The good news for Wereworld fans is that the sequel, Rage of Lions, is due out on the 7th July, and the cover art has recently appeared on Amazon. Thanks to Mr Jobling I have a higher resolution image of the cover to display for readers of The Book Zone. I am sure you will agree with me when I say that I think Andrew and Patrick have done a great job again, and it complements the cover of Rise of the Wolf brilliantly.

*** Interview with Curtis Jobling (author of Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf)

One of the things I enjoy most about writing this blog is the chance it gives me to occasionally interview authors whose work I have loved. Fortunately so far they have all been by email so I have never had to struggle with a st-uck-for-words fan boy moment. This is one of my favourite Q&A sessions to date, all thanks to the level of detail that Curtis has put into his answers. I am especially grateful for the time he has put into this as I know things are going pretty crazy for him at the moment, with the release of Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf just last week, and also the announcement yesterday that the book had been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize (and deservedly so in my opinion). So, onto the questions:

How would you describe your book Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf to potential readers?

What sets the nobles, royals and bluebloods of “Wereworld” apart from those of other fantasy novels is that they’re all therianthropes; shapeshifters and werecreatures. The king of the realm is the tyrant Leopold the Lion. There’s Duke Bergan, the Bear of Brackenholme and Count Vega, the buccaneer pirate prince who happens to be a Wereshark. With wicked Wererats, noble Wereboars, a feisty Werefox and a monstrous Wereserpent there’s a rich world to explore. The story follows a young shepherd boy, Drew Ferran, coming of age at sixteen and discovering he is the last in the line of Werewolves and the rightful king of Lyssia. He’s soon hurtling across the continent being chased by the King and his allies, out of the frying pan and into the fire, encountering exotic Werelords along the way. It’s pure fantasy adventure with a liberal dollop of horror thrown in for good measure!

What was the original inspiration for Wereworld?

My love of fantasy and horror ensured that whatever I attempted to write as a first novel would involve both of those genres, and as a lover of werewolves (from folklore through to cinema) the hairy fellows were an obvious choice. I used to live on the North Yorkshire Moors (“American Werewolf” country) and I’d often get time to muse about writing when I was walking the dog through the wilds up there. I was also aware of the old Welsh legend of Beddgelert that involves the slaying of a faithful hound that had killed a wolf, and there’s a nod to that early on in the book.

This is obviously the first book in a series. Do you know how many books there will be in the series and have you planned them out already?

I’ve completed the first draft of the second book in the series, delivering it to Puffin before Christmas, but there’ll be plenty of editing to do before its published in January 2012. I have books 3,4 and 5 in my head, ready to roll, but we need to see how well the first books are received initially. There’s such a broad canvas to play with when you consider its a world of Werelords, there are no shortage of adventures to write about.

I think the Werelord concept is great. Do you have a favourite werelord (other than Drew’s werewolf of course)?

I think it’d have to be the charismatic captain of the Maelstrom, Count Vega. As a scoundrel and a Wereshark you know instinctively what the man is capable of, and he’s a ferocious beast in battle. But as a writer he’s a lot of fun as he says the inappropriate things that other nobles wouldn’t dream of saying.

I expected Wereworld to be a horror story due to the werewolf theme, but it is definitely more of a fantasy story. Is this what you intended from the start?

First and foremost it is fantasy, but once you throw the werecreatures into the mix then there’s obviously huge potential to indulge in horror. The first time I saw a monster transformation as a kid was Lon Chaney Jr’s The Wolfman, tame by today’s special effect standards but powerful and frightening to me as a seven or eight year old. That’s stayed with me to this day. It’s nice that the Wolf is the good guy here though – the monsters are different beasts altogether.

My love of fantasy goes way back to Where The Wild Things Are, the book that got me into reading as a little one. I’ve grown up reading plenty of fantasy sagas, especially in my youth, and if ever I was going to write a novel I think it was a given that my first would be fantasy. And it’s epic too (I hope!) so we’re looking at a long story here, a journey for not just Drew but the other characters. I only hope that I “deliver” with each book, as a pet gripe of mine is fantasy sagas that never seem to get anywhere, neverending with no sight of the finish line. I’m hoping that each of the Wereworld books show the characters growing, and ends on a satisfying reveal/triumph/defeat (delete as applicable).

You are well known for your abilities in art and design – did you create drawings of your characters to help you write the story?

Not with Wereworld, no. It’s been a completely different experience for me as obviously being an illustrator I’m used to providing images to go with my stories, via picture books and animation. I’ve provided a map in the front of the book, which I did for myself to help me get my head round the world of Lyssia, and I’ve also provided black and white pen & ink illustrations as chapterheads throughout the book. So I’ve managed to get a little arty. But the cover I didn’t go anywhere near – I did a rough sketch of my own for it, but it was all horror, no fantasy, and wouldn’t have been appropriate. Andrew Farley did a fabulous job with the cover art, and that’s something I couldn’t have done even if I tried.

In the front of the proof copy of the book I have it mentions that you are a long time fan of horror and fantasy. What are your favourite books and/or authors from these genres?

My favourite fantasy novel is probably The Hobbit, coincidentally the first novel I ever picked up from my local library (I must have been around nine or ten years old). The Lord Of The Rings is a close second. Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials held me captivated from start to finish, the author effortlessly creating a series of fantasy worlds which could have populated a whole series for any other writer. I do love a good horror story though, and have always enjoyed short stories with lovely dark twists such as Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected. My favourite horror novel of recent years was Max Brooks’ World War Z, a wonderful documentary-style account of the zombie apocalypse that features numerous eye-witness reports. Simply brilliant. There are other horror books I could mention but they’re all 18+ certificate and there’s a time and a place!

Do you have any favourite horror/fantasy films or TV shows?

Favourite horror show would be the recent Frank Darabont adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead. I’m a sucker for zombie movies. Fantasy movies were my staple as a kid, and it’d be rude not to mention The Lord Of The Rings movies as the benchmark for fantasy movies today.

Which books/authors did you read as a child/teenager? How do you think they compare with the children’s/YA books available today?

As mentioned earlier it was Tolkien’s books I devoured as a teenager, although I spent an awful lot of time playing roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons which I’m sure have influenced me to this day. I often found myself running the games, sharing that task with my friends, and loved spinning my own yarns this way. It’s nice to see D&D is still popular today – a friend bought it for my 10 year old son before Christmas – although the rules have moved on a lot since my day. I’d need my old maths GCSE to understand the thing now!

There seem to be more books aimed at YAs nowadays – I’m sure there aren’t, but the success of the Potter and Twilight books has thrown the genre into the spotlight. I think it’s terrific that there’s so much choice out there for the readership, as well as the older classics that they can explore should they delve a little deeper. My favourite non-fantasy books when I was a boy were The Machine Gunners and Danny, Champion of the World, and it’s nice to see those books are still popular to this day.

You have had a very successful career in animation and illustration – what inspired you to turn to writing for a Young Adult audience?

It was a natural progression. I’d been told for years by editors and publishers the same thing: “You want to be writing for older audiences”. So I did. I’ve had to earn my spurs all over again – my success in those other areas (animation and picture books) counted for nothing when I was attempting to break into novel writing so I was starting from scratch. My first attempt at writing a novel didn’t work, the structure wasn’t quite right and there were flaws, visible to both myself and folk who reviewed it. But I’m stubborn. I put that manuscript to one side and started writing Wereworld intent on learning from my previous mistakes.

Do you have any funny stories you can tell us from your time working on Wallace & Gromit or Bob The Builder?

My time on W&G was brief (a work experience gig) although I did manage to cause Aardman Animation to grind to a halt during the filming of A Close Shave by screwing up a toastie order one morning (that was one of my jobs as a gopher, ‘the toastie run’ – it’s like the Kessal Run but with more butter.)

Bob was a phenomenon, and I don’t know whether I’ll experience that much success with a show again, although my new series RAA RAA The Noisy Lion (screening later this year on CBeebies) does look pretty awesome. I had the most fun on Bob when I was asked to do Bob-style caricatures of the various famous celebrities who cameo-d on the show, including Elton John, Chris Evans and even Noddy Holder. Highlights of the careers of each of those three chaps, I’m sure you’ll agree...

You worked on one of my guilty pleasure films, the wonderful Mars Attacks. Did you get to work closely with Tim Burton and if so what was he like?

I never got to meet Tim on Mars Attacks, as I was painting and trimming and seeming puppets from the studios of Mackinnon & Saunders in Manchester. M&S are the studio who made the puppets for Bob coincidentally, as well as being the clever people behind my other shows Frankenstein’s Cat and RAA RAA. It was my first paid gig in animation and was a joy to work on with a great bunch of people. Tim still works with M&S to this day, as the puppetmakers provide him with his cast for his and other directors’ stop motion animated movies.

If you were to have a dinner party and you were able to invite any three people alive or from the past, who would those three people be and why?

Eric Morecambe – the funniest man who ever lived, and whose folks’ lived next door to my dad’s folks in Morecambe.
JRR Tolkien – the granddaddy of fantasy literature. My old literary agent met him once in a pub in Oxford, and she found him sat staring into an open fire smoking his pipe. Gandalf, it appears, was no work of fiction.
Louis Prima – most people know of Louis as the voice of King Louis from Disney’s Jungle Book, but to me he’ll always be the greatest live entertainer. I’m sure Freddie Mercury nicked all his moves off Louis. Check out Just a Gigolo/I aint Got Nobody medley for sheer genius.

I know Rise of the Wolf has only just been published, but is there anything you can tell us about the second book in the series?

I’m sworn to secrecy! The second book (first draft) is written and is with Puffin. I can tell you that Drew’s epic adventure is only just beginning in Rise of the Wolf and we’re introduced to some fantastic new characters and places in book two. I have books three, four and five in my head but I think we have to see how well received the first two novels are before I embark on that particular quest...

Thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else you would like to say to readers of The Book Zone?

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf yet... what are you waiting for? Get out there and dive in to the Seven Realms!

~~~

Again, my huge thanks go to Curtis Jobling for taking the time to answer my questions, and he is right - you really should get out there and get your hands on a copy of Wereworld, the people at Waterstones know what they're talking about.

Review: Wereworld - Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling

‘YOU’RE THE LAST OF THE WEREWOLVES SON. DON’T FIGHT IT . . . CONQUER IT.’ When the air is clear, sixteen year-old Drew Ferran can pick up the scent of a predator. When the moon breaks through the clouds, a terrifying fever grips him. And when a vicious beast invades his home, his flesh tears, his fingers become claws, and Drew transforms . . . Forced to flee the family he loves, Drew seeks refuge in the most godforsaken parts of Lyssia. But when he is captured by Lord Bergan’s men, Drew must prove he is not the enemy. Can Drew battle the werecreatures determined to destroy him – and master the animal within?

Imagine a fantasy world on par with that created by Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings books, and then take away the orcs, elves, dwarves, etc. and throw in a werewolf. And some werelions. Oh yes, and whilst you're at it wererats, werefoxes, wereboar and even a wereshark. Add to this a huge amount of writing talent and the end product is Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf by Curtis Jobling, the most exciting fantasy story I have read for years.

I imagine that many readers will make the same incorrect assumption about this book that I made: i.e. it is about a werewolf so therefore it must be a horror story. I couldn't have been more wrong - yes, there are some pretty nasty moments throughout the book, but this is truly a traditional fantasy story, although the kind I feel would still have great appeal to horror fans who claim that they "don't do fantasy". The main title, Wereworld, is the big clue to this books genre, for that is exactly what Curtis Jobling as created - a whole new world where the ruling elite are the werelords, all of them shapeshifters, and all able to turn into their own particular animal. Some of these werelords belong to long and magnificent dynasties, others have fallen from grace and now serve the more powerful shapeshifters in some way or another. 

Like all great fantasy writers Curtis Jobling has not just created a world for his story, but in Rise of the Wolf has has also created a back history, elements of which he reveals teasingly as the story progresses. This left me completely torn in two as a reader - dying to know how the events of the story would unfold, but also desperate for the action to be put on hold so that I could find out more about this incredibly original fantasy world. This made for perfect reading in my opinion - the pages kept turning and the chapters flew by long into the night as I became totally immersed in the story. This man really knows how to tell a story!

As you can probably guess from my praise so far, the world building is one of the huge strengths of this book, but a well-built fantasy world does not on its own make a great story - for that you need believable characters who readers will grow to love and hate, and Rise of the Wolf is certainly not short of these. First up, there is Drew, a farm boy who lives a simple life with his parents and brother. He is most definitely a mummy's boy, his father very obviously favouring his brother, with whom Drew has very little in common. But he is happy. However, one night something happens that finds Drew on the run, wrongly suspected of a heinous crime committed by a hideous beast, the like of which Drew has never before seen, and so begins Drew's epic journey of discovery. For he is the only remaining werewolf, last in a long line of an ancient royal line, but also a threat to the power of the land's ruler - the evil and merciless werelion King Leopold.

For many authors it can be quite a challenge just to create one or main characters that will pull the reader into their world. However, along with world-building the other gift that Curtis Jobling has as a writer is that of character creation as his fictional world of Lyssia is populated with myriad colourful characters that somehow all manage to stick in the memory of the reader, whether they have appeared in chapter after chapter, or have only made a fleeting appearance in a couple of key scenes. Some of them will make your laugh, some of them may make you cry. Some of them will most definitely pop up in a nightmare at some point in the future, I am sure. The beautiful thing about the whole werelord concept is that as readers we have pre-conceived notions of the personalities that various animals might have, and then when reading about the werelords in their human forms we automatically associate those traits with them. This helped me create very vivid pictures in my mind of what these various characters looked like, thus making them all the more memorable. Sometimes when reading large scale fantasy stories populated with vast numbers of characters I find myself having to stop and remind myself who some of the main characters are; in Wereworld this did not happen even once.

This really is the kind of story that could get reluctant readers hooked on books, although a degree of confidence when reading is needed. I know a good number of academically able boys whose parents despair because they supposedly find book boring, and would rather be playing on their X-Boxes, PS3s, and so on. Having just equipped myself with an iphone 4, and wasted a great deal of time playing with games and apps, I wonder whether I would have read as much if all these fab gadgets had been around back then. What I do know is that Wereworld is one of those books that would have pulled me away from those other distractions and had me enthralled from the first page until the very last, leaving me hungry for the next instalment. 

If you have a 12+ boy (or girl) who loves fantasy, or who you want to get reading more, then Wereworld: Rise of the Wolf is THE book to buy this January. My thanks got to Jayde at Puffin for sending me a copy - watch this space for a Q&A session  with Curtis Jobling, coming up on 12th January.