The Book Zone: history

Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Wednesday, 12 August 2015

Review: Fire Girl by Matt Ralphs

Twelve-year-old Hazel Hooper has spent her whole life trapped in a magical Glade created by her mother, Hecate. She's desperate to meet new people and find out about the world. And, more than anything, she wants to be a witch. But when her mother is kidnapped by a demon - everything changes . . .

Suddenly Hazel is alone in the world. Well . . . not quite alone. For it turns out that Hazel does have magic - she's just not very good at controlling it. And she may have accidentally created a grumpy familiar in the form of a dormouse called Bramley.

Determined to rescue her mother, the young witch and her mouse set out to track down the demon and find Hecate. However, it turns out that life outside the Glade is far more dangerous than Hazel ever could have imagined. Witch Hunters are everywhere - and the witches are using demons to fight back!

Luckily for Hazel she manages to enlist the help of a handsome boy called David, and his drunken master, Titus White, who are expert demon hunters.

And witch finders . . .

At first glance, long time readers of The Book Zone may think that Fire Girl by Matt Ralphs might not be the kind of book that I would jump to read, especially given the size of my TBR pile. Seriously, most people who know me and my blog know that I am not a fan of talking animals! However, when said book arrives with a hand written note from a publicity manager who I trust to make excellent recommendations, describing the book as "so fantastic", then there was no way I was going to leave it unread. And I'm damn glad I didn't as Fire Girl has rocketed its way into my Top 10 books of the year, and Bramley the (talking) dormouse is now one of my all time favourite fictional animals. In fact, I can even identify the exact moment Bramley endeared himself to me: as fledgling witch Hazel endeavours to escape from the magical hedge that has kept her safe from the outside world he urges her "That's it, witch-child, burn it all down". The best one line of dialogue in any book of 2015!

Most writers will tell you that the question they ask themselves the most when starting to craft a story is "What if?". In the case of Fire Girl I can imagine the questions may have been something along the lines of:

What if there really had been witches in England back in the 17th Century?
What if the whole English Civil War had taken place because Charles I believed that "I know the dangers Wielders could pose if driven underground. I deem it wise to grant them protection - that way I can control them", whilst Oliver Cromwell proclaimed that "For a pure England, I'll burn every witch".
What if a vengeful witch who has seen his kind hunted and burned, were willing to do deals with Baal himself in order to destroy Cromwell and his forces?

In Fire Girl writer Matt Ralphs has used the answers to these questions as the starting point in the creation of a story that is a masterful blend of alternative English history and thrilling magical fantasy. It is a world of where witches have familiars, some of them animal and some of them nasty demons that belong in the depths of hell. A world where the majority of witches just want a peaceful life, but are hunted or denounced for being different. A world inhabited by a young girl who so wants to have magic like her mother, but when her powers emerge there is no longer anyone around to nurture and advise, except for a grump dormouse who would rather he hadn't been 'chosen' as a witch's familiar.

Everything about this book is great: the plot, the pace and above all the characters. Hazel is courageous yet lacks self-confidence, reckless yet trusting, even if those she has to trust may be the ones who end up calling for her to be burnt as a witch. Bramley the dormouse is grumpy and argumentative, but deep down feels a tight bond to Hazel and will go to great lengths to help her, even if she does occasionally drive him nuts with her impetuousness. Bramley also plays another important part as a character - this story gets very dark at times, and Bramley has the role of the jester, bringing comic relief to lighten the mood when required. As well as Hazel and Bramley there are a host of supporting characters, who aren't all exactly as they first appear, and the author uses these in ensuring that the plot has enough twists and turns to keep every reader clinging to the edge of their seat.

Fire Girl will be released on 13th August in the UK and my thanks go to the fabulous Catherine Alport at Macmillan for bringing this wonderful book to my attention and for sending me a copy to read.

Tuesday, 11 August 2015

Review: The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands

Potions, puzzles and the occasional explosion are all in a day's work for young apothecary Christopher Rowe. Murder is another matter.

It's a dangerous time to be the apprentice of Benedict Blackthorn. A wave of mysterious murders has sent shockwaves through London, and soon Christopher finds himself on the run. His only allies are his best friend, Tom, courageous Molly, and a loyal feathered friend, Bridget. His only clues are a coded message about his master's most dangerous project, and a cryptic warning - 'Tell no one!'

The race is on for Christopher: crack the code and uncover its secret, or become the next victim . . .

Back before, and in the early days of, this blog I enjoyed reading a fair amount of adult historical mystery/thriller fiction. With the Tudor, Civil War and Restoration periods being of particular interest to me I loved CJ Sansom's Shardlake series, S.J. Parris' Giordano Bruno books, James Forrester's Clarenceaux trilogy and Susanna Gregory's Thomas Cahloner series. Sadly, these days I have a lot less time for adult books, but that does mean that when a historical mystery thriller for younger readers arrives in the post it can suddenly find itself promoted straight to the top of my TBR pile. The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands is one such book.

It is thoroughly refreshing to read a straight-up historical mystery story for middle grade readers, that does not have any kind of fantasy element to it. There is no magic, no dragons (or other fantasy creatures), no element of the supernatural, and the book is all the better for it. Although a fan of the period in which it is set, I am certainly no expert so would be unlikely to spot any historical inaccuracies. However, whether accurate or not (and I have a feeling that author Kevin Sands has been very thorough with his research), the setting of Restoration London, and its sights, sounds and smells, rang very true in my mind as I raced through the brilliant story.

The Blackthorn Key is set in 1665, five years after the restoration of the monarchy in England, and in a period where there is still a great deal of mistrust. People have to be careful what they say for fear that a neighbour or even a family member might report them for treason. It is an era rife with political machinations and intrigue that lends itself perfectly as the setting for a historical mystery story. It is also an era when the role of the apothecary enjoyed a higher status in the eyes of the people, and they were very much the medical practitioners of choice for many. Some of these were probably little more than quacks and conmen, but many considered themselves serious scientists and healers, striving to make leaps forward in medical science.

Christopher Rowe, the hero of The Blackthorn Key, is apprenticed to one such apothecary. His master, Benedict Blackthorn, is kind and generous, traits that were rarely shown by a master to his apprentice in those times. This is all the more fortunate for Christopher, who is an overly inquisitive and adventurous boy - two personality traits that do necessarily mix well when surrounded by chemicals that can be mixed together to create gunpowder and other destructive materials. However, when it appears that some kind of mysterious cult is killing off local apothecaries it is exactly these kind of traits that come in useful, and as the violence comes even closer to home Christopher finds himself tasked with solving a mystery that involves cracking codes, and hunting down the secret to a destructive material that could completely change the balance of power, not just in England but potentially across the whole of Europe.

Christopher is a fabulous character that all readers, young or old, will warm to immediately. The opening chapter, in which we are introduced to Christopher, is one of the best I have read for some time - it tells us everything we need to know about his personality, his relationship with his master and the work they do, and his best friend Tom, in a manner that is exciting and very funny. Its lightness of tone makes the moments darkness and sorrow that follow later in the story all the more heart wrenching, and the story all the more thrilling.

2015 is proving to be yet another golden year for outstanding middle grade fiction, and The Blackthorn Key is another of my favourite books of the year so far. The Blackthorn Key is perfect for lovers of mystery thrillers, and young readers will find the London of 1665 brought completely alive for them as they race through its back streets and alleyways with Christopher. This book was easily as thrilling, fascinating and well written as Sansom's Matthew Shardlake books, and I am overjoyed to discover that it is the first in a planned trilogy. Please can we have more mystery thrillers like this for middle grade and YA readers!

The Blackthorn Key is due to be published at the beginning of September by Puffin in the UK and by Simon and Schuster in the USA. My thanks go to those lovely people at Puffin/Penguin Random House for sending me a copy to review.

Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Review: Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans by Gary Northfield

From a smelly watering hole deep in the heart of the Serengeti to the ferocious clamour of the Colosseum, join Julius Zebra and his motley menagerie of friends as they gear up to be ... gladiators! Only if they win the love of the Roman crowds will they win back their freedom. But do Julius and his pals have what it takes to succeed in a world where only the meanest and toughest survive?

Apart from a small number of outstanding graphic novels (e.g. Bryan Talbot's Grandville, Blacksad by Guarnido and Canales) I don't do books featuring anthropomorphic animals. They just don't interest me - I'd rather be reading about humans with human characteristics than animals with human characteristics. This is the only reason why this first Julius Zebra book by Gary Northfield has sat unread on my TBR pile for some time, as I have really enjoyed some of his work in the Beano and The Phoenix comic. However, last week I finally got around to picking it up to read and I loved it.

Imagine Gladiator, Ben Hur or Spartacus, where the hero is replaced by a rather nervous, slightly daft and totally naive zebra, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Rumble with the Romans. Add in a healthy dollop of toilet humour and a host of other equally bonkers animal characters and you have a book that will cause many a giggle and guffaw amongst the 7 pluses (and most likely their parents as well).

Julius Zebra (don't call him Debra! Or Barbara! And definitely DO NOT refer to him as a stripy horse!) is a fabulous main character, with just the right level of daftness. Having been separated from his family (he's a nervous sort, and tries to sneak home from the stinky crocodile-infested waterhole) he is captured and finds himself transported to Rome, in the company of an equally daft warthog and a grumpy lion. Hearing the word circus, he naively believes he is on his way to see some juggling monkeys, and even when he reaches Rome it takes some time for the light bulb to come on. By then it is too late, and he finds himself as arrow/spear fodder for the gladiators at the Colosseum. However, more by luck than judgement, he ends up fighting back (something an animal has never done) and he quickly becomes the people's champion. However, this is only the beginning of his woes.

Gary's illustrations are even funnier than the text that accompanies them, and they aren't just there as pretty pictures for show either - they are mostly used to continue and add to the story, in much the same way as a comic works. Natutally, being from the pen and brain of Gary Northfield they are invariably laugh-out-loud funny, and make this a perfect book for kids who love a mixture of crazy drawings and bonkers written prose (not quite as silly as Mr Gum or Stinkbomb & Ketchup-Face, but pretty damn close in places).

The book isn't just an in your face laugh-fest either. Northfield has worked on the Horrible Histories books and has obviously taken note of their success at delivering historical fact in an amusing way that appeals to kids, as in Rumble with the Romans he very cleverly weaves in all kind of historical elements about gladiators and Roman life in general, both in the writing and in his fantastic illustrations. He even includes a glossary at the end of the book, listing many of the historical terms that he has used within his story.

All-in-all Rumble with the Romans is a wonderfully funny and anarchic take on the gladiators of Ancient Rome and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, whenever it is released. My thanks go to those fab people at Walker for sending me a copy.

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Review: Young Houdini: The Magician's Fire by Simon Nicholson

The world's most famous magician. But before his name became legend, who was young Harry Houdini?

New York City, 1886. Harry Houdini is just a penniless street urchin dabbling with a few escape tricks. But when a well-known magician goes missing in mysterious circumstances, Harry and his friends, Arthur and Billie, are sucked into a deadly adventure.

Now Harry must put all his extraordinary skills into action - not just to solve the mystery - but to stay alive. Because when he falls into the clutches of some of Manhattan's most dangerous villains, his spectacular escapes won't be for show - they'll be a matter of life and death!

In recent years we have seen a number of famous characters' origin stories written for the middle grade age group. Young Sherlock Holmes and Young Bond are the most obvious examples, but there is also Andy Briggs' excellent Tarzan reboot, featuring a young Lord of the Jungle. Now we have The Magician's Fire, the first in Simon Nicholson's new series featuring a Young Houdini.

Obviously this book differs from those others I have mentioned in that the main character is a real life historical figure, and whilst the real Houdini did lead a very exciting life through his theatrical escapades, an accurate biography of his younger years would not make for a hugely exciting series of 9+ readers. Thus, the author has had to take more than a few liberties, and this is very much a work of fiction. I can't think of too many other examples of this off the top of my head, other than the brilliant The Secret Journeys of Jack London by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon and the recently published The Case of the Missing Moonstone by Jordan Stratford, but I am sure there are many more examples out there.

Historical literature purists will no doubt turn their noses up at the liberties that Simon Nicholson has taken in the interest of producing an entertaining piece of fiction, and I am sure there will be a few less than favourable reviews produced by these killjoys. However, I very much enjoyed the fast-paced and exciting story that Nicholson has created for his young Houdini. The young Houdini is teamed with Arthur and Billie, two other very likable characters who join him in investigating the mysterious disappearance of a magician who Harry sees as his mentor in the magician's craft.

Each of the three young friends brings different skills to the investigation - Harry has a keen Sherlock-style eye for detail, although he has a tendency towards recklessness and acting before thinking through the consequences of his actions; Billie, like Harry, is from a poor background but she has grown up on the streets to become a practical, resourceful and streetwise young lade; and Arthur brings the brains to the mix - he is the only one of the three from a privileged background, has grown up surrounded by books, which he has used for company in the absence of any kind of attention or paternal love from his busy father.

This first book is a cracking start to a new series and I'm really looking forward to reading its sequel, The Demon Curse, which is due to be published next month. Although the mystery in The Magician's Fire is fully resolved, the author does leave us hanging at the end of its final chapter, with promises of what seems to be a secret society showing a great deal of interest in our young heroes. I have a feeling this is only going to create more exciting and dangerous adventures for Harry and his friends.

My thanks go to the fab people at OUP for sending me a copy of The Magician's Fire to read and review.

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Review: The Black Crow Conspiracy by Christopher Edge

It’s 1902. London is looking forward to the new King’s coronation and ignoring the threat of war from across the sea…

Penelope Tredwell, the pen behind bestselling author, Montgomery Flinch, is cursed with writer’s block. She needs a sensational new story or her magazine, The Penny Dreadful, will go under. So when a mysterious letter arrives, confessing to an impossible crime, Penny thinks she has found a plot to enthrall her readers: the theft of the Crown Jewels by the diabolical Black Crow.

Ghostly apparitions, kidnap and treason – this is the stuff of great stories. But what if it’s all true?

If you have not yet discovered the fantastic Penny Dreadful series by Christopher Edge then you are in for one hell of a treat. The Black Crow Conspiracy is the third book featuring main character Penelope Treadwell, a teen girl who inherited and now runs one of London's bestselling magazines, The Penny Dreadful. The magazine became so popular because of the grisly horror stories it prints, stories supposedly written by one Montgomery Flinch, but are in reality all penned by Penelope herself. However, this being the Victorian era, it would not be seemly for a young lady to be writing, let alone publishing, such macabre tales of horror. Penelope therefore employs an actor to be the public face of Montgomery Flinch, allowing her to write in secrecy.

This is not straight historical fiction -the first two books, Twelve Minutes to Midnight and Shadows of the Silver Screen, could quite easily be stories within the pages of The Penny Dreadful, with their mix of action, adventure and elements of the supernatural, and this third adventure for Penelope and her friends is no exception to this.

Several years have passed since the events of Shadows of the Silver Screen, and it appears that then good people of London have moved on. Sales of The Penny Dreadful have dropped as people begin to turn to stories of crime and detection, and naturally a certain Arthur Conan Doyle gets a mention. To make matters even worse, Penelope is suffering from severe writer's block, and is struggling to get even a handful of worthy words written, let alone a whole story.

In an attempt to get over this Penelope comes with the idea of running a competition, whereby members of the public can submit story ideas, in the hope that some of them will be suitable for publication. Naturally, most of them are a load of guff, but one in particular gets Penelope's creative juices flowing, and it is soon in print. Unfortunately for Penny, and even more so for Monty, the story happens to perfectly reflect a dastardly crime that took place weeks before the story was published, and he is carted off my the police under suspicion of stealing the Crown Jewels. So begins an adventure that see Penelope and her friends chasing down a villain who has his eyes on one thing only - the throne of Britain itself.

I loved the first two books in this series, so when I received a copy of The Black Crow Conspiracy from the fab people at Nosy Crow I was both excited, and also a little concerned as to whether writer Christopher Edge would be able to maintain the quality in a third book. My concerns were completely unfounded, and in fact this turned out to be my favourite of the three. Rather cleverly, in my opinion, Christopher Edge has moved his characters and their story on by jumping ahead two years. Victoria has passed away and with Edward on the throne a new era is blooming in Britain. Europe too is changing rapidly, and politics across the continent are becoming increasingly complex, with various nations jostling for superiority. Christopher Edge uses all of these historical events to construct a fast-paced mystery story, with his trademark elements of the supernatural, and a very believable alternate history plot.

This book and its predecessors are perfect for 9+ readers, and they have equal appeal to boys and girls. Penelope is a great protagonist, and anyone who claims that boys do not enjoy stories with a female main character should be shown this book as an example that debunks that myth. In Penelope, Christopher Edge has created a female lead who is both a superb role model for girls, and also a kick-ass heroine who does not need to reply on a male character to save the day for her, despite living in an era when young women were expected to be demure and 'proper', with only a life of being a wife and mother to look forward to.

If you have a child who loves action and adventure stories then this series is well worth putting into their hands. Although there are supernatural elements, there is little in these books that is really scary, but enough to keep them excitedly turning the pages to find out what perils will befall our heroine next. Additionally, the historical aspects of the story may also engender an increased interest in the history of this era.

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

Review: Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne

The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission.

Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place . . .

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave tells the story of Alfie, a boy whose fifth birthday coincided with the announcement of Britain going to war with Germany in July 1914. That night Alfie's dad makes a promise to his mother than he will not go away to fight, a promise that last less than 24 hours. Four years on and people are still saying the war will be over by Christmas, exactly as they have been stating in each of the previous years. The letters from his father have stopped arriving and Alfie's mother has told him that his father is not able to write as he is on a top secret mission. Alfie fears the worst and wishes that his mother or grandmother or someone would be honest with him.

Unbeknownst to his mother Alfie has taken to skipping school several days a week in order to help supplement her meagre earnings by shining shoes at King's Cross Station. One day, whilst shining the shoes of a doctor, said doctor's papers go flying and as Alfie aids in their retrieval he spots his father's name and serial number on one of the sheets, with the name of a Suffolk hospital inscribed at the top. So sets in motion a series of events that sees Alfie heading off to Sussex in the hope of finding his father and bringing him home, whatever the consequences.

I read a lot of books. I always have, but since I started blogging I must read more than ever. Due to the volume I read some books are read, enjoyed and quickly forgotten (I also have a terrible memory). Some books linger in the memory for a little longer, for whatever reason. And then there are a small minority of books that take hold of your mind or your heart (or both) and simply refuse to let go. I read Stay Where You Are And Then Leave a month ago and even now it is still pops into my thoughts at least once a day, and John Boyne is another on the list of auto-reads.

After a couple of rather brilliant forays into the world of fantasy (Noah Barleywater Runs Away and The Terrible Thing That Happened To Barnaby Brocket), John Boyne has returned to the historical children's novel, the genre that pretty much made him a global name following the publication of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas. Much as I loved The Boy... the next two books really struck a chord with me and now Stay Where You Are has done exactly the same. I can't ell you how much I loved this book, and it is certainly a(nother) contender for my Book of the Year.

Next year is the centennial anniversary of the start of The Great War and so this is a timely release for a book that deals with one of the less spoken about horrors of that tragic time: shell shock. At the time, the condition was not at all understood and sadly many men were branded as cowards for their reaction to the horrors they experienced in the trenches, and in some case soldiers were executed for desertion that is these days thought to have been caused by shell shock. John Boyne writes about this mental illness incredibly well: he refuses to shy away from descriptions that might unnerve some readers, but he somehow also manages to add a tenderness to these scenes that will bring tears to the eyes of many readers, and his use of Alfie as his main character is the key to this.

This book is much more than just a story about a victim of shell shock though. I'm not expert historian, but for me John Boyne really brought alive the everyday travails of the people left at home. There is the conscientious objector who lives across the road from Alfie, and the abuse he experiences from people he had thought were friends for his supposed cowardice (and done so in a much better way than the truly atrocious Chickens that is on Sky One at the moment). There is also a glimpse at the way certain foreign nationals were treated as war broke out: Alfie's best friend Kalena Janáček, a girl born in the very street where the two kids live, and her Czech father are branded as spies by ignorant neighbours and then labelled Persons of special interest by the powers that be, shoved in the back of a van and taken away into custody.

As with all of his previous books for children John Boyne also manages to imbue this one with subtle humour, although he never makes light of the seriousness of the book's main themes. There is one scene in particular which really made me chuckle, as Alfie finds himself shining the shoes of the British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, chatting away to him with no clue at all as to who he is talking to. As readers we are also only able to guess as to who the man might be, our suspicions only confirmed when an unexpected person arrives on the scene.

As with many historical books, part of the real power of this story is in the subtly-included detail of the everyday lives of the characters and readers will find it very easy to empathise with all of them. There are many elements that make perfect discussion material for both English and History lessons. At school some of our Year 8s have just started studying The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in their English lessons, and I would not be surprised if this book became a study text for schools in the future. In fact, this is the kind of book that I think will grow to be loved by millions, and will one day deservedly surpass the huge success of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

Stay Where You Are And Then Leave is scheduled to be published on 26th September, and is a perfect read for children as young as 9/10, teens and right up to adults (okay... pretty much everyone, but do be prepared to find it lingering in your thoughts for weeks afterwards). My thanks go to the lovely people at Random House for sending me a copy to read.

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Review: The Fate in the Box by Michelle Lovric

Fogfinger rules Venice. His Fog Squad and spies are everywhere. The Venetians fear him and obey him. Every year one of their children is lost in a grisly Lambing ceremony. The child must climb the bell tower and let the Fate in the Box decide their destiny. Most end their days in the jaws of the primeval Crocodile that lurks in the lagoon. Or so Fogfinger tells them. But a chance meeting by a green apricot tree between Amneris and Tockle may be the beginning of the end for Fogfinger.

Silk and sewing, a magical glass kaleidoscope, mermaids and misunderstood Sea-Saurs, talking statues and winged cats, blue glass sea-horses, a spoiled rich girl and a secret society are just some of the ingredients in Michelle Lovric's exquisitely imagined and superbly plotted fourth fantasy set in Venice.

Writer Michelle Lovric takes us back to her beloved Venice in The Fate in the Box, her fourth book for children set in this magical city. As with her previous book, Talina in the Tower, this is a standalone novel that can be read without first reading her other books, although fans of her previous stories will take great delight in spotting the occasional familiar character, and in particular those foul-mouthed mermaids that first entertained us so much in The Undrowned Child.

Venice is in trouble again. Or rather, as this is set more than one hundred years before Michelle's other three stories, perhaps that should just be Venice is in trouble. The evil and dictatorial Fogfinger rules over the city with an iron fist, and anyone who speaks out against his rule seems to vanish overnight, with only rumours between locals giving any indication of where they may have gone. When Fogfinger came to Venice he brought with him his wonderful clockwork inventions, and now the elite of Venice have become fat, lazy and pretty useless as they rely on these contraptions to do pretty much everything for them. They do not even wind the machines themselves - the desperate and hungry poor are tasked with carrying out this soul-destroying job every night whilst the rich sleep. Fogfinger's devices are everywhere - the aforementioned crime of being caught saying something against the state is a common occurrence, given that the walls literally have ears, devices known as Anagrammaticular.

Yet again, the heroes of Michelle story are a mixed bunch of children; kids who in other circumstances would probably never have been friends, but who come together to fight against evil. Amneris is from a family renowned for their needlework, and she is tasked with the fine embroidery. Every morning without fail Amneris turns a mysterious kaleidoscope seven times, and then replicates the pattern with coloured threads. These designs are incredibly popular and keep the family well away from the doorstep of poverty. Tomistocle is much further down the poverty ladder, his mother being a water seller. He is from a family of kaleidoscope makers, but his father is long absent and Tockle, as he is known, has no idea where he is. And then there is Biri, a young con artist who lives off the streets, both of her parents having been exiled to Serbia for being members of the Piccoli Pochi, a secret society dedicated to overthrowing Fogfinger. Together these three must fight the evil of Fogfinger's regime whilst evading the secret police and the horrific Lambing - the annual ceremony where a child of Venice is sacrificed to keep at bay the Primaeval Crocodile that the city folk believe lives in the depths of the canal.

Seriously? Do I really need to write a review of this book? I have totally loved every one of the three Venice-set books that Michelle has already written for children. In my review for Talina in the Tower I stated that "Each one of these three books has contained a story that I have luxuriated in reading, the kind of stories I never wanted to finish, but when they did they left me feeling complete" and this statement stands for The Fate in the Box as well. With this, her fourth book, surely it is time that Michelle is lauded by all as one of the current greats, along with the likes of David Almond, John Boyne, and even Neil Gaiman. I certainly enjoyed this a lot more than I did The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Again, at the root of this story is the classic battle of good against evil, and Michelle Lovric writes evil very well indeed. Fogfinger is possibly her most devious and despicable villain to date, and his control of Venice is absolute. He has cleverly managed to wheedle his way into the affections of the city's elite, and then though his mechanical creations has created a reliance amongst them stronger than any Class A drug. The Lambing Ceremony is a perfect example of just how much the people rely on him - they will even 'allow' children to be sacrificed because Fogfinger says that it is required. This, right from the very beginning of the book, we are left wondering just how the three children who are our heroes could possibly survive against such evil, and our hearts pound as readers as they experience peril after peril.

Michelle's imagination is up there with the very best of writers around at the moment (and yes, I do include the aforementioned Gaiman in that statement), and she is writing stories that nobody else is producing for children at the moment: wildly imagined fantasy stories, with a firm grounding in the historical Venice, but with the city reimagined so well that readers will struggle to spot the fine line between what is real history and what is the product of the author's sublime imagination.

These stories are so unlike the majority of books that I read and yet I really, really love them. As a history buff I naturally can't help but love that aspect of the story. Venice is also one of my favourite cities out of those I have visited and so I love this element as well. I also adore Michelle's characters - I cheer on the heroes and I love to hate the villain(s). I also love the way that Michelle plots her stories so expertly - there are twists and turns and red herrings aplenty, and I love trying to guess how the plot will unravel.

I could wax lyrical about The Fate in the Box, and its predecessors, for some time, but I appreciate that I am beginning to ramble (again) and if you're not going to pick up one of Michelle's books based on what I have written so far then you probably never will (and it will be your great loss, I tell you). Somewhere I have a must used book mark that bears a quote by the great Mark Twain. I think it goes something like: "My books are like water; those of the great geniuses are wine. Fortunately everybody drinks water". Yes, I drink a lot of water, but every now and again I like to partake of a fine wine, and Michelle Lovric's books are among the finest of fine wines available.

My thanks go to the ever lovely people at Orion for sending me a copy of this book to read.

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Review: Freaks by Kieran Larwood

The Freaks are a band of misfits, trapped in a nightly Victorian sideshow. There's Wolf-girl, Sheba, with her amazing sense of smell; Sister Moon, who can move at the speed of light; and Monkey Boy, ace climber and human stink bomb. But during the day, the Freaks decide to put their extraordinary talents to use. And in a world of child-snatchers, grave robbers and dastardly doctors, they solve the mysteries no one else cares about, including why London's poorest children are being snatched from the banks of the Thames.

Towards the end of last year I received an envelope full of A4 full colour, glossy press cards from the lovely people at Chicken House, and this one leapt out at me for three reasons: the book title, the cover and then the blurb. Chicken House had one their job well - they had me securely hooked, reeled in and left waiting for it to be released. Long time readers of The Book Zone will know I am a big fan of books set in the Victorian era, especially those promising a mystery needing to be solved, and with the added element of the freaks I knew I wanted to read this book well before Kieran Larwood wrote a short piece about it for my Coming Up In 2012 feature.

Freaks is an exciting, fun mystery story, perfect for 10+ readers, and the second book I have read recently that I think would translate brilliantly to the comic book format. The freaks of the books title are like a team of Victorian X-Men, each with his or her own unique gifts, that are sadly viewed as mutations or aberrations of nature by the general public. There is Sheba, the wolf girl, whose skin is covered in fine hair; Monkey Boy, one of the most disgusting characters I have read in a children's book for some time, who has a tail and can climb like an ape; Sister Moon, kick-ass ninja girl; Mama Rat, and her colony of performing rats; and the very large, and superhumanly strong, Gigantus.

Despite the book following the adventures of the team of freaks as they attempt to discover who is abducting the young Mudlarks from the banks of the Thames, this book is very much Sheba's story. We first meet her in Pilchton-on Sea, confined to a cage in a run down, seaside freak show (or what is left of it). Sheba is very much more than a girl covered with hair though - she is intelligent, has taught herself to pick locks and has a sense of smell to rival a bloodhound.

Other than a spell in a workhouse, Sheba has next to no memory of who she is, where she came from, who her parents were, or if Sheba is even her real name. She is little more than a slave, forced to 'perform' for anyone who was bored enough to pay a penny to view her and the two-headed sheep she shares a shack with, and the future looks bleak and lonely until she is sold to another freak show owner and finds herself heading for London. Although technically still a slave, at least she is no longer alone, as she finds herself in the company of the aforementioned freaks. And it isn't long before the team find themselves up to their necks in mystery - a hunt to find missing children that belong to some of the poorest and most destitute families living in London. A mystery that will have them fighting for their lives against a gang of rather nasty villains (Kieran Larwood does very bad villains).

Freaks is pretty much everything a 10 year old reader could ask for in a story. First up, it is funny, exciting and nail-biting in equal measures, with a plot that races along without being overfilled with action scenes. The characters are wonderfully realised, and I hope there will be a sequel so that we can find out even more about the various 'freaks'. Kieran Larwood also brings Victorian to life in a way that will have young readers finding it easy to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of the city as it was back then.

My thanks go to the good people at Chicken House for sending me a copy to review.

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Review: Black Arts by Prentice and Weil (The Books of Pandomonium Book 1)

Elizabethan London: a teeming city of traders and thieves, courtiers and preachers, riff-raff and quality, cut-throats - and demons. When scrunty Jack the 'Judicious Nipper' picks the wrong pocket at the Globe Theatre, he finds himself mixed up in an altogether more dangerous London than he could have imagined - a city in which magic is real and deadly.

An outbreak of devil-worship has led to a wave of anti-witch fervor whipped up by the Elect, a mysterious group of Puritans recognizable from their red-stained right hands, led by the charismatic Nicholas Webb, a growing power at Court. Rumour has it that he wants to purge the city entirely and build a New Jerusalem. Jack has his own reason for hating him: he saw him kill his mother.

Helped by Beth Sharkwell the Thief Princess of Lambeth, Kit Morely the Intelligencer and Dr Dee the Queen's Wizard, Jack pits himself against Webb's Puritans. But this is no straightforward struggle. Things are not as they seem. In fact, ever since his encounter with Webb, there has been something wrong with Jack's vision. He keeps seeing things. Demons.

March 2012 has to have been one of the greatest months ever as far as the release of totally brilliant children's and YA books is concerned. I stopped announcing my Book of the Month some time ago, but if I was forced to make a decision (and it wasn't for a certain sequel by Will Hill) then Black Arts by Andrew Prentice and Jonathan Weil would be an incredibly strong contender indeed.

I received an early proof copy of Black Arts back before Christmas, courtesy of the lovely people at David Fickling Books, and I the information on the press release simply shouted "Read me now!" and so I dropped everything and did as instructed. That press release mentioned: the setting, London (London is unsurpassed as a setting for magical fantasy/horror in my opinion); in the year 1592 (one of my favourite eras for historical fiction); Satanic atrocities; a shadow world of criminals and fanatics, spies and magicians. I almost felt as if that press release had been directed at me personally, it ticked so many boxes. I was not to be disappointed.

I'm a little bit lost on how to start telling you about this book as there is simply so much I want to say. It is the perfect blend of fantasy, horror and historical fiction, with none of these 'genres' elbowing for dominance over the others. I mentioned this to my friend Liz from My Favourite Books as she had just started reading it, and we agreed that some writers of fantasy/horror set in an actual historical period (as opposed to a fantasy world of their own creation) often get bogged down in trying to ensure that all the historical details are correct, meaning that a great deal of the fun in their story gets forgotten about. The reason for this is the history nerds who seem to take great pleasure in hunting through books like this desperately trying to find some kind of historical inaccuracy. I can't attest to the accuracy of the historical aspect of Black Arts (and frankly I don't care in a story this good), but the writers certainly made it feel very real to me, and yet also managed to ensure that their story was an incredibly rewarding, fun read (some people may think I am a little bit twisted for finding fun in what is such a dark book.... perhaps I am?!)

Sometimes when reading a book you can tell that the author had great fun writing it, and I have no doubts at all that this was the case with Black Arts. The primary piece of evidence that suggests this to me is the dialogue between the various characters. In a lesser book, the characters might have come across as stereotypes of the traditional Oliver Twist street urchin/crime story, albeit with healthy doses of magic and horror added to the mix, but the quality of the dialogue in Black Arts makes the story stand head and shoulders above its peers. Having met Prentice and Weil at the recent launch of their debut I can now easily imagine the fun they had in writing the dialogue for their richly imagined characters. The characters themselves are perfectly created, especially the villains of the story who are particularly nasty and ruthless (and again, more fun must have been had in the creation of these bad guys - P & W make exceedingly ~~good~~ bad villains).

12+ children who have read all of the Harry Potter books and particularly enjoyed the darker aspects of those books as the story progressed to its final conclusion could do a hell of a lot worse than turn to Black Arts for their latest fix of dark horror. The plot is exciting, and it twists and turns constantly as characters cross and double-cross each other, and with this much mystery and suspense I defy any young person to read this book and find it boring.

David Fickling and his very small team really know what makes a fantastic children's/YA book. They don't publish many but it seems that everyone that comes out from them is an absolute corker. The impression I am always left with in finishing a David Fickling Book is that David and his team have a passion for great stories, and getting these into the hands of young people. Long may this continue!

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Review: Road To London by Barbara Mitchelhill

Thomas is desperate to join 'the players', he'll do anything to watch them perform, even skip school and risk a caning. But when Thomas's rule breaking gets him in trouble with more than just his school master, he has to flee his home and make his way to London. Here he meets his hero, Shakespeare, and his players. But behind the excitement of the theatres is a grimy world of deception, poison and treason. Will Thomas manage to uncover the plot in time? And will he manage to save Shakespeare from a fate worse than death?

I love reading thrillers set in Tudor and Elizabethan England. It was a time that was ripe with plots, conspiracies and political intrigue as a result of the English Reformation, a time when people were sometimes executed at the merest hint of a treasonous word spoken. It is a period in time that most young people are taught about in British schools, and whilst there are many adult thrillers set in this era, the same cannot be said for children's and YA literature. I was therefore very excited to receive an email from author Barbara Mitchelhill back at the beginning of 2012, giving me more information about her forthcoming book, Road To London, as part of my Coming Up In 2012 feature. Barbara promised action, adventure and intrigue, and her book certainly delivers on all counts.

Road To London tells the story of Thomas Munmore, a boy who lives in Stratford-Upon-Avon, idolises the town's most famous son, William Shakespeare, and dreams of becoming an actor in Shakespeare's company. As a result of a badly failed attempt at poaching to raise some money to run away to London, Thomas finds himself on the run from the local law and his hangman's noose, heading for London but without a penny to his name. Eventually he makes it to London, despite meeting some pretty nasty people along the way, and manages to blag his way into working for the Chamberlain's Men. It is at this point where the plot begins to thicken and Thomas finds himself slap bang in the middle of a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth herself.

The historical aspects of this story are wonderful. Barbara Mitchelhill has a skill for bringing Elizabethan England alive for her readers, and confident young readers will take delight in picturing the setting and inhabitants of a London very different to the one we know today. It is a filthy, cesspit of a city full of overwhelming, nausea-inducing smell and dangerous criminals who would cut your throat in broad daylight just for a few coins.

The story itself moves at a cracking pace, the short chapters and many moments where Thomas and his friend Alice find themselves in great peril, as well as the handful of comedic moments provided my members of the troupe and Alice's common-as-muck mother, will have readers turning the pages rapidly. However, the book is not perfect, as it sadly lacks the twisting, turning, more complex plotting that is apparent in the very best children's books being published these days.

Road To London is a good, entertaining read for history loving 10+ children, and perhaps even younger ones if they are confident readers. It is due to be released on 5th April, and my thanks go to the good people at Andersen Press for sending me a copy.

Friday, 20 January 2012

Review: The Court Painter's Apprentice by Richard Knight

'Paint what you see, Johann; not what you think you see.' This is the advice that Hugo, master portrait painter, gives to his protege, Johann. But Johann's talent for painting the truth runs deeper than anyone can ever imagine. Johann soon discovers how changing the portraits he paints, can change the lives of his subjects. But with the power to bring good fortune to those around him, Johann is soon tempted to change his own...

I quite often find that small independent publishers publish some great stories that fall short because of the quality of the editing. This is most often simply down to manpower issues – less staff means less time to edit as thoroughly as might happen with one of the majors. This is MOST DEFINITELY NOT the case with Catnip Publishing – every one of their books that I have read so far has been a little gem in one way or another, both as a story and in the quality of its editing. Catnip really know their stuff, and most importantly of all they know what makes a good story that will engage a young reader. Great books from Catnip that you may have heard mentioned on The Book Zone or elsewhere include Edwin Spencer: Mission Improbable by JD Irwin, Clash by Colin Mulhern, and The Dead Ways by Christopher Edge. Now you can add The Court Painter’s Apprentice by Richard Knight to that list.

The Court Painter’s Apprentice is a great example of quality rather than quantity. My proof copy weighed in at only 175 pages, and yet the story it contains is not missing any of the key elements one would expect in a book for the 9+ age group: a gripping plot; an intriguing and original premise (the concept of being able to change a person’s destiny and character by making subtle changes to a painting of them); an element of horror that will send chills down the reader’s spine; a handful of great characters who are written in such a way that the story, however fantastic, is completely believable; and a cracking, mysterious twist towards the end.

This is the perfect book for all young readers who like a good mystery story, but especially for those who enjoy historical fiction or who are developing an interest in art and paintings. However, its appeal is not, I believe, solely restricted to middle grade readers as I think it holds something for everyone. Sometimes when I am reading a book written for children or Young Adults, and I spot things that do not appeal to me as an adult, I have to remind myself that I need to look at the story as if I were a member of the target market. With this book I never had to make this mental shift, and I feel it has great cross-generational appeal.

My thanks go to the wonderful people at Catnip for sending a copy of this book to review.

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

Coming Up in 2012 #6: Road To London by Barbara Mitchelhill

I am loving the sound of Road To London, due from author Barbara Mitchellhill in April. As some of you will know I love historical fiction, especially that set in the Tudor period, and this one sounds like it is right up my street. Adventure? Check. Intrigue? Check. Blood and guts? Check! Put all of those together and you have a great sounding, boy-friendly story set in my favourite historical era. Result! I can't wait to read this one, and here's Barbara to tell us a little more about her book:

Thomas lives in Stratford upon Avon where everyone knows the madly successful local hero, William Shakespeare – a writer and actor with loads of money. Thomas wants fame and fortune, just like him. He plans to join Shakespeare’s acting troupe in London but he needs money to get there. When his attempts at poaching fail spectacularly, he has to flee the town and travel the road to London on foot. Exhausted by the journey, Thomas finds the city full of rogues and thieves and cutthroats and, although he manages to join Shakespeare’s Chamberlain’s Men and soon enjoys strutting upon the stage, he discovers that the life of an actor is not as easy as it might seem. When he uncovers a plot to kill the Queen, things turn decidedly nasty.

A Tudor adventure with blood and guts and all that!

Tuesday, 3 January 2012

Coming Up in 2012 #1: Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric

Throughout January 2011 I ran a feature on The Book Zone titled "Coming Up in 2011" where I asked authors with new stand-alone or first-in-series books due out in that year to write a short big-up about their new book. This seemed like quite a popular feature at the time and so I have decided to run it again this year.

The first book I want to showcase is Talina in the Tower by Michelle Lovric. If you tend to judge a book by its cover then you will already be shouting that it doesn't look particularly boy-friendly. However, neither did the covers of her previous two books for younger readers, The Undrowned Child and The Mourning Emporium, and yet both of these books are easily amongst my favourite of the past couple of years. As you will read in Michelle's description, Talina in the Tower is not a sequel to these two stories, although it is set in Venice and I hope will be just as magical as Michelle's other two books set in that amazing city. Here is Michelle to tell you a little more about Talina:

Talina in the Tower is the tale of a boy who loves to argue and a girl who is more passionate than she is careful. Ambrogio dreams of being a barrister. His friend Talina, the daughter of an archivist, has earned herself the reputation of being the most impudent girl in Venice. When she’s not campaigning for egrets’ rights, or terrorizing the school librarian, Talina adores reading, cooking and magic.

The story takes place in a sinister nineteenth-century Venice, one inhabited not just by frightened people but also by bully-boy tomcats, educated rats and ravenous vultures. In the dead of night, savage hyena-like creatures called Ravageurs prowl the waterways of Venice, snatching men and women, not to mention children and cats.

When Talina’s parents disappear, she and her loyal cat, Drusilla, are forced to go to live with her sinister Guardian in his gaunt and lonely tower on the northernmost edge of the city. In the tower’s kitchen, Talina cooks up an unusual problem for herself: a complete change of identity – and species. It is only Ambrogio who recognizes Talina in her new state. The two friends become caught up in a fast-paced adventure, one in which Talina can never be sure whether she is more human than cat, rat, vulture … or Ravageur. If she wants to stay in girl form, fiery Talina must stay serene and reasonable. And yet, as the monstrous plans of the Ravageurs become more menacing, brutal and sarcastic, who would NOT be inclined to lose their temper?

The story explores ideas of ownership and identity. Who owns a city? What can a child own? How can you stay true to yourself, and yet grow as a person?

Set thirty years before The Undrowned Child and The Mourning Emporium, this book stands alone. But readers of the earlier books will meet up with a couple of old friends – in their younger days.

Huge thanks to Michelle for writing this for us. Talina in the Tower is published by Orion and is scheduled to be released at the beginning of February. Michelle tells me that there will be more information about the book appearing on her website in January.

Monday, 26 September 2011

Guest Post by Harriet Castor (author of VIII) - Blog Tour Day 1

I have stated before on The Book Zone that I love history, although thanks to a poor teacher at school it was a subject that I neither loved nor excelled at as a teenager. I have also said that my favourite periods of English History are, in this order: The Tudor period; the period of the English Civil War and the subsequent Restoration; and the Victorian era. It was with huge excitement then that I read some time ago about a book called VIII by Harriet Castor that was scheduled for a 1st October release. If I could meet any one person from the history of Britain in would be Henry VII, and whilst he has been written about many times in adult fiction, and I have a number of brilliant non-fiction titles about his life on my shelves as well, to my knowledge there has yet to be a YA fiction title that focuses on his life. I was even more chuffed when the good people at Templar asked me if I would be interested in taking part in Harriet's blog tour, and I feel honoured to be launching that tour for Harriet here on The Book Zone with her post about the enduring appeal of Henry.

What is it with Henry?

by H.M. Castor

When you hear the name Henry VIII, what image springs to mind? A big-bellied guy with a beard, standing with his legs apart, eyeballing you from a 16^th-century painting? Or one of the Horrible Histories actors singing ‘Divorced, Beheaded and Died’, complete with the actions? Or perhaps Jonathan Rhys Meyers, as he appeared in the recent US TV series The Tudors, pouting moodily from a poster, draped in velvet and a wife or two?

Henry always seems to be with us in some form. Every historic house with a Henrician connection trumpets it to the rafters. Tony Robinson digs up his palaces on Time Team, David Starkey stalks through his chapels and libraries (when he’s not making incendiary appearances on Newsnight), and exhibitions of Henry’s armour /paintings /favourite ship are perennially popular. Why? Revolutionary things happened in Henry’s reign – that’s true. But some pretty nation-shaking events occurred in the time of Charles I and Oliver Cromwell, for example, and we don’t seem to find those men – as personalities – so enduringly fascinating.

The wife-killing aspect shouldn’t be underestimated, of course. Henry’s been called ‘the English Bluebeard’ and there’s a grisly fascination embedded in that ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died’ rhyme. But I think Henry’s status as a national icon rests on something else as well. Something of which we’re not, perhaps, consciously aware. Something that an in-depth knowledge of the Star Wars films might help illuminate. Let me explain.

Henry was a brilliant youth – unusually virtuous, we’re told, and built most definitely in the heroic mould: over six foot tall, muscular, good-looking and (annoyingly for his friends, no doubt) ridiculously talented at sports. His particular passion was for what today would be called an ‘extreme sport’: jousting. A sport so dangerous, men regularly made their wills before playing.

He had all this… and yet he turned, to use a well-known phrase, to the dark side.

This is an archetypal story, a fallen angel story – it’s like a myth, or a fairytale; one of those story patterns that have fascinated people of all ages for centuries. I suspect that if we don’t know this consciously, we sense it by instinct.

George Lucas has talked freely about how much use he made of myths and archetypes in the Star Wars screenplays. And one of the most crucial moments in the writing of my book VIII was the moment I realised just how similar Henry’s story is to Anakin Skywalker’s. Anakin: the young hero who becomes Darth Vader. He’s a golden, heroic youth who turns to the dark side – like Henry. He’s addicted to risk, to dangerous sports – like Henry. He’s very close to his mother – like Henry. And he loses her when he’s young – also like Henry.

In watching Anakin on-screen, we identify with his grief, his struggles with the temptations of the dark side… Why, I began to wonder, had no one ever shown me this aspect of Henry? Yes, there are plenty of books about him, and you can find detailed, fascinating accounts of what he did as well as speculation as to why – he needed a son, he was tired of his wife – but I’ve never read anything that made me identify with him… that drew me right into his mind, and made me understand why he acted in the extraordinary way he did.

The key to that question – why? – lies, I believe, in Henry’s childhood and teenage years: dramatic, traumatic years that usually we simply don’t hear about. And, despite the gap of half a millennium, there is so much here that modern readers can relate to: losing a parent; sibling rivalry; being the ‘other one’, not the favourite; desperate feelings of inadequacy. To top all that, just imagine: you are handed absolute power at 17 years of age. At your coronation you are anointed with holy oil – you and everyone around you believes this makes your very flesh divine. What does that do to your head?

In writing VIII I’ve set out to answer that question. I’ve taken the reader right inside Henry’s mind, not just to find the answer, but to experience it too.

http://www.hmcastor.com/

Twitter: @HMCastor

~~~

My huge thanks to Harriet for taking the time to write this post. I have read VIII and will post my review fairly soon - not only is it a brilliant historical read, but it is also a pretty scary thriller and I have a feeling it will become a popular book with both teens and adults.

Pages