The book of beasts is the final book in the Hollow Earth trilogy and is the sequel to Hollow Earth and Bone quill so this review has some ***SPOILERS***. If you prefer to read books in a series without ***SPOILERS*** then stop reading now and check out Hollow Earth and Bone quill first.
Em and Matt have never been separated before for any real length of time - but now centuries lie between them. Worse still, they don't know if the other is still alive because the distance between them has severed the connection they share. In the Middle Ages Matt and Jeannie are stranded on Auchinmurn Isle, and they are not alone - they share this time with friend and foe. Solon and Carik are no strangers to Animare and Guardians in their own time, but Matt and his wild and impulsive ways push their boundaries and their trust. Matt's father Malcolm is the greatest foe, determined to release the beats of Hollow Earth - and he has powers he shouldn't have.
In the present Em is dealing with her own problems, and overprotective mother and grandfather and an enemy that will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Em wants to get back to the Middle Ages to rescue Matt and Jeannie, but she has to work in secret because no one wants to loose her as well, but secrets can be dangerous. While Em works in secret she has no idea that her plans will put her squarely in the path of her grandmother - a grandmother she never knew existed, but has always that Em and Matt are part of her own plans for the future. The twins are on a collision course with destiny, and if they fail the whole world will fall.
The Hollow Earth trilogy has been an interesting and engaging read, although this final book in the trilogy has left me feeling a little disappointed. To be fair, part of that sense of disappointment no doubt comes from the fact that it has been two years since I read the last book in the series and my mind was scrabbling to reconnect witch characters and events. The structure of the novel also took some getting used to, because it switches back and forth between time periods in a way that feels a little "clunky", like at times the Barrowman's were trying to make the gaps fit the chapters rather than putting gaps where they were a "best fit".
The imagination and world building that has gone into the Hollow Earth trilogy is truly impressive - especially because it was so original yet felt so real and compelling because of the connection to a place and time that feels authentic. You get a sense reading the stories that it is very "real", it is very easy to suspend belief and get caught up in the story and the characters. In some ways it feels like the series was a little shaky on the dismount, at times I was distracted and found it hard to focus on the story because it felt like time was moving wrong and that things weren't as clear as they could have been - but that could have been part of the challenges of having a connected story happening in two different periods of time.
The Barrowman siblings are talented and have a flair for creating believable worlds and characters, and I sincerely hope that there are more books to come. Writing books for older children can be challenging, because although the readers are ready for more challenging writing they are often not emotionally ready for the challenges of reading teen books - John and Carole E. Barrowman have created a challenging and engaging series that will provide many enjoyable hours of reading for children aged 9 years and up. I would recommend reading this series as a marathon read if you can get your hands on the whole series because you will enjoy it more if you don't have to wait for the next book in the series (this is the voice of experience speaking!).
If you like this book then try:
- Hollow Earth by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman
- Stone heart by Charlie Fletcher
- Finding the fox by Ali Sparkes
- Under the mountain by Maurice Gee
- The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
- Lionboy by Zizou Corder
- Northwood by Brian Falkner
- The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
- Museum of thieves by Lian Tanner
- Lee Raven, boy thief by Zizou Corder
- The roar by Emma Clayton
Reviewed by Brilla
Torchwood is a shadow of what it once was - the only ones left are Jack and Gwen, and they are no longer working together as a functioning team. Now a stay at home mum with little Anwen, Gwen's days are full of the mundane day-to-day tasks of shopping, feeding Anwen, and kept their home. It is a far cry from the action packed days with Torchwood, and occasionally she has moments where she misses the excitement and action of tearing round the streets of Cardiff in the Torchwood SUV with Jack, Ianto, Owen, and Tosh - but those days are long gone, or are they? At the supermarket Gwen discovers a woman who seems to be suffering from a mental breakdown, complaining about the noises around her that no one else seems to be hearing. Gwen tries to help but ends up getting into trouble herself - in more ways than one.
It soon becomes clear that something is happening to not only Gwen and the woman from the supermarket, but also to women in different parts of the world. For no apparent reason women are hurting themselves and the people around them, leaving the dead and maimed in their path as they react to things that they are seeing, hearing, and feeling. As more and more women show symptoms Jack suddenly reappears in Gwen's life, struggling to remember something buried deep inside his memory - a memory triggered by what is happening to women, something connected to a memory from his time spent in Peru in 1930. As the "masochistic madness" affects more women, Jack realises that he is going to have to revisit his past if he wants to save the future.
I love the original Torchwood series (here read series one and two as the original series) and one of the driving forces of the series is the mystery of Captain Jack Harkness, a character that at times seems completely devoid of passion and humanity as she destroys one being, while seeming to be a tortured soul with his heart on his sleeve when he fails to save another being. Gwen Cooper is the other driving force of Torchwood, a huge dose of common sense and can-do-attitude who often brings Jack back from the brink of doing something heinous. Brought back together in Exodus code, it "felt" like a genuine episode of the series, almost like a script that escaped the writers room to end up as a book instead - at times I could hear the voices of Captain Jack and Gwen (especially when she starts a sentence with "Jack").
One of the interesting things about Exodus code, and one of the things that really kept me absorbed in the story is the amount of connection you have with Captain Jack Harkness and the emotions and thoughts that run through his mind - in the series he is often difficult to read and it is only the extremes of emotion that you tend to see, but here you really connect with him and what he is going through. I loved this book and spent an afternoon reading it because I didn't want to put it down, I wanted to finish reading the story to see how it ended and I was not disappointed. The writing partnership between John and Carole E. Barrowman is amazing, and I hope (really, really hope) that they add to the Torchwood universe with some more novels because Exodus code was everything you hope for in a television series tie-in and nothing you hope its not. A fantastic read.
If you like this book then try:
- Torchwood: First born by James Goss
- Something in the water by Trevor Baxendale
- X-files: Ruins by Kevin J. Anderson
- X-files: Antibodies by Kevin J. Anderson
- X-files: Skin by Ben Mezrich
- Doctor Who: The kings dragon by Una McCormack
- Doctor Who: Nuclear time by Oli Smith
Reviewed by Brilla
Bone quill is the sequel to Hollow Earth and so this review has some ***SPOILERS***. If you prefer to read books in a series without ***SPOILERS*** then stop reading now and check out Hollow Earth first.
Em and Matt have been left reeling from the revelations of the past few weeks - not only do they now know that they are the children of a Guardian and an Animare, they now also know that their mother bound their father into a painting because he wanted to use them and their amazing creative abilities to open Hollow Earth and release the monsters on the world. That was enough to take in, but now their mother is also missing and they have no idea where to find her.
When they accidentally animate themselves into a painting at the time it was painted, Em and Matt realise that they have the ability to travel through time if they use a painting from the time they want to travel to. It is a stunning revelation, one that comes just in time for them to embark on another dangerous and thrilling adventure when they discover an old painting in the house that seems to hold a clue to help them solve the mysteries that surround them. It is a stressful time, a time when they not only face the challenges of being Animare and Guardian combined, but also a time of normal change for any 'tween, a time of growth, loss, and changing relationships between siblings.
Bone quill is the second book in the Hollow Earth series and continues on from the first book without pause, a chance for a single deep breath before plunging back into the action. It has been a while since I read the first book in the series, but this book feels like it carries on with the same amount of energy, a story that is driven forward by imagination and a deft touch with the writing. The story is not dumbed down, and it doesn't use too much high level language, which makes it a great read for confident younger readers and for teens who are struggling a little with reading.
The characters are well thought out, and there is obviously a well thought out mythology here, a set of rules that may be bent by the unique abilities of Em and Matt, but you can still see how they make sense. This is an enjoyable and engrossing series and I hope that there are a few more books in the series to keep readers hooked for many years to come. This series has the potential of developing a cult series, and you can easily see it transformed into a movie or TV series - maybe even with an appearance from one of the authors? A great read for boys and fantasy lovers who enjoy a story that blends into our own time and place.
If you like this book then try:
- Hollow Earth by John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman
- Stone heart by Charlie Fletcher
- Finding the fox by Ali Sparkes
- Under the mountain by Maurice Gee
- The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
- Lionboy by Zizou Corder
- Northwood by Brian Falkner
- The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
- Museum of thieves by Lian Tanner
- Lee Raven, boy thief by Zizou Corder
- The roar by Emma Clayton
Reviewed by Brilla
Matt and Emily (Em) are not your average 'tweens - they're twins for starters, but they also have inherited an amazing ability from their mother, the ability to imagine things into being. It seems like an amazing gift, but it draws attention to the twins at a time when their powers are growing and changing. Their mother seems distracted, and when they slip up and animate themselves into a painting in a public place, their mother Sandie decides to move the family to a safe place.
Barely escaping from the people who want to stop the twins from using their powers again, Matt and Em discover that their grandfathers house is more than they could ever have dreamed of - a place where their abilities are not only accepted, but they are also encouraged to develop them properly. But the Abbey is not the safe place Sandie thought it would be, danger has followed them to the island, and the twins will need to untangle the confusion around them if they are to understand what is really happening - and to prevent a disaster that could spell the end of the world as we know it.
This is the first book in a series from John Barrowman and his sister Carole E. Barrowman, and if the rest of the series is written to this same high standard then there could be another cult classic series for children to enjoy now and for decades to come. The writing style is vivid and engaging from start to finish, making one of the most remarkable reads for children I have read in a long time, a truly original storyline that takes you by surprise at times, while also keeping the idea that there are "rules" that keep things moving in a sensible way.
The characters are well written, and Em and Matt in particular keep you focused on the story as the plot unfolds for them and for the reader at the same time. There are the good guys and the bad guys, but neither group is cliched or over written - these are real world characters with flaws and good points. Without giving away too much of the plot, you get to see Matt and Em grow through the story, becoming more aware of the world around them and their place in that world. This is not a short read, but it reads so well that you don't tend to notice that it is over 300 pages long.
If you like this book then try:
- Stone heart by Charlie Fletcher
- Finding the fox by Ali Sparkes
- Under the mountain by Maurice Gee
- The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann
- Northwood by Brian Falkner
- The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee
- Museum of thieves by Lian Tanner
- The roar by Emma Clayton
- The storm begins by Damian Dibben
Reviewed by Brilla
