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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Finmere Tingewick Smith had a strange beginning. Abandoned as a baby on the steps of the Old Bailey he’s grown up as a ward of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown. He’s lived a double-life for sixteen years – sixteen years today - spending alternate years at two very different schools and lying to everyone to keep his separate lives separate.
Today he’s going to get some answers.
Or so Fin thinks.
But answers only lead to more questions … and to a murder that Fin has to investigate or risk being accused of committing himself. So who wielded the lethal double-edged sword, and why does he find it so disturbingly familiar? Finding out is going to launch Fin into an incredible adventure, drawing on all the contacts and skills of his double life – and taking him from the London he knows into the realm of the mysterious Knights of Nowhere …
Finmere Tingewick Smith has never known a normal childhood. Found as a baby on the steps of the Old Bailey, he’s grown up under the guardianship of the strict Judge Harlequin Ward who ensures that he spends alternate years at an inner city comprehensive and a private boarding school. Forced to keep these lives separate, the only constants in his life are the elderly Ted who works as a security guard at the Old Bailey and the old men who live in Orrery House, who Finmere sees every birthday.
On his sixteenth birthday Finmere decides that he wants some answers from Judge Ward. But before he can get them, his guardian is murdered with a beautiful sword that Finmere swears he’s seen before. When his own life is threatened, Ted is the only person he can turn to and soon Finmere finds himself having to bring his two lives together in the form of his best friends Joe and Christopher. Together they find that there’s an alternate London, one that can only be accessed through magic and that Finmere has links to both of them …
Sarah Silverwood’s YA novel (the first in a trilogy) is a neatly constructed mix of alternate world and contemporary fantasy.
I really enjoyed the way Finmere’s strange background is drawn, particularly the way in which he has to balance a double life that sees him plunged from a life of wealthy privilege to one of inner city deprivation. It’s partly his discomfort at this deception that drives his search for answers and the fallout is what drives the rest of the book.
Joe and Christopher are very much contrasting characters, not least because of their very different backgrounds. I liked the awkwardness that exists when they are first brought together and the way in which each is driven by and changed because of their friendship with Finmere.
There are some great scenes in the book – notably those taking place in the alternate London with its multiple time zone. At times the pace did drag slightly for me, a twist is telegraphed and because of all the set-up it’s slow to get going. However this is all offset by a great ending, which sees a terrible sacrifice and a wonderful final battle complete with an epic duel. I look forward to reading the sequel and seeing what happens to Finmere and his friends next.
The Verdict:
Sarah Silverwood’s YA novel, the first in a trilogy, is a good mix of alternate world and contemporary fantasy. The concept’s great, I liked the characters and the finale is really well executed. However I did find it slow to get started and at times the pace dragged while a key twist is telegraphed. For all that though, there is a real sense of high stakes with a good set-up for the sequel, which I’m looking forward to reading.
Thanks to Gollancz for the free copy of this book.
Finmere Tingewick Smith had a strange beginning. Abandoned as a baby on the steps of the Old Bailey he’s grown up as a ward of the austere Judge Harlequin Brown. He’s lived a double-life for sixteen years – sixteen years today - spending alternate years at two very different schools and lying to everyone to keep his separate lives separate.
Today he’s going to get some answers.
Or so Fin thinks.
But answers only lead to more questions … and to a murder that Fin has to investigate or risk being accused of committing himself. So who wielded the lethal double-edged sword, and why does he find it so disturbingly familiar? Finding out is going to launch Fin into an incredible adventure, drawing on all the contacts and skills of his double life – and taking him from the London he knows into the realm of the mysterious Knights of Nowhere …
Finmere Tingewick Smith has never known a normal childhood. Found as a baby on the steps of the Old Bailey, he’s grown up under the guardianship of the strict Judge Harlequin Ward who ensures that he spends alternate years at an inner city comprehensive and a private boarding school. Forced to keep these lives separate, the only constants in his life are the elderly Ted who works as a security guard at the Old Bailey and the old men who live in Orrery House, who Finmere sees every birthday.
On his sixteenth birthday Finmere decides that he wants some answers from Judge Ward. But before he can get them, his guardian is murdered with a beautiful sword that Finmere swears he’s seen before. When his own life is threatened, Ted is the only person he can turn to and soon Finmere finds himself having to bring his two lives together in the form of his best friends Joe and Christopher. Together they find that there’s an alternate London, one that can only be accessed through magic and that Finmere has links to both of them …
Sarah Silverwood’s YA novel (the first in a trilogy) is a neatly constructed mix of alternate world and contemporary fantasy.
I really enjoyed the way Finmere’s strange background is drawn, particularly the way in which he has to balance a double life that sees him plunged from a life of wealthy privilege to one of inner city deprivation. It’s partly his discomfort at this deception that drives his search for answers and the fallout is what drives the rest of the book.
Joe and Christopher are very much contrasting characters, not least because of their very different backgrounds. I liked the awkwardness that exists when they are first brought together and the way in which each is driven by and changed because of their friendship with Finmere.
There are some great scenes in the book – notably those taking place in the alternate London with its multiple time zone. At times the pace did drag slightly for me, a twist is telegraphed and because of all the set-up it’s slow to get going. However this is all offset by a great ending, which sees a terrible sacrifice and a wonderful final battle complete with an epic duel. I look forward to reading the sequel and seeing what happens to Finmere and his friends next.
The Verdict:
Sarah Silverwood’s YA novel, the first in a trilogy, is a good mix of alternate world and contemporary fantasy. The concept’s great, I liked the characters and the finale is really well executed. However I did find it slow to get started and at times the pace dragged while a key twist is telegraphed. For all that though, there is a real sense of high stakes with a good set-up for the sequel, which I’m looking forward to reading.
Thanks to Gollancz for the free copy of this book.
