![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
ALEX ALWAYS is a normal, everyday kid living in a normal, everyday city …
AXEL STORMWARD is a monster-slaying hero living in a world of magic.
But all that’s about to change …
When the two boys magically swap places, needy nerd Alex is thrust into an epic quest to save the world of Aërth.
Meanwhile, sword-singing Axel is faced with double maths, a gran who’s six months behind on the rent, and a crucial chess tournament he’s got to win - when he doesn’t even know how to play.
Can the boys complete their Impossible Quests and find a way back to their own lives, or will they discover they don’t have a life to come back to?
Alex Always is a boy with a brilliant mind, an incredible memory and a cowardly, weak body. He lives with his nan in a damp one-bedroom flat but even though his nan works two jobs, money is always tight and Alex is shocked to discover that they owe £20,000 and have a fortnight in which to pay it or else they’ll be evicted. In desperation he tries his father, who has made millions from an on-line chess game but who has made it clear he views Alex as a pathetic loser and wants nothing to do with him. At the same time he’s being badly bullied at school by Nathan and his gang of mates and even Alex’s best friends Sienna and Irving think he’s a bit of sad sack.
Axel Stormward is the first son of the Sorcerer-Queen of Aërth. Strong with great hair and a very big sword, he’s an incredible warrior and one of the best known heroes on Aërth. It’s his destiny to defeat the Father of Flies who has stolen the Book of Lifetimes from the Narrator and imprisoned him in a dungeon. Until Axel wins, the people of Aërth will slowly fade away until no one is left and worse, if the Father of Lies can unlock the Book of Lifetimes, then he can control what happens to Aërth’s people until then.
But before the Narrator was captured, he was able to swap Alex and Axel, making each responsible for completing the other’s Impossible Quest.
Now Alex has to navigate a world that values fighting ability over brains, where cats and dogs talk and where prophecies come true and Axel has to deal with a world where cats and dogs do not talk, old women do not like to be called crones, double maths is something to be endured and he needs to play something called chess in order to win the £20,000 needed to save Alex and his nan’s flat.
Both boys have to complete their Impossible Quests if they are to return to their own world, but as each struggles to adapt to their new circumstances there is a serious risk that neither will have a life to return to …
Sam Copeland’s humorous fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and gleefully subverts a number of the fantasy cliches. Although I think Alex has more depth than Axel and some of the resolutions to plot difficulties were too pat, there are also some genuinely moving moments and I enjoyed the adventure such that I would definitely read the sequel.
I enjoyed the way that Copeland takes each of Axel and Alex out of their respective comfort zones and literally places them in each other’s story so the puny but intelligent Alex finds himself on a quest where he will literally have to fight the Father of Flies and the physically strong but intellectually ungifted Axel finds himself having to do school work and figure out how to beat Alex’s dad at chess (the game that literally made him a millionaire). Copeland finds and mines all of the humour that results from these situations (my favourites being Axel’s reactions to having to do maths). He also has a lot of fun with traditional fantasy tropes, such as talking animals, old crones and prophecy and the way he plays with these ideas makes them feel fresh and relevant. This is not to say that the book is just filled with humour - the scenes involving the Father of Lies are quite dark at times and there are several scenes involving torture, which may be too much for more sensitive readers (although none of that happens directly on page).
Because the book is playing with tropes, characterisation is pretty broad for both the main and the supporting characters, although I think that there is more emotional depth to Alex who has to deal with a cold and absent father and the fact that his grandmother is clearly buckling under the weight of her responsibilities. I also enjoyed Fetlock, the elderly dog who supports Alex on his quest, who has one of the saddest moments in the book.
The pacing works well and there’s plenty of plot for each of Alex’s and Axel’s storylines. If I had a criticism, then it’s that when Alex is put into jeopardy, Copeland lets him escape it a little too easily. I would have liked to have seen him have a bit more struggle and learn from it as part of his character development but that’s not a significant issue.
Certainly there was plenty here that held my interest and I think that young readers will get a lot of enjoyment from it. I’d definitely check out the sequel and Copeland’s other work.
The Verdict:
Sam Copeland’s humorous fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and gleefully subverts a number of the fantasy cliches. Although I think Alex has more depth than Axel and some of the resolutions to plot difficulties were too pat, there are also some genuinely moving moments and I enjoyed the adventure such that I would definitely read the sequel.
ALEX -VS- AXEL: THE IMPOSSIBLE QUESTS was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd May 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Progrmme for the review copy of this book.
AXEL STORMWARD is a monster-slaying hero living in a world of magic.
But all that’s about to change …
When the two boys magically swap places, needy nerd Alex is thrust into an epic quest to save the world of Aërth.
Meanwhile, sword-singing Axel is faced with double maths, a gran who’s six months behind on the rent, and a crucial chess tournament he’s got to win - when he doesn’t even know how to play.
Can the boys complete their Impossible Quests and find a way back to their own lives, or will they discover they don’t have a life to come back to?
Alex Always is a boy with a brilliant mind, an incredible memory and a cowardly, weak body. He lives with his nan in a damp one-bedroom flat but even though his nan works two jobs, money is always tight and Alex is shocked to discover that they owe £20,000 and have a fortnight in which to pay it or else they’ll be evicted. In desperation he tries his father, who has made millions from an on-line chess game but who has made it clear he views Alex as a pathetic loser and wants nothing to do with him. At the same time he’s being badly bullied at school by Nathan and his gang of mates and even Alex’s best friends Sienna and Irving think he’s a bit of sad sack.
Axel Stormward is the first son of the Sorcerer-Queen of Aërth. Strong with great hair and a very big sword, he’s an incredible warrior and one of the best known heroes on Aërth. It’s his destiny to defeat the Father of Flies who has stolen the Book of Lifetimes from the Narrator and imprisoned him in a dungeon. Until Axel wins, the people of Aërth will slowly fade away until no one is left and worse, if the Father of Lies can unlock the Book of Lifetimes, then he can control what happens to Aërth’s people until then.
But before the Narrator was captured, he was able to swap Alex and Axel, making each responsible for completing the other’s Impossible Quest.
Now Alex has to navigate a world that values fighting ability over brains, where cats and dogs talk and where prophecies come true and Axel has to deal with a world where cats and dogs do not talk, old women do not like to be called crones, double maths is something to be endured and he needs to play something called chess in order to win the £20,000 needed to save Alex and his nan’s flat.
Both boys have to complete their Impossible Quests if they are to return to their own world, but as each struggles to adapt to their new circumstances there is a serious risk that neither will have a life to return to …
Sam Copeland’s humorous fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and gleefully subverts a number of the fantasy cliches. Although I think Alex has more depth than Axel and some of the resolutions to plot difficulties were too pat, there are also some genuinely moving moments and I enjoyed the adventure such that I would definitely read the sequel.
I enjoyed the way that Copeland takes each of Axel and Alex out of their respective comfort zones and literally places them in each other’s story so the puny but intelligent Alex finds himself on a quest where he will literally have to fight the Father of Flies and the physically strong but intellectually ungifted Axel finds himself having to do school work and figure out how to beat Alex’s dad at chess (the game that literally made him a millionaire). Copeland finds and mines all of the humour that results from these situations (my favourites being Axel’s reactions to having to do maths). He also has a lot of fun with traditional fantasy tropes, such as talking animals, old crones and prophecy and the way he plays with these ideas makes them feel fresh and relevant. This is not to say that the book is just filled with humour - the scenes involving the Father of Lies are quite dark at times and there are several scenes involving torture, which may be too much for more sensitive readers (although none of that happens directly on page).
Because the book is playing with tropes, characterisation is pretty broad for both the main and the supporting characters, although I think that there is more emotional depth to Alex who has to deal with a cold and absent father and the fact that his grandmother is clearly buckling under the weight of her responsibilities. I also enjoyed Fetlock, the elderly dog who supports Alex on his quest, who has one of the saddest moments in the book.
The pacing works well and there’s plenty of plot for each of Alex’s and Axel’s storylines. If I had a criticism, then it’s that when Alex is put into jeopardy, Copeland lets him escape it a little too easily. I would have liked to have seen him have a bit more struggle and learn from it as part of his character development but that’s not a significant issue.
Certainly there was plenty here that held my interest and I think that young readers will get a lot of enjoyment from it. I’d definitely check out the sequel and Copeland’s other work.
The Verdict:
Sam Copeland’s humorous fantasy novel for readers aged 9+ (the first in a series) has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments and gleefully subverts a number of the fantasy cliches. Although I think Alex has more depth than Axel and some of the resolutions to plot difficulties were too pat, there are also some genuinely moving moments and I enjoyed the adventure such that I would definitely read the sequel.
ALEX -VS- AXEL: THE IMPOSSIBLE QUESTS was released in the United Kingdom on 2nd May 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Progrmme for the review copy of this book.
