Through the Looking Glass: July

Hi All!

So. My blog has been quiet for the last few days. It’s been a very busy month and it’s only getting busier. So I am asking for your forgiveness and asking you to bare with me until the end of July. I promise I’ll get back to my regular schedule once I’ve caught up to all the deadlines:

Reading:

I haven’t forgotten my review. I finished the book, the review is in drafts I just need to complete it. And then there is a backlog of book reviews I still need to do as well:

Stephen King – Doctor Sleep: Done

Michael Smorenburg – Life Games: To Read

Xane Fisher – BoyzNite: To Read (Blog Tour on the 27th)

JT Lawrence- Sticky Fingers: To Read

Mary Ann D’Alto – He Counts Their Tears: To Read

Willow Palecek – City of Wolves: To Read

Melissa F. Olson – Nightshades: To Read

Jennifer Withers – The War Between: Communicating with author

Writing:

As you know, it’s camp NaNo right now, 15 days in and another 16 to go (if my math is correct).  I’ve had a slow start to the week, but I managed to push through to 25,000 words and hopefully to 30,000 by this weekend. So I won’t have a Friday Fiction today.

Number of Days:	Word count:
Day 1:	0
Day 2:	3590
Day 3:	535
Day 4:	4612
Day 5:	189
Day 6:	5476
Day 7:	1807
Day 8:	0
Day 9:	0
Day 10:	2522
Day 11:	1437
Day 12:	1086
Day 13:	4282
Day 14:	0
Day 15:	Today=0
Total:	25,536

 

Patreon:

As you all know (now you will), I joined Patreon and got my first official Patreon. I have to submit a short story between 1000-3000 words with the theme: Last Robot on Earth. I have so many ideas I want to implement, including videos and artwork and and and. But… gee time is running out. Squeezing everything into one month is quite a challenge, especially considering I still have to go to work, work for my designated 9 hours, drive back, and do what I have to. I haven’t even played my Xbox in a long time, and I”ve cut down on my Hearthstone and League of Legends because… well I ain’t got time for that!

I’m supposed to say “No” to any more work, right? But:

Pledge $1 or more per Per story

• A Patreon-only short story (between 1000 and 3000 words) of your making. You tell me what you want and I will give it to you
• Insight into the making of the story, including sources, first drafts, revisions etc.

If you would like to pledge and get your own Patreon-only short story (I will not publish or sell it anywhere – unless you want me to or something.), then please feel free to do so:

Patreon.com/NthatoMorakabi

 

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Wednesday Book Review: The Reflections of Queen Snow White

Title: The Reflections of Queen Snow White

Author: David Meredith

Genre: Fantasy

Book procurement: Given by author in exchange for an honest review. You can buy it on Amazon.

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

What happens when “happily ever after” has come and gone?

On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven’s fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White’s own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing:

The king is dead.

The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.

It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what “happily ever after” really means?

Only time will tell as she wrestles with her past and is forced to confront The Reflections of Queen Snow White.

Review:

I received this copy from the author for an honest review. Normally outside of my genre, I was pleasantly surprised by this book right from the beginning. A unique opening sequence that back in at the end very well. Perhaps watching the Huntsman played some part but I’ll leave that to your speculation.

I haven’t read many fairytale retellings (I’ve watched more than I can bear ugh) so I was more curious than anything when David Meredith asked me to review this book for him. I wasn’t sure what to expect and what direction the story would go. I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying the book more than I thought I would.

The first thing that stood out was the writing style. Vivid, descriptive, purposeful. It was not difficult at all to play out the scenes in my head as I read the story and that is exactly what I’m looking for in an author. The English was fitting for the “time period”, a combination of formal and slang that gave character to each of the people.

I must admit at times I was genuinely frustrated with the Queen. She was acting like a stubborn child throughout the whole ordeal though one can understand, her husband, the king, has died. The depth of her distress was captured well, a well of depression that started when she was younger as all who have read the tale of Snow White will know.

The most difficult parts of the story to read were the abuses she faced. Such profound cruelty. Such maddening selfishness. I too would imagine stuffing the old queen’s feet in hot iron against her indignant behaviour to such a sweet young princess. I’m still boiling thinking about it now.

An emotional rollercoaster I enjoyed thoroughly.

Rating: A reflective 4 out of 5

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David Meredith is a writer and educator originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee as well as a Tennessee State Teaching license. He is currently a doctoral student in Educational Leadership. On and off, he spent nearly a decade, from 1999-2010 teaching English in Northern Japan, but currently lives with his wife and three children in the Nashville Area where he continues to write and teach English.

Amazon Author Page

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Web Site – davidmeredithwriting.com

Wednesday Book Review: Strong Medicine

Title: Strong Medicine

Author: Angela Meadon

Genre: Thriller

Book procurement: Author gave me a copy for an honest review

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

Erin du Toit’s 9-year old daughter has been kidnapped by Johannesburg’s most powerful witchdoctor. Can Erin save her child before she’s chopped up for muthi?

Erin’s first instinct is to go to the police, but the South African Police Force is paralyzed by corruption and overwhelmed by hundreds of open cases. Cases just like Erin’s.

Erin delves into the dark underbelly of Johannesburg to find the man who took her daughter. When she realizes that the police are protecting him, she must decide between disobeying a violent police force and giving up on her daughter.

Review: 

I received a copy of Strong Medicine from the author for an honest review. As a local author (fellow South African) I think it’s easy to either be biased towards them, or shoot them down. I will be impartial and offer a review unbiased.

Firstly, this is a story about Africa, about my home country South Africa and about the type of people I could very well meet on the streets of our diverse country. It’s close to home, which obviously tends to pull at the heart strings one way or the other.

The first thing that I noticed was the setting of the story and the characters. As a South African, I always flinch at any novel, film or TV series that focuses on the poor, on crime, and on all the negative aspects of our country. We aren’t that bad but when every novel or movie we watch focuses on it all the time, it puts me off. Then we had a scene that involved the police and once again I cringed at it’s authenticity.

The story itself is great. It follows Erin du Toit as she loses her daughter, and the battle for sanity and restoration that follows. How far would a mother go to rescue her child? What trauma and anguish does she experience during the whole ordeal. This story is about bravery and courage, of a mother who goes out of her way to rescue her most prized possession; her child.

Intermingled with the story are fictional transcript police interviews and eyewitness accounts that are too shocking to believe could be real. Witchdoctors. Sangomas. Traditional healers. They are as much a part of our country as the people. As a cultural heritage and belief of many African’s, this novel steers towards the darker side of this cultural aspect. I think many can attest to the reality of muthi killings, but just as many will oppose it. It’s a very fine line.

An interesting group of characters carry the story out, each affected by the kidnapping in various ways. Erin is the mother willing to do almost anything to get her daughter back. Family members, the police force and a couple of witchdoctors come into play to either hinder or help Erin find her daughter. The villain is truly villainous in his actions and I shuddered at his existence – I could see such a person existing and that’s a truly horrific experience.

The world is very much South Africa, sadly it’s the run-down, scary, crime-infested side of South Africa; and the people in the novel reflect this broken country. From the township of Alexandra to the sleazy parts of Johannesburg CBD, this novel reminds me that not all of South Africa is green grass and proper housing. Poverty is ubiquitous, and with poverty a myriad of evils can follow. It’s a sad reality.

In overall this novel is a dark reminder of the evils that exist, hidden behind corporate, civil, and culture. I enjoyed the story as much as I disliked what it reminded me of. Perhaps I am too naive or have yet to realize I’m wearing rose coloured glasses as I live day-to-day in this country. Now I question the reality of life in South Africa.

 Rating: A shaky 4 out of 5

Book Review: The Dream Engine

Title: The Dream Engine

Author: Leah Karloff

Genre: Fantasy

Book procurement: Author gave me a copy for an honest review

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

Time is a circle. Time is a loop.

Kara Swatch lives in a world manipulated by unseen forces. Always in the shadows, hidden just beyond the line of fire. These time travellers set events in motion and guide them through to their sordid ends, but never spare a thought for the lives trapped in the chaos.

It’s all too large and far-reaching for Kara to understand – what she sees are the assassinations and the vanishings and the cryptic messages written in the sky, all pointing to the secrets in her dreams. To the time travellers.

But curiosity killed the cat. The more she uncovers about Lucem and the Sognate, who guard against curiosity with an iron fist, the more she begins to notice constants. They seem to run through the world like a needle and thread, emerging over and over and over again.

And they have their own stories to tell.

Review:

I received this copy from Leah Karloff in exchange for an honest review. This is her debut novel and I must say off the bat that I was wonderfully surprised by it. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

The first chapter threw me off completely during the first three quarters of the book. I was trying to piece it together somewhere somehow but was coming up blank even as a particular character popped up a few times. As the story unraveled, it all came together like a puzzle missing pieces that you keep finding. As the world becomes clearer, I had to fight the urge to “ooooh” and “aaah” and tap people incessantly to ask them if they saw it coming, because clearly I didn’t. And then that first chapter was like a hammer to the chest. I loved it.

The story is told well, a pace that starts off slow and builds its way to the end. I experienced the world as the characters experienced the world, as I too tried to make sense of this world called Lucem. World building was top notch, from the city to the world to the well written history that runs through the little things in this novel. It made me realise how much I take for granted in life. How many books can make me say that? Very few.
At times I was unsure about the main character Kara Swatch. Most of the story is told from her perspective, switching to other characters to give a bit more insight as to what was happening outside of her knowledge. She seemed to become a different character, almost inconsistent in her moods and actions. Perhaps a little more insight into her thought process might have helped clear this up, but it doesn’t take away too much from the story. The other characters remain true to themselves and altogether they make a colourful cast.

There were a few mistakes here and there in the form of a misspelled word but they are few and far apart and don’t take away the beauty of the story. Well done to Leah Karloff for a great book.

Rating:  An invigorating 4 out of 5

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“Leah Karloff is a 17 year old student from Shrewsbury, in the UK. She has qualifications in Sociology, Psychology, and Classics, and hopes to become a teacher. Her favourite interests, besides reading, are spending time with her dogs and sipping overpriced instant-tea. Leah’s first novel, The Dream Engine, was inspired by the works of Philip Pullman, Veronica Roth and H.P Lovecraft. She can also burp the alphabet.”

You can find her book on:

Goodreads

Amazon

Kobo

You can also visit her blog: Spindlewald

Wednesday Book Review: Blacklands

Title: Blacklands

Author: Belinda Bauer

Genre: Thriller

Book procurement: Bought at Books Galore Greenstone

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

Eighteen years ago, Billy Peters disappeared. Everyone in town believes Billy was murdered–after all, serial killer Arnold Avery later admitted killing six other children and burying them on the same desolate moor that surrounds their small English village. Only Billy’s mother is convinced he is alive. She still stands lonely guard at the front window of her home, waiting for her son to return, while her remaining family fragments around her. But her twelve-year-old grandson Steven is determined to heal the cracks that gape between his nan, his mother, his brother, and himself. Steven desperately wants to bring his family closure, and if that means personally finding his uncle’s corpse, he’ll do it.

Spending his spare time digging holes all over the moor in the hope of turning up a body is a long shot, but at least it gives his life purpose.

Then at school, when the lesson turns to letter writing, Steven has a flash of inspiration … Careful to hide his identity, he secretly pens a letter to Avery in jail asking for help in finding the body of “W.P.”–William “Billy” Peters.

So begins a dangerous cat-and-mouse game.

Just as Steven tries to use Avery to pinpoint the gravesite, so Avery misdirects and teases his mysterious correspondent in order to relive his heinous crimes. And when Avery finally realizes that the letters he’s receiving are from a twelve-year-old boy, suddenly his life has purpose too.

Although his is far more dangerous …

Blacklands “is a taut and chillingly brilliant debut that signals the arrival of a bright new voice in psychological suspense.”

Review:

I picked up Blacklands at a sale, the premise of a killer communicating with a boy in search of a victim’s body was far more intriguing than anything else on sale. It was portrayed as a “dangerous cat-and-mouse game” between the two, which in my opinion fell flat on its face. It was a short book (245 pages) with pictures of the correspondence happening between the two which worked fairly well. But it was short. The “cat-and-mouse” game could have had so much more intrigue and drama.

The book itself was enjoyable, and a few times I (especially a third in) I had to stop and think about why in the world would this boy do such a thing. Ok, he’s twelve so I’ll forgive his childish mistakes but when you are corresponding with a child killer, and you’re a child… you don’t do or say certain things. Gah! So, on that note, Blacklands threw me right into the quiet English village and it’s slow lifestyle. I was drawn into Steven’s world and his woes as a child in a broken family. It was really well written.

If only it was longer, and the back and forth between the two had more action in it, would have pushed the rating to four.

Rating: A settled 3 out of 5

Wednesday Book Review: Revival

Title: Revival

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror

Book procurement: Birthday gift from cousin

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

In a small New England town, in the early 60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister, Charles Jacobs. Soon they forge a deep bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.

Decades later, Jamie is living nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Now an addict, he sees Jacobs again – a showman on stage, creating dazzling ‘portraits in lightning’ – and their meeting has profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

Review:

The King does it again. Another fascinating tale of humans verses the unknown, and all the things that make us human; with just a dash of horror to liven it up of course. What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that the horror itself was not in the form of monsters or aliens or anything of the sort but the realm of the unknown and the ever sought answer to life’s greatest mystery: what happens after death.

Told from the perspective of Jamie Morton, we “grow up” with the six year old boy playing with toy soldiers to the young man falling in love to the older man caught in a web between himself and his old preacher Charles Jacobs. I want to say more, but I have to keep it vague in fear of writing a spoiler.

King has always been a name dropper. Band names, songs they sang, the people in the band. Places. People. Things. King makes them part of the story which thereby gives a sense of authenticity to his books; as though it were a tale that happened in the very world we live in. Looking up almost all the references in Revival leads you to a factual person, band or song, and I love that aspect of “world building” in it.

I must say I was sourly disappointed by the end. Not the ending itself but the big reveal of the mystery at the end… so anti-climatic. I mean sure, it was very King-like, and if you have watched any SK book-to-movie adaptations, this ending will fit right in. But it was not that scary nor was it spectacular. I would have thought that I was perhaps desensitised to it, but there were other aspects before hand that made me put the book down and shake the image out of my head. *shivers*

All in all, a typical King book and story that I enjoyed.

Rating: Resuscitating 3 out of 5

Wednesday Book Review: Vasa and Ypres

A Mayfair Conundrum by J.B Chisholm

Title: Vasaand Ypres – A Mayfair Conundrum

Author: J.B Chisholm

Genre: Satire

Book procurement: Author contacted me for a review.

Synopsis: (Amazon)

Forever stylish Vanessa E. Vasa was honing her observation skills when she bumped into Lanky Ella Lanesbury. Or rather Ella bumped into her, twice. When Ella reveals a conundrum, Vanessa is enlisted to help with the aid of her stoic lady’s assistant, Mildred Ypres. Follow Vasa and Ypres as they humorously navigate London’s Mayfair in their first, but hopefully not last, adventure.

Review:

I should say on the onset, that my initial inclination following reading this story and writing this review, was to in  a sense hold back on the review. However, I think it would be unfair on the author and on you dear reader, to paint this novel as something it is not.

This story follows the events of the rather dense, elegantly stylish, uptown woman Vanessa E. Vasa and her intelligent, fish-faced lady assistance Ypres; she has incredible patience. They find themselves in a rather awkward conundrum (which is not really a conundrum) within the streets of London.

The first sentence of this novel put me off immediately, and I had to continue reading with the hope that it would improve. It didn’t. Apart from the grammatical errors peppered throughout the novel, the story was unnecessarily repetitive. If this was done intentionally, it didn’t work very well in my opinion.

The story wasn’t very engaging and the humour lacking. It played upon Vasa’s lack of intelligence and misuse of words, coupled with an unfounded confidence that her lady assistant did little to rectify.

The one thing that I did enjoy about this novel, was the English. The few minutes afterwards, I had to remember that I did not speak in such high English and had to revert back to normal. Also, I was fond of the lady assistant Ypres and understood how she must have felt during the whole ordeal.

Rating: A disappointed 1 out of 5

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You can get The Mayfair Condundrum on Amazon here: The Mayfair Conundrum

Follow them on Twitter here: @VasaAndYpres

The blog here: Vasa And Ypres – WordPress

My Top Five 5-Star Rated Books

Reading is one of my greatest passions next to writing (gaming has fallen way down on the list surprisingly) and as most of you know, I have been challenging myself to read a book a week for the Goodreads Reading Challenge. It’s been tough and as far as I can see, I am a bit behind in my reading. Nonetheless, I have read enough to give you a list of five books that I have given 5 star ratings (4.5 counts too right?).

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Twelve thousand years ago, they came. They descended from the sky amid smoke and fire, and created humanity and gave us rules to live by. They needed gold and they built our earliest civilizations to mine it for them. When they had what they needed, they left. But before they left, they told us someday they would come back, and when they did, a game would be played. A game that would determine our future.

This is Endgame.

Well of course Endgame: The Calling was going to be on this list. I gave it a 10 out of 5 but had to scale it down for the sake of being impartial, fair, objective, realistic, etc etc. This is a definite recommendation for those looking for something better than your typical let’s-get-these-teens-to-kill-each-other-off book… and the general populace who don’t mind some fast paced, heart thumping action.

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Called back into the fold of the U.S. Marshals Service, Tim Rackley is tasked with retrieving Leah Henning, the daughter of a powerful Hollywood producer, from a mind-control cult. As Tim wends his way deep undercover into an insidious operation called The Program, he confronts a brand of mind-warping manipulation beyond his worst expectations.

This is the book that got me back into reading. I was away visiting the States (East Coast) and I happened to  visit a Thrift Shop, which had a selection of cover-less books. I picked this up, went to a random page, read the page, and bought the book. Yes it was that good. So good, that even now in real life I am skeptical of group meetings, where there is a leader trying to “sell” something and has advisers on the side are egging on the crowds into “buying”. Mind Control I tell you. Mind Control!

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When a violent and incoherent naked Jane Doe is found cowering in the street near the scene of a brutal murder, a pair of bloody scissors in hand, Detective Frank Blackburn is faced with a tough question: is she a victim or the killer herself? Determined to get some answer, Blackburn takes the young woman to the Baycliff Hospital detention unit, to renowned psychiatrist Michael Tolan, in the hope that he will work his magic and get her to open up.

This was a book I also picked up at a random book sale, in a mall I never visit, run by an old couple who are hardly ever there, selling books at a ridiculously low price. The blurb was interesting enough but the story blew me out of the water completely. Dark. Gritty. Plot twisted. Fast paced. Action saturated. Supernaturally thrilling. This was the better-than-Stephen-King author I was hoping to meet.

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The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

Magical. Magical. Magical! I don’t know where Erin Morgensten came from, but I am glad she did. An inspirational novel about a mystical circus, the people affected by it and the hidden magical realm that exists in and around the circus. Most times I am put off by long-winded descriptions but this was the exception, and a spellbinding one too.

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The world has been massively unappreciative of sixteen-year-old Baxter Zevcenko. His bloodline may be a combination of ancient Boer mystic and giant shape-shifting crow, and he may have won an inter-dimensional battle and saved the world, but does anyone care? No.

No. No one cares! In this sequel to Apocalypse Now Now, Baxter seems to be a changed young man. No longer leader of the Spiders and now exposed to the magical realm running rampant in Cape Town, Baxter is also trying to live a new life at a notorious magical school. And as you can imagine, chaos ensues. I loved it not only because it’s local (South Africa) but also because Charlie Human is hilarious and clearly South African in his descriptions. Ludicrous in other things, but all tied up so well I couldn’t help love this novel. South African authors are just as talented!

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What are your top rated / favourite books? I’m always keen for some good book recommendations.

Wednesday Book Impression: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street

I walk into Exclusive Books Greenstone quite often. The fact that I work down the road from the mall gives me every reason to make a pit-stop at the book store, and browse the tantalizing shelves. I know there is the popular phrase, “Do not judge a book by its cover.” but when I walked past this book, my eyes were immediately drawn to it. I picked it up, read the blurb, and then put it down with every intention of coming back for it. At the end of February I headed into the bookstore, picked up this book as well as the third book in The Demon Cycle by Peter V Brett, and bought the book without hesitation.

I started this book following the amazing Endgame: The Calling which was fast paced action, an amalgamation of characters and a different tone of writing that was still fresh in my mind. So initially this book was quite slow for me. We meet Thaniel (short for Nathaniel… which is quite weird and new for me) who is a telegraphist at the Home Office in London 1883. He receives a golden watch mysteriously one day but can’t make heads or tails of the device until one very memorable day. And that is all I will say without giving away too much even though I am only about halfway through the book (hence the Book Impression rather than Book Review).

We are also introduced to a couple of other interesting characters, including a young girl who dresses like a man to use the public library (women are not allowed without an escort) as well as the clock maker himself who has an intriguing past that has led him eventually to London. As far as I can see, these three characters (and a fourth who seems to be on the outskirts yet is linked to the others) will come together somehow, I’m just really curious as to how.

Overall, I’m enjoying the book and look forward to what should be an exciting climatic end.

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What book are you currently ready?

 

Wednesday Book Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Library of Souls

 

Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Library of Souls

Author: Ransom Riggs

Genre: Fantasy

Book procurement: Takealot.com (Online store)

Synopsis: (Goodreads)

A boy with extraordinary powers. An army of deadly monsters. An epic battle for the future of peculiardom.

The adventure that began with Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and continued in Hollow City comes to a thrilling conclusion with Library of Souls. As the story opens, sixteen-year-old Jacob discovers a powerful new ability, and soon he’s diving through history to rescue his peculiar companions from a heavily guarded fortress. Accompanying Jacob on his journey are Emma Bloom, a girl with fire at her fingertips, and Addison MacHenry, a dog with a nose for sniffing out lost children.

They’ll travel from modern-day London to the labyrinthine alleys of Devil’s Acre, the most wretched slum in all of Victorian England. It’s a place where the fate of peculiar children everywhere will be decided once and for all. Like its predecessors, Library of Souls blends thrilling fantasy with never-before-published vintage photography to create a one-of-a-kind reading experience.

Review:

This third and final novel to the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar children trilogy, left me satisfied with how all the events concluded. Following a cliff-hanger second novel, I was keen to continue the adventures of Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom who just seem to be falling from one nightmare into the next.

The story paces itself well, like the previous novels, and it doesn’t feel impossible. Sure there were a few “lucky” breaks but the two never get through their adventure unscathed. It’s a nice break from most novels where the protagonists get away with mild scratches and enough energy to power a small village. Well not after a week of continuous running and barely enough sleep, and we experience all of these in this climatic end.

The idea of time loops and “living forever” in the age you were in that loop is such a fascinating concept for me. I would never have thought about it in that way. Also one of the key points about the “peculiar” children was their restriction to the current time line, doomed to age rapidly forward according to the years they have “skipped”. This and the very unique Jacob who can speak to Hollows, combined with new myths, an amazing machine,  surprising mysterious characters and revelation, all looping together to tie up the plots from the previous two books to make it one complete adventure.

A really great trilogy with a fascinating collection of weird and colourful photos.

Rating: An impressionable 4 out 5