17 Apr 2013

BONE QUILL.

BONE QUILL by JOHN AND CAROLE E BARROWMAN.


"The blackness! It is seeping towards us ....."

A faceless stranger is close to finding out the key that opens Hollow Earth: a supernatural place that holds all the monsters ever imagined.

Twins Matt and Emily Calder have special powers - they can bring art to life. But can they find their missing mother and protect the key - an ancient bone quill - even if it means travelling back through time? Then Matt takes a fateful decision, one that forces him to make a terrible choice.

Save his family?

 Or save the world?
..... Outer back cover. 

FIRST SENTENCE (Part 1, Chapter 1): The battle for control of the Calder twins' imaginations began on the afternoon of their third birthday.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 50): "..... I bet if we followed the river downstream, we might actually find Claude Monet with his easel. We might even be the thin figures on the pier that he is painting right at this very moment."

MY THOUGHTS: Part two in the Hollow Earth series (see my review of the first book, Hollow Earth, HERE) much as I liked John And Carole Barrowman's first offering I loved this.

Continuing the adventures of Animare twins Emily (Em) and Matt Calder and their cousin Zach, I thought Bone Quill a more exciting, fast-paced, adventure-filled read that once started I found difficult (no, make that impossible) to put down.

Set not just in modern day Scotland but also the middle ages, I found it so easy to lose myself in what is after all a wonderfully imagined novel that manages to seamlessly combine two essentially very different worlds with some quite scary monsters and memorable characters - not to give too much away but I thought the mention of founder of French impressionist painting Claude Monet a hilarious addition.

Much more confidently written, Bone Quill is just as likely to be enjoyed by boys as girls, the more mature as well as the young, my only complaint, if you can call it that, being that ending on a cliffhanger as it did we face the possibility of having to wait until February 2014 (Hollow Earth was released February 2012, Bone Quill, February 2013) to find out what happens next.

One final thing ......  Best read after Hollow Earth.

KEEP IT OR NOT?: Purchased from Amazon.co.uk, without a doubt I'll be keeping this.

NB. The dates given refer to the publication dates here in the UK.


Disclaimer: Removal of any part of this post without my express consent is considered copyright infringement. This post was created by and for Petty Witter @ Pen and Paper. If you are reading this post on any other site please contact the original blog owner/reviewer.


15 comments:

Aunt Mary said...

such a LOVELY REVIEW, you are master of this craft :)

Arti said...

Looks like a fantastic read, I have not yet read the first part. Will see if its available here. Thanks for the wonderful review as always.
Have a lovely day :)

Jean said...

Ok - so I'll wait until it's another Harry Potter style success, the entire series has been written and have myself a Hollow Earthfest Marathon - maybe read it to my grandkids!

Stephanie@Fairday's Blog said...

Awesome review! Good to know it can be read alone, but better after reading the first. I prefer to read them in order in cases like that. :) The first line is SO intriguing. Thanks for sharing!

Shooting Stars Mag said...

Great review! It's nice to hear when something really works for you, and I'm glad the follow-up was just as great as the first (and even better it seems!)

Jinky said...

Waiting a year would be a pain. Glad you're enjoying the series.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

Hm... not sure I'd enjoy this one with the cliffie, but might wait to try it when that next one comes out. Hope you don't have to wait too long... and get an ARC. :D

Suko said...

Thanks for a wonderful and enthusiastic review ofBone Quill!

Joan said...

Another great review thanks , and thanks also for leaving comment on my blog , I really appreciate it , by the way have you collected your Wb day books yet , going to get mine tomorrow

Yvonne @ Fiction Books Reviews said...

Hi Tracy,

You have had a few disappointments with your books just recently, so it is good to see that you have enjoyed this one so much.

This is probably not one that I shall be adding to my list, if for no other reason than I am not a fan of series books, which don't work as stand-alone stories very well.

I am so notoriously bad at following a series in any kind of logical order that books just have to work as one off reads for me. Especially if, like this series, there is going to be quite some delay before the next episode appears.

I admire authors who can write books ostensibly for the YA market, but which are just as good for adults of all ages to enjoy.

Nice review,

Yvonne

Sandy M. said...

Thank you for the review Tracy! :)
(Do you put your reviews on Goodreads?)

Barbara said...

I can see why “I bet if we followed the river downstream, we might actually find Claude Monet with his easel. We might even be the thin figures on the pier that he is painting right at this very moment."
was a memorable moment for you – what a brilliant line!
Thanks for sharing such a great review.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Thanks as always for all your comments.

Melissa, How I'd love to get my hands on an ARC copy ...... delivered personally by John Barrowman.

No, we have yet to collect our WBN books yet Joan. Will probably do so Saturday.

Yes Sandy, I do post my reviews on GoodReads as well as on Amazon.co.uk

Literary Feline said...

This does sound good! I love books like this and will definitely have to look into getting the first book along with this one.

Unknown said...

I love that cover. I'm going to have to check it out! Looks like my type of book.