HOLLOW EARTH.

HOLLOW EARTH by JOHN BARROWMAN and CAROLE E BARROWMAN.

The monster's eyes scanned the darkness. Hide, Hide, Hide .........

Twins Matt and Emily Calder have imaginations so powerful that they can make art come to life. Their powers are sought by villains intent on accessing the terrors of Hollow Earth - a place where all the devils, demons and monsters ever imagined lie trapped for eternity. If Hollow Earth is breached, the world will be plunged into chaos. If hollow Earth is breached .......

....... the twins are as good as dead.
.........Outer back cover.

FIRST SENTENCE (Chapter 1): The book the old monk was illuminating began with these words.

MEMORABLE MOMENT (Page 296): Zach's injured because a cursed painting attacked him. And you want to know how it's possible a monster is climbing out of our computer?

MY THOUGHTS: A debut novel by all round entertainer (and gorgeous guy) John Barrowman and his English teacher sister Carole and what a book it is.

An interesting cover, don't you think? I've heard it said on several blogs that girls are put off the book thinking that it will be too 'boyish'. Not personally to my taste I admit but hey if boys are picking it up and reading it because they like the cover then it has my vote. Not that it is in any way a boys book, this will appeal to lots of readers and not just the young adults to whom it is aimed.

Mainly the tale of not quite teenage twins Matt and Emily and their friends, including Zach, all of whom have special powers including the ability to bring art to life, to enter paintings at will, the story also dips back in time to a Monastery in the Middle Ages.

Hmm, Animares? Not a super power I had heard of before (a totally new concept as far as I'm aware) but certainly one which appealed to me. Fresh, exciting and with plenty of scope this gives a whole new outlook to a genre that is quite simply full to overflowing.

As for the characters? Well observed, as much care was taken with the secondary characters as with the main ones. I liked the twins (Emily more so than Matt) but I loved Zach. A deaf teenager I felt it was great that John and Carole chose to feature someone that little bit different, someone, it could be argued, that was not generally seen as the first choice for a main character, but felt that he had a lot more potential than we saw here.

So, so much more than a novel envisaged/penned by your average celebrity - I believe it is John's imagination and sense of fun combined with the high quality of writing (much of which I'm presuming is Carole's) that makes Hollow Earth such a good read. Fast paced and action packed from page one, this makes for an exciting read with lots of twists and turns, I eagerly await part two of what I believe is a three book deal as I believe that this first instalment only skimmed the surface and there is better to come.

KEEP IT OR NOT?: Bought with money received for my birthday, I shall most certainly be keeping this.