Mark and Norman Carter are brothers, but that’s as far as their similarities stretch – Mark is a typical teen, brash, surly and not afraid to stand up to anyone, especially his nemesis Jack Dawson. Oh, and he’s got a steady girlfriend, Roxie.
Norman, on the other hand, suffers from severely low self-esteem, maybe brought on by the divorce of his parents (but Mark seems to have coped fine with that), maybe as a result of his experiences at school (but Mark enjoyed his time there) or maybe just from the fact that his heightened sensitivity is in direct proportion to Mark’s total lack of anxiety or concern, seemingly, about anything at all.
They live in a village too, and this is a village in which genuinely nothing ever happens. Except it’s overlooked by a vast hill - nothing special in that, apart from the fact that the remains upon it come from an ancient civilisation which makes even the Titans look young!
The hill’s called Shadyridge. It’s home to two ruined temples, one of which has been guarded forevermore by Saman. Only Saman’s been wronged, and he’s now seeking vengeance, eternal vengeance because the particular hurt he’s endured for millennia is sourced from just about the most pained of social issues imaginable – love.
Roxie’s finding out about Saman in the books of lore that lie in the town’s library. Cedric’s helping her see the wood for the trees in this regard because these aren’t the usual teen fiction fare she’s used to, they’re written in plush prose which is pushing Roxie into a young adult adventure in which even she might be the leading protagonist.
As for Jack, he’s had enough. He’s had enough of Mark, Roxie and Norman, he’s had enough of Saman trying to scare them with historical fiction passed off as fact, and he’s definitely had enough of the disgusting ale that Danny Sayer, the ruddy-complexioned stranger they’ve just met in the pub, has forced them all to drink in preparation for the ghostly dangers they’re supposed to be meeting in the woods.
Jack doesn’t believe in any of it, not the story, not the ale, not the creatures in the forest shifting in and out of sight, not the gravestone with his name on it, and definitely not the images pressed upon him when he gets to the top floor of the Tower of the Winds on his way up to Shadyridge. Mark and Norman do though, and even Jack has to admit that the beast with red glowing eyes, Mordron, is real when it locks them all up with Danny in its temple.
So just what is the actual history behind Shadyridge? Why was it built upon? And who built upon it? And, should it have been disturbed anew, like some behemoth which when rudely awoken unleashes Leviatahan upon all and sundry? Indeed, will this be one of those novels in which fantasy merges with reality, when the gods of yore whose determinant was thought to have passed aeons ago actually have some part to play in present, and future time?
For sure, something this volcanic is certain to upset and alter the characters caught in its eruption – Roxie might well undergo the biggest change of all; she hates Saman from the start, and that because there’s something eerily familiar about the disgusting old man and his even more revolting facial features! She’s repulsed by him, yet that revulsion is all the more inexplicable because she’s never met him before, well not in this life anyway.
And Mark, he’s cocksure of course, but will he finish this particular story by losing his self-esteem in direct proportion to Norman gaining his? Norman the choker, inspired by his new idol Danny to make a man of himself, to face his demons and overcome them in the final fight on the summit of Shadyridge when Pandora’s box is opened and the Vale of Darkness shown to be the only truism this old wizard Saman is capable of uttering.
Join the warriors Volcrix and Ingot, their enemy Basturbal, the gods Thrackan and Thera, and the cheeky Trustles in an epic adventure of worlds ancient and civilisations rediscovered
Norman, on the other hand, suffers from severely low self-esteem, maybe brought on by the divorce of his parents (but Mark seems to have coped fine with that), maybe as a result of his experiences at school (but Mark enjoyed his time there) or maybe just from the fact that his heightened sensitivity is in direct proportion to Mark’s total lack of anxiety or concern, seemingly, about anything at all.
They live in a village too, and this is a village in which genuinely nothing ever happens. Except it’s overlooked by a vast hill - nothing special in that, apart from the fact that the remains upon it come from an ancient civilisation which makes even the Titans look young!
The hill’s called Shadyridge. It’s home to two ruined temples, one of which has been guarded forevermore by Saman. Only Saman’s been wronged, and he’s now seeking vengeance, eternal vengeance because the particular hurt he’s endured for millennia is sourced from just about the most pained of social issues imaginable – love.
Roxie’s finding out about Saman in the books of lore that lie in the town’s library. Cedric’s helping her see the wood for the trees in this regard because these aren’t the usual teen fiction fare she’s used to, they’re written in plush prose which is pushing Roxie into a young adult adventure in which even she might be the leading protagonist.
As for Jack, he’s had enough. He’s had enough of Mark, Roxie and Norman, he’s had enough of Saman trying to scare them with historical fiction passed off as fact, and he’s definitely had enough of the disgusting ale that Danny Sayer, the ruddy-complexioned stranger they’ve just met in the pub, has forced them all to drink in preparation for the ghostly dangers they’re supposed to be meeting in the woods.
Jack doesn’t believe in any of it, not the story, not the ale, not the creatures in the forest shifting in and out of sight, not the gravestone with his name on it, and definitely not the images pressed upon him when he gets to the top floor of the Tower of the Winds on his way up to Shadyridge. Mark and Norman do though, and even Jack has to admit that the beast with red glowing eyes, Mordron, is real when it locks them all up with Danny in its temple.
So just what is the actual history behind Shadyridge? Why was it built upon? And who built upon it? And, should it have been disturbed anew, like some behemoth which when rudely awoken unleashes Leviatahan upon all and sundry? Indeed, will this be one of those novels in which fantasy merges with reality, when the gods of yore whose determinant was thought to have passed aeons ago actually have some part to play in present, and future time?
For sure, something this volcanic is certain to upset and alter the characters caught in its eruption – Roxie might well undergo the biggest change of all; she hates Saman from the start, and that because there’s something eerily familiar about the disgusting old man and his even more revolting facial features! She’s repulsed by him, yet that revulsion is all the more inexplicable because she’s never met him before, well not in this life anyway.
And Mark, he’s cocksure of course, but will he finish this particular story by losing his self-esteem in direct proportion to Norman gaining his? Norman the choker, inspired by his new idol Danny to make a man of himself, to face his demons and overcome them in the final fight on the summit of Shadyridge when Pandora’s box is opened and the Vale of Darkness shown to be the only truism this old wizard Saman is capable of uttering.
Join the warriors Volcrix and Ingot, their enemy Basturbal, the gods Thrackan and Thera, and the cheeky Trustles in an epic adventure of worlds ancient and civilisations rediscovered
