The Warlock's Child Series

Book 1 The Burning Sea, Book 2 Dragonfall Mountain, Book 3 The Dragon Claw.

It’s not very often I start a review with the front cover but when the covers contain dragons of all shapes and hues, drawn by the Dragon Master himself, Marc Mcbride, it’s a good place to begin. The covers are eye-catching and glorious. 

The series is complete with Book 6 to be released in September 2015. Each of the first five books ends with the greater story still unresolved and a cliff-hanger leading the reader directly into the following book.

This structure suits a reluctant reader who is overwhelmed by a wad of pages but will devour the longer story as action-packed, manageable block-sized books. For the more avid reader, as all six books are being released in quick succession, it’s not long to wait for the final resolution.

On the first pages of each book, there’s a map which the reader will find invaluable as the story unfolds in Savaria and Darvinia and on the Centralian Sea that separates the kingdoms.

This is a grand tale of dragons and forbidden magic, of warlocks and sewer rats, of battles and capture, of devious plans and an unlikely hero. And that’s just the first three books.

In The Burning Sea, war has been declared by the Emperor of Darvinia. The Savarians are suspected of working forbidden magic. Long ago the four magics, earth, air water and fire, were divided by the Dragons who continue to ensure no human will ever wield the magics together again. The last time a human did that, it caused the greatest war ever imagined.

We meet Dantar and Velza, brother and sister, travelling on the ship Davarian Invincible with their father, the warlock, Calbaras, Dantar is a lowly overworked cabin boy but Velza is a shapeshifter and an officer. It’s not surprising they don’t get along.

Somewhere hidden on board is a dragon chick and the Dragon Drauvard is taking a keen interest in the ship

In Dragonfall Mountain, the Invincible is sunk in battle.  Velza learns some unpleasant truths about her father and brother and sister find themselves on the same side. Dantar discovers a new strength and the possibility of his own magic. And a dragon dies, the first dragon death in over a thousand years.

Ironclaw opens with the Dragons demanding the Savarian king explain why forbidden magic is being practised in the city of Teliz:

In the entire world there are few things that can strike fear into the heart of a king. The sight of his army retreating would be high on the list… at the very top, however there could be nothing to rival three very angry dragons the size of warships towering over you and asking questions for which you have no answers.

The story progresses with multiple plot strands. Calbaras has created a copy of Dantar and this shell now needs to be filled. Dantar continues to emerge as the one who matters and it seems a shapeshifting dragon always appears to protect him when he is in danger.

At the end of Iron Claw, Dantar, his friend Marko and Merikus the sewer rat are captives, waiting to be hung and arguing about which one of them might be a shapeshifted baby dragon in disguise. The young reader is perfectly primed and positioned to read on to the next book in the series

Recommended for children 9 years and up, in particular suitable for those who like their books short but their fantasy story a little longer.

Reviewed by Sandy Fussell

Title: The Warlock’s Child Series – Book 1: The Burning Sea, Book 2: Dragonfall Mountain, Book 3:The Iron Claw

Author: Paul Collins and Sean Mullins

Illustrator: Marc McBride

Publisher:  Ford Street Publishing

Publication Date: $12.95 RRP

Format: Paperback

Type: Junior Fiction, Fantasy

Mole Hunt

The Maximus Black Files: Book 1

by Paul Collins

Ford St Publishing. Australian, Science Fiction, Young Adult. Paperback RRP $19.95

Guest Reviewer - Di Bates

Mole Hunt is the first book in a science fiction series set in the future and in a universe far beyond earth, a place with floating cities where people can regenerate and mankind is out of control, killing and maiming at will. The protagonist – and anti-hero -- is teenager Maximus Black, who works for galactic law enforcement agency, RIM. He is a tightly-drawn, unlikeable psychopath trained to kill – and he does: he also commissions others to do his terrible bidding. Orphaned at the age of six when his parents are murdered, Black is so enraged by their deaths that he seeks to exact revenge: he plans to amass an enormous cache of Old Empire weapons as his way of controlling the galaxy. Black is extremely clever, able to cover his devious tracks as he progresses towards his goals.

There are two narrative points of view in the novel, that of Black and Anneke Longshadow, both of whom are orphans, pitted against one another. Black, a mole who has infiltrated the RIM operation, has no conscience, whereas Longshadow has. Early in the book she sets out to unearth the mole, her quest made more urgent when her adoptive father, her uncle Viktus is murdered. Conflict occurs when, in a world full of spies and secret agents, the Black and Longshadow again and again work out ways to dominate one another.

This fast-paced and bloody tale, tightly-plotted and exciting, is marketed as a young adult novel, but it is really cross-over, also ideal for adult reading. Highly recommended.

The Reading Stack reviewed Paul Collin's picture book The Glasshouse in October 2010.

http://www.paulcollins.com.au/

The Glasshouse

by Paul Collins, illustrated by Jo Thompson

Ford Street Publishing. Australian, Picture Book. Hardback rrp $26.95

Guest Reviewer Jo Burnell

The Glasshouse is a treasure for everyone. Preschoolers will be drawn to Jo Thompson’s vibrant colours and the stark contrast between pages. Middle Primary students will revel in their ability to read with minimal assistance. Teenagers will recognise Clara’s determination to keep control and her anguish at facing the unknown. Adults will have to line up for their chance to ponder parallels with the modern world. What are the pumpkins in your life?

Multiple messages wait between the pages. Is Clara really worried about her pumpkins? Her hair colour mirrors the hues of her beloved produce so closely that I’m inclined to think her fears are much closer to her heart. Can she ever break free? What will it take? Does she have to destroy the glasshouse to escape her worries?

We all have glasshouses we hide in and pumpkins we try to protect. The Glasshouse helps me see what will happen if I let worries take over. Is Clara obsessive compulsive? Does she have an anxiety disorder? Perhaps she’s just hit a rough patch. We all go through times when we can’t make things happen the way we want. How can we break free?

The Glasshouse echoes in my mind long after the last page. Can you let your pumpkins go? I’m trying, but I need Clara to keep reminding me how it is done.

http://www.plasticine.com/pcollins/

The Reading Stack had Paul Collins as a guest blogger in February 2010 and have reviewed The Slightly Skewed Life of Toby Chrysler in December 2009.