Jimmy Threepwood and The Veil of Darkness by Rich Pitman

Review by The Mole

Many centuries ago the Elders designed the world we live in, but they knew that through time and the advances in medicine and technology, the world would slowly start to die and man would ultimately destroy the planet. The Elders created a prophecy that every two millennia, four children would receive a mystical mark. The children would grow and (one day) be powerful enough to release the mighty beast, Tyranacus. Together they would purge the world of man, allowing it to heal before the life cycle would start again.

As Jimmy Threepwood approached his eleventh birthday he noticed strange and unusual things happening. Firstly, a mysterious crow started to follow him around school; this ultimately led to a Bunsen burner accident and an unusual scar forming on Jimmy's arm in the shape of a number nine. This was followed by Jimmy protecting his friend against the school bully, but one touch changed both Jimmy's and the bully's lives forever...

I know I always go on about this and I will get it out the way now... This book is sadly lacking in editing and so 'grated' on me all too often but once again I felt it was worth continuing to read (and OK, moaning to anyone present about the editing). And was it worth it! Pitman has come up with an extremely good story and on the whole it is very well written. As an adult I kept pulling up with certain parts and thinking "Who's this written for? Kids?" and then realising that yes, it is written for kids and Pitman keeps his target audience in mind and doesn't drift off to gore and themes that are too mature for his audience.

The story stops at a logical point and you know there will be more to follow as his quest is far from over but you are not left on a cliffhanger which can often be a real irritation.

Despite the editing I would recommend this to children of the 8+ age group and if you are looking for a book to read to children slightly younger even. I really did enjoy this book immensely and really hope that book two will be better edited.

Publisher - Ghostly Publishing
Genre - Children's Fantasy, 8+

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