The Bell Between Worlds by Ian Johnstone

Review by The Mole

Sylas Tate lives in a crooked house in the middle of a modern industrial town with his Uncle.  He believes his mother is dead, and his uncle runs his life with a rod of iron. One day there is a terrifying sound - like the peal of a bell but at a volume that shakes the entire house and nearly deafens him. But no-one else seems to hear it. He feels he needs to find the bell and stop its pealing before he is deafened and so begins an adventure that will take him to another dimension and show him magic that he would never have believed.

And it's all about him. He has been called to save the world from Thoth - an evil magician bent on total domination.

The plot sounds reminiscent of so many others but don't let that put you off - it's new characters, new settings, new enemies and, in many ways, a new challenge - one that I've not encountered before.

Fast paced from the off, the story has action throughout with chases across both realms, and monsters created with such penmanship that they leap out the page at the reader, adding to the tension.

Treachery and betrayal leave the reader wondering who Sylas should trust as we rush towards the ending of this, the first instalment of The Mirror Chronicles.

Young fantasy readers are going to love this series as the plot unfolds. This book comes to a proper conclusion and while we know there is more to come we aren't left on a cliffhanger.

 

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's

Genre: Children's/Teenage Fantasy