A Sequence of Cosmic Accidents

Twelve-year-old Arian lives with his Dad, and neither of them talk about the loss in an accident of his Mum, who was Iranian (and that is important), as is his name: Arian imagines a Wall of Nothing when he feels he might get upset. He also has an upper limb difference, and is fierce about not letting that get in the way of anything he wants to do.  The family had applied for a foster sister before Mum’s death, and suddenly a girl is sent to the house without any of the expected preliminaries. Of course, Madlock is no ordinary girl, and uses strange Victorian slang (a Glossary is provided at the back, but it’s not too difficult to work out). It turns out that the stick she has in her boot really is a magick wand:  she is from an alternative Engaland, and needs to get to Wayles to meet The Chemist (Miyukimist) – the local Berkhamstead pharmacy will not do! Arian and his friend Pete are transported through a wormhole, and we follow their adventures as they try to get the powerful black Sphere into the right hands, and away from the sinister Mr Grey and his scary Lords of the Wrath. The fact that Arian is half-Persian means he has useful language skills, and he learns to use magick much more easily than Madlock had expected. He develops as a person, using strategy to partly resolve the problems they face, and eventually he also finds that he no longer has to use the Wall of Nothing and is able to talk about his mother.

Madlock is a terrific character, annoying, but vulnerable; Pete is a fount of useful knowledge and likes finding out about the alternative Aerth and the United Clandom, and other characters and places are brought to life very effectively.  S.A. Reyhani is half Iranian and half Scottish herself and uses her memories of Iranian stories her mother told her, and of a childhood friend for Arian’s upper limb difference. This her debut novel is a tremendously exciting story, and it is planned as the first of a trilogy: this reviewer will be eagerly looking out for the next instalment.