Spellstone

Why does no one notice Evie? Even her parents don’t seem to see her – and it is the same at school. No matter what Evie does she gets no reaction. Then she meets Wainwright and discovers that she is far from invisible and anything but ordinary. She is in fact a powerful sorcerer (though she will have to find out what her special power is). She is to be the one to destroy the Spellstone and so defeat the evil Vale… even though she is just a twelve-year-old girl!

Here is another assured fantasy from Ross Montgomery. We appear to be in our world – though the City is not given a name. However, the urban landscape – including Vale’s needle like glass fortress so strongly reminiscent of the Shard – could be London. Once again Montgomery shows his skill at blending the real with the fantastic, normality with magic. The reader has no problem with belief in the Order of the Stone – now a small group of four each with rather specific and somewhat unusual even insignificant powers – since the members are themselves so ordinary. The plot is built on traditional tropes – the young hero ignorant of her power, the quest, the trials, the betrayal and the final battle. However, Montgomery handles these familiar motifs with confidence ensuring that the journey is fresh and imaginative. The characters are engaging, the threat frightening and with a contemporary resonance. As with all good fantasy there is a moral at its heart for the young reader to discover. The author writes fluently in a style that is attractive and accessible, description is immediate, dialogue brisk and the adventure gripping – not least a terrifying journey through the mind of the villain himself. This is another book from this author to recommend to young readers looking to be immersed in a narrative that will fire their imagination.