Advent by James Treadwell

Published by Hodder & Stoughton.

A clash of young and old, of ancient magic and burgeoning wisdom; a tumultuous struggle fo survival; a search for love, truth and a place in the world; a coming of age; a leave taking, and an arrival.

It has begun . . .

Gavin has given up on the adults in his life, and they’ve given up on him. His father appears to hate him, his mother is scared of him, his teachers think maybe he should be in a different school. What he has is a gift – one he neither wants or understands. At fifteen, his closest friend and confidante is the mysterious Miss Grey, although he has also given up trying to talk to people about her as it only seems to upset them. Turned out of school, and not included in his parents’ holiday plans, he catches a train to what might be his last haven; is aunt Gwen in Cornwall.

However, she is not there to meet him. Instead the weather is turning bad, and unnerving things are stirring.

Cast into a world of strangers, Gavin finds people less unlike him than anyone he’s met before . . . that is until he encounters some who aren’t people at all.

In 1537, Johann Faust, last and greatest of all magicians, lost a priceless ring in a shipwreck. In it was bound up all the world’s magic. For nearly 500 years we’ve lived without it; but now, in 2011, magic is coming back. And so is Faust . . . As the storm worsens, and unimaginable beings gather round the ring’s hiding place, Gavin will find himself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict, soon to learn the truth about himself and his gift: the gift of all the magic in the world

Sounds great doesn’t it?

And, for the most part it is, but for me there was just a little too much of it. Racking up just over 400 pages for this first part of a trilogy just felt overwritten to me at times, it has a great premise and great opening with Gavin heading to Cornwall on the train and the strange encounters he has just on the journey alone, and a great action and horror filled end section which sets the stage for book 2 nicely, it just felt too baggy in the middle to me.

I’m sure that it’s a problem with my tastes rather than the book itself, however, as it’s getting great reviews on the whole and I’m sure that fantasy/magic book fans will lap this up and, in fantasy fiction, you can’t go wrong with a trilogy of huge books which feature wizardry and rings, right?

To order a copy, go here.

Keith