The Jeweller of Rassylon by Peter Cooper

It didn’t look like the house of a demon. In fact, as Dillen stared through the bars of the main gate he thought it looked more like a noble’s residence, with fountains and manicured gardens and groves of trees over which curved roofs with gold-leaf cladding could just be seen. And if the sight within the walls was something to behold, the sight outside them was even more spectacular. The whole edifice had been built on a spur of the mountains, so that on one side there was nothing but a sheer drop leading to the endless plains below, and on the other lofty peaks crowned in dazzling snow. As Dillen gazed around he was nearly overcome with a sense of endless space, seeming to weigh down on him as heavily as the pack that hung from his shoulder.

It didn’t look like the house of a demon. In fact, as Dillen stared through the bars of the main gate he thought it looked more like a noble’s residence, with fountains and manicured gardens and groves of trees over which curved roofs with gold-leaf cladding could just be seen. And if the sight within the walls was something to behold, the sight outside them was even more spectacular. The whole edifice had been built on a spur of the mountains, so that on one side there was nothing but a sheer drop leading to the endless plains below, and on the other lofty peaks crowned in dazzling snow. As Dillen gazed around he was nearly overcome with a sense of endless space, seeming to weigh down on him as heavily as the pack that hung from his shoulder.

Dillen and his companions, Koto and Tajni are on a quest to retrieve the blue jade. To this end, they are seeking the wisdom of the demon who lives in the mountains. Even if they are granted an audience, and this is not certain, they have to decipher his advice. If they are to retrieve the blue jade, they must beat others also chasing it. So begins a chase across the land, through mountains and valleys, through villages and forests, as they race against time. They must decide who to trust and who to avoid. The challenge is made more difficult as each of the three has their own secrets and this affects their ability to trust others. They are both helped and hindered by magical creatures and magical tricks.

The Jeweller of Rassylon is Book Three in ‘Tales of the Blue Jade’, but it can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. It is told in third person from the viewpoint of Dillen, and the reader shares the uncertainties and struggles of the main character as he races across the country in this high-stakes quest. The Jeweller of Rassylon is full of action and adventure and showcases the ability of young people to make tough decisions. There are themes of clanship and trust, loyalty and betrayal. The setting is mostly mountainous and it could be set anywhere and from China to Afganistan, borrowing mythology and landscape widely. Although there is a sense of this adventure being set many centuries ago, many of the issues encountered have resonance today.  The inclusion of strong female characters in addition to the male leads broadens the appeal to all young readers. Recommended for upper primary readers.

 

The Jeweller of Rassylon Peter Cooper Omnibus Books 2013 ISBN: 9781862919440

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s author and bookseller

www.clairesaxby.com

10 Futures by Michael Pryor

Tara can’t remember life without her AI. Her mum and dad bought the Artificial Intelligence when Tara had her night terrors, when she was little. It used to sit under her pillow and murmur to her. Safe and secure, she was, with Portia keeping the night things away.
Portia used to be classy, state-of-the-art. Her case, the size and shape of a playing card, was originally a stylish black matte. Now, fourteen years later, it’s battered and scratched with the scars of love. Of course, since Portia took over managing the family home … Portia is the home, now, integrated into every aspect of living, taking care of the family, nurturing and protecting.

Tara can’t remember life without her AI. Her mum and dad bought the Artificial Intelligence when Tara had her night terrors, when she was little. It used to sit under her pillow and murmur to her. Safe and secure, she was, with Portia keeping the night things away.
Portia used to be classy, state-of-the-art. Her case, the size and shape of a playing card, was originally a stylish black matte. Now, fourteen years later, it’s battered and scratched with the scars of love. Of course, since Portia took over managing the family home … Portia is the home, now, integrated into every aspect of living, taking care of the family, nurturing and protecting.

10 Futures imagines ten futures, in ten short stories across the century from 2020. In each, the future world is lived by the same two friends, Tara and Sam. They are mid-teen, and best friends. That is constant, when very little else is. The stories are not told in chronological order, but instead skip forward and back and then forward again. Technology succeeds, technology fails. There are stories set in times where climate and population growth challenges have overwhelmed, and stories where these have been managed. But these are just the settings. In each of the stories, there are dilemmas for the friends, whether on a micro or macro scale. In each it is their personalities and actions that drive the stories. In each, it is friendship that looms large.

What does the future hold? No one knows, but Michael Pryor has had a go at speculating. Not once, but ten times. Each is a micro-glimpse of what the world could be. Some of the worlds are very bleak, others show worlds that suggest that humans have learned to work together for the good of all. Themes range very widely and there is plenty here to initiate classroom discussion on a range of topics: ethics, morality, power, compassion and more. Tara and Sam are very different personalities but firm friends. Their friendship provides support through very different challenges, demonstrating the see-sawing of need and knowledge that underpins and sustains enduring friendships. Engaging spec fiction, recommended for mid-secondary readers.

10 Futures
10 Futures, Michael Pryor

Woolshed Press/Random House 2012 ISBN: 9781742753768
review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author
www.clairesaxby.com

Avaialable from good bookstores or online.

Trouble Twisters: The Monster, by Garth Nix & Sean WIlliams

Through the predawn silence, something moved in the middle of River Road – something huge and dark and struggling. The length of a bus, but not as high, it propelled itself, awkwardly and with great effort, sideways up the slight slope towards Main Street.


As it grew near the next streetlight, it raised one strange, dark eye – and the light went out. The thing opened its great maw and let out a soft, almost yawning hiss of satisfaction, then dragged itself on, leaving a trail of slime and a line of fizzled-out streetlights behind it.

Everyone in Portland seems to know someone who knows someone who has seen the Monster of Portland – but it seems no one has actually seen it for themselves! It could be scaly, have a shell, or even be hairy like a gorilla, depending who you believe. The twins, Jack and Jaide, are’t sure who to believe, but they are sure something strange is going on in Portland. Every since they defeated The Evil, they haven’t felt quite safe. Now the’re sure that it’s still out there, waiting to strike again. Gradnma X seems to know more than she’s willing to reveal and the cats, their Companions, are also caught up in strange goings on. If only they could bring their newly discovered powers under control and overcome The Evil once and for all.

The Monster is the second in the Trouble Twisters series, a collaboration between Garth Nix and Sean Williams which will appeal to upper primary aged readers. The twins are Trouble Twisters, destined to be Wardens when they finish growing and fine-tuning their magical gifts. Their strange grandmother oversees their training, whilst their father, also a Warden, travels and their mother, who is a regular human, works away.

Continuing from the first book, but largely self contained, the book also sees the introduction of a new character, the twins’ friend, Tara, and some further revelations about their mysterious role, with hints of more to come in future installments.

The Monster (Troubletwisters)

The Monster, by Garth Nix & Sean Williams
Allen & Uniwn, 2012
ISBN 9781742373997

This book is available from good bookstores or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.