Advent
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'The first in a trilogy, this is an interesting and original tale, bringing a fresh outlook to old stories, and the characters are well-realised . . . clever twists keep you hooked, and the ending and coda make it well worth the read.'
(SFX )'This epic debut tale wowed us with the concept of ancient magic returning to the modern world 500 years after its disappearance . . . The first in a trilogy, it's ambitious and echoes Philip Pullman.'
(Stylist )'Myth and magic in the modern world. A traditional quest tale beautifully told . . . The human characters are realistic and sympathetic, even those who are by any definition, downright odd. The uncanny creatures are sufficiently spooky, horrible, vile and violent. The landscape is alive.'
(www.thebookbag.co.uk )'There is something profoundly different about ADVENT. Perhaps it is the atmosphere of history, magic and mystery it exudes, or maybe the curiosity of the characters. Or it could even be the beauty, the manipulation of the English Language that James Treadwell so clearly is a master of. Either way, you know you have something special in your hands even before the story begins . . . '
(www.thirstforfiction.com )'A beautifully written novel. Treadwell has the mother of all graphs on the English language! A perfect depiction of the perfect setting . . . Classic and unbeatable formula . . . This isn't just any YA novel, this is an astoundingly intelligent YA novel. This is a genuinely gorgeous read, and I can't wait for book two.'
(www.fantasynibbles.com )'James Treadwell's debut fantasy novel, ADVENT, is nothing short of magical. It is a rich tapestry of light and dark which has been spun deftly thanks to some delicately intricate - yet nonetheless accessible - prose that stimulates the senses magnificently and so begs the reader to learn more, whether aficionados of the genre or not.' (www.welovethisbook.com )
'It's a beautifully written tale - the first in a trilogy - which in one sense feels like a return to old-fashioned storytelling, yet manages to be utterly fresh.'
(Bookseller )Product Description
For centuries it has been locked away
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.
But now magic is rising to the world once more.
And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.
No one will be there to meet him.
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.
But now magic is rising to the world once more.
And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.
No one will be there to meet him.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting, flawed but maybe the next big thing,
By
This review is from: Advent (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
Most fantasies for older children/YAs are stories of the protagonist being drawn into another world, where magic reigns and natural laws do not apply. That is the template of the Hero's Journey, from Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings and many more. Usually, the hero eventually returns to the everyday world, transformed.But this is a different story, a story of the terrifying, elemental power of magic re-entering our everyday existence, transforming not only the main character, but everyone and everything. Treadwell's keen ear for contemporary speech patterns and behaviour makes this a powerful and unsettling concept, and suggests that, even at the end of his projected trilogy, there will be no return to order as we now know it. Cornwall is a natural setting for such a story to begin, and when Gavin, a disaffected teenager banished from boarding school and alienated from his parents, is packed off on a train to Truro to stay with an eccentric aunt that he barely knows, the scene appears to be set for a formulaic English fantasy. But what happens after he arrives and there is no dotty aunt to meet him takes us into very different territory. Like many writers of fantasy who have created their own inner worlds, Treadwell writes haunting and beautiful prose and has a deep feeling for landscape and the way it is shaped by local history and topography. I've never seen Cornwall captured better, even by Daphne Du Maurier. But the familiar Gothic scenario of a mysterious, remote country house with its occupants marooned in time and menaced by supernatural forces develops into something equally influenced by classic science fiction narratives of a menacing alien presence invading the charmed world of faerie and the banality of everyday life. A sort of Rebecca meets Day of the Triffids meets Doctor Who (but without the lightness of touch). The book certainly has its weaknesses. Treadwell is an academic and can't resist complicated sentences filled with qualifying subordinate clauses and abstract nouns. He adopts the voice of the omniscient narrator and, while this certainly suits the story's epic quality, this limits his ability to capture his character's language and thought proccesses in a gripping way. It takes about 150 pages of dense and repetitive exposition and worldbuilding to get to the point where things begin to hot up. But that doesn't necessarily preclude him from being the next Tolkien: plenty of people struggled to get as far as "The Council of Elrond" in LOTR. It's notoriously difficult to predict what the next cult fantasy phenomenon is going to be. Hodder just might have hit the jackpot and, while I'd have preferred a little more hands-on editing, the lack of it never seemed to do JK Rowling any harm.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A world that blew me away,
By
This review is from: Advent (Hardcover)
This amazing world that debut author James Treadwell has created begins in 1537 where we meet Johannes Faust as he prepares to set sail for England. The next chapter we meet Gavin Stokes who is on the train that will take him to his aunt Gwen in Cornwall. On the train he meets Professor Hester Lightfoot (who is a key character in certain events) and we're introduced to the ghost of Miss Grey ... who used to be accepted as Gavin's `invisible friend' when younger but is not accepted by his family now. On reaching the lodge where Gwen lives on the Pendurra estate, he finds it empty although the fire is lit and there are signs of recent habitation. What follows is a quest that intrigues and entrances and is completely absorbing.The story is told by weaving backwards and forwards in time with one difference - the timeline in 1537 regresses so the further you read on in the story, the more intrigue there is because you have an answer but you don't know the why or the circumstances. When we get to the timelines merging into present day is the time when spirit becomes flesh and the world changes beyond recognition. The environment is perfect for the suspense. We have Pendurra, which is an isolated estate with woods leading down to the river and the sea. There is something different about the land and there is gossip and rumours about it's owner, Tristram Urem. It is October so the nature around us is bare and stagnant. During the conflict there is snow but not just flakes drifting down, blizzard conditions that blanket everything. There is physical endurance that almost goes beyond what a body can bear. The magic runs throughout Advent. I loved it that the author goes back to a time when science was parting from magic - whereas at one point they belonged together, man chose to believe only that which he could see. This is quite a key factor, the absence of magic, not only in 1537 but also in the present world. Following our hero Gavin through the story, we see him at first as afraid of himself but there comes a point when he experiences a re-birth (symbolised by taking on the mantle of his name). It is in the depths of his misery with no-where left to go when he finds strength and purpose. There is a mixture of characters both adult and children although it is the children who are the leads. The magical beings all portray characteristics that are common in myth. At one point in the story I was cheering for Corbo but at another, felt totally betrayed! If you have ever been interested in magic/alchemy/myth you may have come across Johannes Faust and his quest for immortality. The author uses this in such a creative way and is central to the story. The author also uses the symbolism of a ring - from time immemorial the hole in the centre has represented a gateway or door and the circle is a perfect expression of infinity - no beginning and no end. This is cleverly crafted as an integral part of the story. You may also have read about the music of the spheres ... I loved the way Treadwell wove this into the tale. The ending ties up with a physical place that Gavin mentions only once (if my recollection is correct) but with a different family and the scene is still on a mystical level. It is so far away from the place we have just left though I can't begin to image what the connection actually is - why are we there? and does Gavin and Marina appear? What about Harold? This leaves me with so many questions ... I so need to read the second story! The language used in Advent is mature and the story gripping and fast paced enough that adult readers will enjoy this world just as much as a teen reader. If you loved A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness you will love this too!
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Utterly spell-binding,
By
This review is from: Advent (Hardcover)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)
This novel, the first in a trilogy, introduces us to 15-year-old Gavin, a lonely and unhappy teenager who feels abandoned by everyone around him because he sees things that are invisible to others. Having been thrown out of school, his parents send him to spend a week with his eccentric aunt in Cornwall. But when he arrives in Truro there's no one there to meet him. Things then take a completely unexpected turn and set the scene for an absolutely fantastic book.Without giving anything away, the book deals with the notion that magic was once abundant in this world but was forgotten and, as the blurb tells us, is now 'rising to the world once more'. This is a dark and eerie novel, full of mystery, more suitable for the young adult and adult market than the children's. It reminds me of some of the fairy-tales and legends of old, and certainly Gavin is a reluctant hero, embarking on a journey of self-discovery and destined to go on a quest. James Treadwell is a consummate and skilled storyteller, weaving a rich tapestry of words. He's got a wonderful feeling for language: his prose is hauntingly beautiful at times, his characters' speech patterns, but also his descriptions of everyday situations and places, have a very authentic ring to them, so that when he describes the arrival of mythical and monstrous creatures and spirits, and the existence of warlocks and magic in present-day Cornwall (where else?), I took everything at face value because it sounded so completely plausible in his words. Some of the plot developments are pretty intense and terrifying, with chapters ending on cliffhangers, so that I was compelled to carry on reading even though I felt as breathless and exhausted as Gavin. The long chapters build up the atmosphere and tension, posing more questions at first than answers are forthcoming, and the reader has to put their trust in the narrator for it all to come together and make sense. If you're someone who just dips in for a couple of pages at night time, this book might not work for you, but then I dare you not to be swept away by the author's flight of the imagination and read on for hours. The worst thing about this book: that I will now have to wait for about another year for the next volume to come along. Rarely has a book entranced me as much as this one: well done and thank you, Mr Treadwell.
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