The Dark Portal (Deptford Mice) [Audiobook] (Audio Cassette)

The mice in question are a small community who live in a house in Deptford. Arthur and Audrey have just come of age and are preparing for the ceremony in which they will be given their Mousebrass - a glass pendant bearing a symbol that will lay out their life, deciding their profession. Their celebrations are tinged with sadness - their father has gone missing. It is feared he travelled through The Grating at the end of the hall, a place where no mouse goes, for it is the lair of the rats.

The children know, deep down, the giving off the brass is only tradition. The Green Mouse doesn't really appear - it's a local in a leafy costume. And the brasses are made my the guy down the hall. However, Audrey emerges with a brass bearing the symbol of the cat. No one understands. No one's even seen the brass before. What is Audrey's fate?

Audrey's life is going to take a turn.

The first book takes Arthur and Audrey, visitor Piccadilly, who was the last to see their father alive, Twit the fieldmouse and Oswald, the sickly albino, through the sewers of Deptford, trying to find out what happened to Arthur Brown and just what is behind the rat's rebellion and resurfacing.

The beauty of these books is the way in which all six - three books, and then three prequels - tie in with one another. You'll read the three books and then the prequels explain minor details in the past. The mysterious Jupiter is fully explained in 'The Alchemist's Cat' (extremely terrifying!), the realm of the Starwife is explored in 'The Oaken Throne' (the only book ever to make me cry. Twice.) whereas Thomas Trition, an old seafarer who is of great help to Audrey and Arthur, has his mysterious past fully expanded upon in 'Thomas'. From the history of the bats and the squirrels, who play large parts in Audrey's tale, to the old ways and religions, long dead, long forbidden, the world of the mice is a huge one, expanded in simple detail. You won't get lost or confused. This is a world you'll stroll through, carefully instructed. There are new Gods, new religions, new fascinating histories for each race, there are cultures, there are new ways of life to explore.

Audrey is a fascinating girl. She is often very reluctant. She never wanted the brass in the first place. She doesn't want to fight the Rats, can't stand the cheeky Piccadilly, hates the burdens placed upon her. And yet she accepts her fate with a calm reluctance. She doesn't stamp and whine and throw tantrums. Her reluctance is subtle, something only the reader may notice between the lines. She is realistic. She wants the evil and the threats defeated... but does she have to be the one to do it? Yes. So she will. A wonderful and strong character, determined to fight, but with a softer, scared side we can all identify with.

Just try the first book ^_^ You'll be hooked.