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Shadowmancer
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Written to include such elements as magic, witchcraft, superstition, sorcery, history, folklore and smuggling, Shadowmancer has become a book that simply cannot be ignored. Despite such fierce competition as JK Rowling's mighty bestseller Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, The Reverend Graham Taylor's debut children's novel has nevertheless garnered impressive media coverage.
At the heart of his story lies the classic battle between good and evil. On one side Taylor has painted one of the most despicable men possible--Obadiah Demurral, an 18th century vicar who preaches restraint and tolerance to his flock of god-fearing but misguided souls while all the time hiding the fact that he is a shadowmancer--a sorcerer who speaks to the dead--who commands these unfortunates to do his own bidding. For Demurral is intent on seeking to control the ultimate power in the universe. He doesn't want to worship God anymore, he wants to be God. And in the finest traditions of such stories, he will stop at nothing to achieve his dastardly goal.
Lined up against him, however, are some equally inventive good guys. Thomas Barrick, at 13, is the spunky almost-orphan who can intuitively see straight through Demurral's pious act and knows him to be evil to the core. Helping him is feisty tomboy Kate Coglan, Raphah--a mysterious African who has journeyed far to reclaim the precious symbols that Demurral is using for evil purpose, and Jacob Crane, a smuggler with a big grudge against the demented vicar.
The plot might wobble a little in places and the simmering religious overtones might get up a few people's noses, but Taylor's colourful cast is undoubtedly a triumph. The characters are larger than life, engaging, plentiful--and you'll care what happens to them. (For ages 10 and over) --John McLay
Review
To the casual observer Obadiah Demurral is merely the rather unprepossessing fire and brimstone-preaching Vicar of Thorpe, determined to curb the wilder excesses of his parishioners. But in truth he is a profoundly evil sorcerer seeking to control the entire universe. He cheated his way into being the Vicar of Thorpe by persuading the real incumbent, Dagda Sarapuk, to take part in a foolish wager. He has managed to get his hands on a golden statue, the Keruvim, one of only two in the world, and aided by his cowed and terrified servant Beadle he plans to obtain the second statue. Then total power will be his. Ranged against him are two children, Thomas and Kate, Raphah, a thinly disguised Christ-like figure from Africa who is shipwrecked in a storm conjured up by Demurral, and the sinister Jacob Crane, a smuggler. The book recounts the battle of epic proportions as good and evil struggle for supremacy, with the innocent and helpless children powerless other than in their innate goodness while the evil Demurral is consumed by his wicked desires. The book has a dramatic denouement in a church near Whitby at midnight on Halloween. G P Taylor, who is an ex-policeman and now a vicar in Yorkshire, has said, 'the problem with the villains in children's books is that they aren't scary enough'. There is certainly plenty that is unpleasant in the descriptions in the book, but the portrayal of Obadiah Demurral is rather overblown and not entirely convincing. Much more intriguing is the character of Jacob Crane, who resolutely refuses to believe in witchcraft and who is motivated by the money he stands to lose or gain from his smuggling of brandy and tobacco. This is not a book for fainthearted parents who might be unwilling to discuss some of the issues of superstition and witchcraft that it raises. Ages 12+ (Kirkus UK)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
It was a still October night. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
It was a still October night. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I came to this book with high hopes, but have to say that I was disappointed. The writing is generally leaden (apart from occasionally well-written pieces of 'atmosphere'), the characters are cardboard, the plot is simplistic in the extreme, and there is no real depth of emotion. It has some good moments - the use of the Christian mythology is interesting, though it could be explained better for those not familiar with concepts of seravim etc; the basic idea behind the plot (over-ambitious evil vicar seeks world dominance, not realising he is being used by the devil) is promising. However, the whole work is let down by poor writing and determination to get the writer's Christian viewpoint (eg about tarot cards) across. (I may add that while I loved 'Northern Lights', the first in the 'Dark Materials' trilogy, I found the didacticism of 'The Amber Spyglass', with its obsession about 'dust' and the 'falsehood' of religion equally irritating). As for other characters / story elements - some characters are inserted briefly for no apparent reason, other than to 'lend atmosphere' (eg the witch on the moor, who seems to serve no plotting purpose); the children are whiny and two-dimensional; the constant preachiness of Raphah (love one another) gets annoying, and it's never really clear where the keruvim came from, why God would allow it to have such power as to overthrow himself, etc. All in all, a disappointment.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Starved of some good fantasy to read, I decided to give this novel a try only to be disappointed, bored-and somewhat confused by the plot. This is not the kind of book to read in installments, as some of the chapters have serious cohesion problems and the strands of sub-plots are woven ad infinitum.
With regards to the characters, the novel presents a typical 'good versus evil' scenario, underlined by overt and complex religious connotations, which for a younger reader will be too complicated to follow at times. Raphah, Thomas and Kate, the main protagonists, are fairly one dimensional, although each have their own personal issues to resolve, which leads them to team up in their quest for an artefact, currently in the clutches of the evil vicar Demurral(a contradiction in terms?). Demurral has terrorised his parish for many years now and people are too afraid to stand up to him. If this character is in any way supposed to equal Vodermot's dimensions in Harry Potter, he certainly fails to strike horror into the reader and his 'army' of semi machines are far too easily avoided. His actions are half hearted, indecisive and far too drawn out. The most interesting character is probably Demurral's somewhat deformed and cunning assistant Beadle, whose desperate attempts to impress, spark some pity.
The only more interesting part about the novel is its setting around the Whitby area, visiting many of the familiar tourist sites, lending them a new history.
I managed to plow through this one but it is unlikely that I would read a second installment. However critical I initially was of Harry Potter, it is at the end of the day a much more enjoyable romp than this far too serious hotchpotch of a novel.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Just an opinion BUT ...
The hype about this decidedly average children's story from the publishing industry is understandable, in the light of the millions made for them by J. K. Rowling, but the complicity of the so-called critics is more surprising (and eye opening). On the back cover the "Times", "Observer", "Herald", "Daily Telegraph" and "Independent" all breathlessly agree that Shadowmancer is "the biggest event in children's fiction since Harry Potter".
There's no way these critics (or a proficient editor) actually read this book. Shadowmancer is poorly written, with a lack of attention to consistency that is continually jarring (and, yes, children pay attention to detail).
- How many hands does Demurral have as he "... took hold of the golden staff and placed his left hand on the stone fist ..." and "... raised the Keruvim with right hand ..." ?
- How strong is teenage Kate "A small figure leapt out of the darkness at Thomas and Raphah, grabbing them both by the throat and pushing them face down on to the ground" and how do you push two people face DOWN by their throat ?
- How dangerous can the Varrigal be (a "race of (eight feet) warriors") when Thomas, the young boy who was just pinned down by Kate, a teenage girl, is able to effectively trade sword blows with them using a Varrigal sword (from a fallen Varrigal, shot dead by Kate) ?
- Is the mill wheel wood or metal ? "A large wooden mill wheel jutted out into the mill beck ... It rolled on without stopping, the newly cast metal and fresh blue paint churning the water of the beck."
Shadowmancer also explains far too much, far too soon, as if children cannot wait for details to be revealed, or work things our for themselves.
I couldn't finish the book (rare) but at the end of the day Shadowmancer has lots of action and the plot lurches on at a fast pace. When I consider all the wonderful children's titles out there, though, I think it's unfair to hype this as anything like a classic. I'd be interested to see feedback from children, as opposed to disappointed adults.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Utter Waste of time
Very seldom, I have ever been compelled to write a review on how utterly rubbish something is, but G P Taylor's shadowmancer qualifies as being so awful that I had to write... Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2009 by N. Mirza
Humourless and plotless
Some 36 years ago my primary school teacher called me and all my class mates to the front of the class, had us all sit on the floor at her feet and read us the first two chapters... Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2009 by Mr. A. I. Harrison
Dire.
If I could give it no stars, I would.
Normally I avoid books that have comparisons to Harry Potter on the cover, since although I enjoy Harry Potter, the writing... Read more
Normally I avoid books that have comparisons to Harry Potter on the cover, since although I enjoy Harry Potter, the writing... Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2008 by Corti
One of Many
I was given 'Shadowmancer' for a Christmas present by my mother's instructions to an aunt who - let's face it - does what she tells her. Read more
Published on 26 Aug 2008 by A. Simpson
Monumentally bad - a testament to all that is wrong with modern...
I stumbled across this much-hyped book only recently in a charity shop. Having waded through it's contrived, irrelevant 'action', tried to engage with marionette characters and... Read more
Published on 18 Aug 2008 by Jim Ashton
Christian propaganda badly packaged
I read this work really looking forward to what I thought would be an excellant and exciting fantasy novel. I had been let down by J.K. Read more
Published on 16 Nov 2007 by RDWHITE
Worth a read
I've read worse. I've read better. The characters are a little on the thin side but the plot is quite good.
Published on 26 July 2007 by mackempaul
Reads like a poor first draft
Very disappointing and peculiarly flat and uninspiring. This is a book that could have been so much better had it been properly developed and allowed to stew properly into a... Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2007 by quippe
.....No
After reading this all i could say to myself was....no!
Very boring, very dull and i have never read a novel with such a pathetically useless lead character. Read more
Very boring, very dull and i have never read a novel with such a pathetically useless lead character. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2006 by R.Downham
[...]not so fun
I'm a teenager, and when I got this book I was looking for something that, while being entertaining, would not be something that I would usually read. Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2006 by A. A. Green
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