Three children, Marcel, Nicola and Fergus, have been left mysteriously in an orphanage run by the kindly Mrs Timmins, but overseen by the fearsome wizard Lord Alwyn and his creature Termagant.
Marcel learns that the mysterious book of Lies can tell falsehood from truth. But can it tell him who he really is? He is not alone in his confusion, either. When the stranger Starkey arrives, Marcel, the haughty Nicola and battle-obsessed Fergus discover that they have a vital part to play in saving the Kingdom from evil. But something’s not right.
Is Starkey friend or foe? And is Lord Alwyn the evil wizard the children first thought? And will the truth really be revealed in the pages of the Book of Lies?
Great light fantasy book for young adults
The first book in The Book series by James Moloney, The Book of Lies proves to be an interesting story about three orphans who have had their memories wiped and discover that before they had been tied together in a story much bigger than themselves.
I really enjoyed the story in this book because of its many twists and turns and how strongly each character was developed and how they fit in the story. In other genres (mostly horror), you find that the characters could be replaced by anyone because the focus is on the evil instead. In this book, the characters and the plot are both well-developed and the story relies on the children as much as the adventure does them.
The three main characters in this book are Marcel, Nicola and Fergus, three orphans living in an old house next to a wizard's tower. The kids areas different to each other as colours, but they still find compromise to get along. There are fights between them, friendship, love and bravery and the characters really helped to bring together the entire story. I really loved reading about how Marcel had developed as a character through the first two books (as I haven't read the third) and how Nicola grew into a woman. The characters age mentally and physically into likable protagonists by the end.
This book was paced very well. Divided into three parts, the book goes through main cycles that aid in uncovering the adventure the protagonists go through and why. I could hardly stand to put it down and finished this book in about two days, swiftly moving onto the second. This book doesn't take you through the story too quickly or slowly and uses each cycle to develop the characters more.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy, even if it's written for younger teenagers.
Celine, 19/04/2015
