Written by ROSS MONTGOMERY
An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.
Hello, and welcome to my latest Book Review featuring this week a Adventure in Middle Grade Fiction.
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| ©Image Copyright |
AUTHOR: Ross Montgomery (Click to link to their site)
Cover Illustrated by: Keith Robinson (Click to link to their site)
Published by: Walker Books (Click to link to their site)
Publication date Paperback: 28th August 2025
Paperback 13 digit ISBN: 978-152 952 6127
UK Cover price for Paperback: £7.99
Amazon KINDLE price: £7.21
Pages: 277
Age range: 9 - 12 and up.
SPOILER ALERT
Some as to plot direction and characters.
Thank you to...
We are exceedingly grateful to Rebecca Oram and Walker Books, Publishers, for offering us a chance to Read & Review this story.
As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, received as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.
First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.
The plot
Tick, age ten, and his younger brother, Leaf, about five, have lived with their grandpa on the farthest edge of the forest of Ellia, right by the sea.
Tick recalls the stormy night when someone brought a baby to his grandfather’s cottage. The baby soon became known as Leaf, and the three had lived happily for years, right until grandfather died. Now Tick has to be the man of the cottage. They were out collecting wood before the snows came, when Tick spotted the black sails of the Drene warships massed across the horizon. The war-hungry, bloodthirsty emperor of the Drene is invading. Tick had been warned that this day might come, and knows they must now flee to the Ellian stronghold called King’s Keep. Set far inland, it is an impregnable fortress at the end of a valley. Ideal for defending, and for holding out against a siege.
Winter is coming, and Tick knows that in such an emergency he has only six moons to get there before they raise the drawbridge. With snow already forming inland and around the mountain pass to the the Keep, they need to travel quickly. Their grandfathers horse is called Pebble a mighty sixteen hand dapple grey mare. And even though she is almost twenty she has the stamina and fight of a far younger horse, will carry both boys and he will be their salvation. They need to get supplies from their home before the flee. Dashing back to the cabin, Tick discovers there is someone there, a man dressed all in black. He is advance guard for the Drene army who can clear the way of locals; despatching them in the night as they sleep. They are called Hunters, ride a black horse, and use big hawks to hunt as well as carry messages.
With no way of getting the provisions and equipment they need for the journey, Tick steals from the Hunter’s saddlebag. In his hurry to search the bag for anything useful, he stuffs some of the mans papers from the bag into his pocket.
But when the Hunter returns, they flee the scene and head for the hills and safety.
This is where the adventure snowballs. Along his path, guided by Pebble, who is both mount and guide and nanny, the boys will encounter bandits, knights with unknown loyalty, strangers who may or may not be what they seem, and increasingly threatening weather.
It soon becomes a life or death chase when the hunter and his black hawk come after them. But surely nothing Tick took could be worth the pursuit? Checking the pieces of paper he took, he realises they contain precious information that will affect King Cass, the ruler of Ellia, as well as the safety of all in the Keep.
Has Tick bitten off more than he can handle? Will the snow or the hunter get to them before they make King’s Keep, and will they be welcomed at the Keep when they arrive? Can he keep young Leaf alive and well through the ordeal and cold that awaits? Whatever happens now, with thousands of Drene warriors behind them, there is NO turning back.
So, what did we think?
Mrs H read The Lord of the Rings many (many) moons ago, under the covers and late into the night. She also read T. H. White’s Arthurian saga. Again at a very young age. He wrote The Sword in the Stone (1938), and later, The Once and Future King series (1958). I think this is why this adventure resonates with Mrs H so much.
In those days, she says there were few good books for children; you jumped from Janet and John early learning books to Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven (or the Famous Five) and then on to adult books. Or that is how it seemed in retrospect.
What a joy it is to read and review so many brilliantly creative, compelling and well-executed reads. This adventure hits the mark in every way. The author says he set out to create a story that was not overly complicated, had knights and an evil army intent on overthrowing good. And a horse that would fight to the bitter end to protect him and his brother. Apparently, the horse role was going to be taken by an enormous dog. Frankly, the story works brilliantly with a horse. As a horse lady herself, Mrs H would have loved a steed such as Pebble. Our own steed would balk at such a task as Tick had set for them all. But this is a fantasy adventure, and the ups, downs, joys and sadness work well.
The author has achieved all that they set out to do and more, and created the perfect contender for an instant classic. One that Mrs H and I would dearly have loved to have growing up.
The author wrote Tick in the very best way. Being ten years old means that his innocence feels genuine. His desire to do good, to care, to put others first, and above all to fulfil his now dead grandfather’s wish that he look after his five-year-old brother, all feel so very tangible and unforced by the writer.
It very much feels like it is Tick’s story that drives the tale rather than a plot formula. There is a difference in our eyes, and we feel this raises this tale to classic status. Some lovely twists also caught us off guard when they were revealed at the end.
And if all that is not enough, we fell in love with the artwork on the cover. It is so captivating, powerful and expressive. It certainly is memorable.
So, crunch time.
An Arthurian and Tolkienesque epic masterpiece of middle-grade adventure. A distillation of everything a young reader could wish for in a form that carries you faultlessly through an emotional range to the climatic and even heartwarming conclusion. An avalanche of creativity, fantasy, action and adventure that is huge fun to read.
Why, oh why were such books not there in our youth? But they are here now, and this one is a cracker. AND, it has a map!
Before we get on with the selfies, we just wanted to announce that our first adventure book, 'Chumley and Hudson Investigates. The King Herod's Mystery', is now available for Kindle users and Kindle Unlimited users almost everywhere!
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And now for something completely different . . .
Here is yours truly desperately trying to hold back the dawn Mrs H let in one day last week. I just wasn't at all ready, even thought it was past 7am and Mrs H had been up since 4:30 and done her morning chores.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that adventure, and will dip your toes into the amazing world of Middle Grade literature. Whilst most are quite short by comparison to adult reads, as they are for some of the most discerning of readers, they can be incredibly fulfilling.
What books have you all been reading, and would you recommend them to your blogging friends and the wider world?
Till laters!
ERin
