Tag Christopher Edge

Fear Files: Hide and Seek

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Fear Files: Hide and Seek
Christopher Edge
Walker Books

Based on the Darkive (a secret database filled with testimony recovered from survivors of inexplicable phenomena), this story is really going to get your adrenalin pumping. From the outset readers discover that this is to be a Level 4 Rated File ie it’s in the ‘Beyond Fear’ category.

Sol and Adam (from whose viewpoint the story is told) are spending the weekend on a camping trip. Adam is not at all happy with things having expected some degree of luxury and has ended up in a muddy field.

After a restless night, they go exploring and come upon an abandoned ghost town where, against Sol’s wishes, they find themselves involved in a really scary game of hide and seek with rules they don’t know. Soon Adam is desperately searching for his friend among weird statues, uniform clad children and the eerie voice of the “Itter” filling his consciousness. Even so, he must find Sol and get out before the Itter finds him. Seemingly though there’s no end to this game but is it a dream, some sort of trick, Adam’s imagination or a horrific reality?

Full of suspense, this is truly gripping reading with a mix of witness accounts, interviewer notes and black and white illustrations, though I definitely wouldn’t recommend this to the faint-hearted or as a pre bedtime read.

Escape Room: Game Zero

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Escape Room: Game Zero
Christopher Edge
Nosy Crow

Absolutely overflowing with thought provoking ideas, this seems to be more complex than the author’s previous Escape Room books. It begins with Eden who has received an invitation through an online gaming forum from someone with the username AMI, setting off excitedly to play a new game, The Escape. Making her way to where she thinks the creating tech company is situated, and followed by her cat, she’s suddenly distracted by a bird entangled in a football net. Having freed the bird and watched it join others flying in a murmuration, things become weird as she’s swept upwards and transported to what she realises is the game landscape and that she’s now entered the game. Looking around there’s no sign of cat, Molly, but she sees almost immediately, a boy, Ted.

It transpires that he’s the son of the CEO of Escape Systems and is playing the game through a virtual headset from the safety of his own home and therefore doesn’t fear facing a wolf or falling off a cliff. Moreover, he refuses to believe that Eden is anything other than an element of the games, (an NPC) rather than a participant.

To get through the game it’s necessary to solve three tricky clues and find three keys. Despite finding it progressively hard to remember anything that went before the game, it’s down to Eden’s determination, competence in puzzle solving and ability to reman calm that they are able to work in tandem through the levels of the game even when things go wrong.

And go wrong they certainly do leaving Eden to complete the game. But will she remain trapped forever or will she be able to return to reality?

A terrific, thrilling read,

Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms / Escape Room

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Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms
Jamar J. Perry
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Drawing on West African and Igbo culture and mythology the author has created a powerful, multi-layered fantasy quest.

Twelve year old Cameron is of Igbo descent and having lost his parents two years earlier, is living with his grandmother in Atlanta. From time to time he has strange experiences but puts them down to his prolific imagination. Cameron is forbidden to enter the attic wherein is kept The Book of Chidani, a family heirloom which he’s been told not to touch.

At the start of the summer holidays, he and his two best friends Aliyah and Zion are having a sleepover. Drawn by the book, Cameron’s last connection to his parents, they sneak into the attic to read it and in so doing, open the portal to the kingdom of Chidani.

There he learns that he’s now the Chidani people’s Descendant and is tasked with saving the country from a power grab by the Queen’s sister Amina. That means he, with the help of his friends has to retrieve three stolen magical artefacts while at the same time face monsters, gods, and their personal fears. They have just three moons in which to do it: will they find all three in that time?

A gripping adventure of loss and love, courage and perseverance.

Escape Room
Christopher Edge
Nosy Crow

Christopher Edge’s story sucks you in right away. Full of twists and turns, it’s a fast-paced adventure, a mystery and a game all in one and will have special appeal to fans of computer games.

The narrator is twelve year old Ami, who is given a ticket to an escape room as a birthday gift from her dad. On arrival she’s expecting to participate in a game but having checked in, met her fellow players – Adjoa, Ibrahim, Oscar and Min – Ami learns from the Host that they have been chosen to save the world and they must work together to find the Answer.

However, when he locks them inside the first room, they quickly realise this is no ordinary game. It’s essential that this disparate group learn to work together, drawing on individual’s strengths in order to solve all the problems they confront in the various chambers they enter. There’s a chess computer to beat, a vast dusty library, a Mayan tomb, a shopping mall that’s deserted save for extinct animals, as well as the commando module of a spaceship bound for Mars. Is there no end to the dangers?

Time is running out: Ami just needs to find the Answer …

There’s a brilliant final twist to this hugely thought-provoking, topical tale and it’s one that lingers long after you’ve put the book down. Just superb.

Follow the Star / Santa’s Christmas Handbook

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Here are a couple of Christmas crackers from Templar Publishing

Follow the Star
Andy Mansfield
Templar Books

‘A STAR appeared, shining bright, to mark a very special night.’ Thus begins the poetic telling of how the Star of Bethlehem lit the sky on the first Christmas and still shines forth today over the countryside, over cities where people hang their own stars and gather together to share their love for each other and to give gifts around the Christmas tree, atop which the star finally stops.

Andy Mansfield, pop-up book creator and paper engineer extraordinaire has worked his own magic on six scenes that, in diorama style, show all this, inspiring readers, certainly this reviewer, to in these increasingly troubled times, wish for peace all over the world not only during the Christmas season but throughout all seasons.

A beautiful book that would make a smashing gift.

Andy Mansfield also created the paper engineering for:

Santa’s Christmas Handbook
Christopher Edge, illustrated by Tim Hutchinson, Richard Johnson, Maggie Kneen, Sandy Nightingale, Mike Philips
Templar Publishing

This seasonal offering is written by Santa’s elves no less, and they let us in on a hithertofore well-kept secret: Santa is extremely accident-prone and when it comes to technology he needs more than a little assistance. Hence this handbook wherein Santa can find exactly what he needs to know so that he can whizz around the entire world in a single night and deliver presents to all those sleeping children and stay in tip-top condition while so doing.

Let’s see what the merry little men in green have to say then: first off we see his high tech. sleigh made so by the mechanic elves who have added such niceties as Booster rockets, an antenna – his link to the North Pole, snow lights, all terrain tracks should the vehicle have to deal with exceedingly bumpy ground. They’ve even given extra padding to the seat, added present nets to take care of any gifts that get dislodged and a host of other refinements.

Next comes a ‘know your reindeer’ guide to prevent mishaps during the journey; this includes a special first aid kit should any of the team get struck down by such ailments as Frost-hoof or Tinsellitis. Yes Dasher, Dancer and co. suffer from pollution too.

Further spreads deal with ensuring that the route can be completed by dawn: the sat nav or rather Santanav, is crucial if Santa is to take the fastest route; the “All About Presents’ instructions has sound advice to cover everything Santa needs to know on that topic. There’s a guide to gaining admission to all residences whether or not there’s a chimney;

instructions on how to behave once inside a house; a how to look after yourself regime;

a bumper assortment of entertainment for the journey and finally, visual ‘do not leave behind’ reminders.

It’s evident that the elves have not only created a comprehensive manual, but also had a wonderful time so doing. It’s totally hilarious, tongue-in-cheek interactive stuff from they who know. Those lucky enough to get this as a gift when Santa comes a-visiting will simply love it.