The Time Smugglers by Rosie Morgan – a Review

The Time Smugglers by Rosie Morgan – a Review

 

The Time Smugglers
The Camelot Inheritance series – Book # 2
by Rosie Morgan
Release Date: October 30, 2013
The Time Smugglers

Link to order The Time Smugglers: Amazon

Description:
It’s been a year since Arthur Penhaligon swapped his skateboard for a sword and became a reluctant, teenage hero – and a Guardian of Cornwall.
Twelve months since he and his friends found themselves among time-travellers and ancient knights.
Fifty-two weeks of wondering what would happen next. The waiting is almost over.
On Cornwall’s shores, old and new enemies are gathering, more deadly and more powerful than the four Guardians could ever imagine.
Memories will live and the Time Keeper will be named. There will be bloody battles, death will finally claim its prize and a tiny green dragon will make its mark

Nick still jokes (all the time), and Gawain’s Uncle Kitto is just as mysterious. Tamar is even more feisty and Arthur discovers that some old enemies will not die – well not quite.

‘A long-limbed figure scrambles over the rocks accompanied by a midnight-feathered bird. On the cliff path, a Watcher observes the man and the bird, before disappearing with a crackle and a ‘woomph’ into another century.
Meanwhile Arthur, Nick and Tamar sit together on the hillside above the beach, three of the four Guardians, unaware that the peace of the last year is about to be shattered in the cruelest way possible

 

Review: 
In less than a complete first chapter, author Rosie Morgan thrust me back into the scenic, coastal town of Cornwall, England and guess what?  I missed this wonderful cast of characters and was delighted to accompany them on their next quest in The Time Smugglers (The Camelot Inheritance).  It’s a year later, but it’s been strangely quiet.  Everybody’s thinking it, after the upheaval of last summer (read review of The Golden Sword here), but impulsive Guardian, Nick, voices the sentiment.  Oh, oh…that’s an open invitation if I ever heard one!

“But it’s been a whole year since we saw him and everything’s been so…normal.  I’m beginning to wonder if anything’s ever going to happen!”

The adversarial Crow Man has located Arthur at his aunt’s home (whom is also a valuable piece of the roundtable, if you will) and his vengeance is as fresh as the summer day.  Before long, the Crow Man resumes his menacing role and the “four musketeers” (tagged by Nick) scramble to elude him lest they engage in his vendetta for the death of Matearnas a year ago.  Oh, the battle comes, rest assured, but timing is everything as you’ll discover in this sequel. 

Ms. Morgan introduces time travel, instantaneous and mind-jarring, as a central theme.  Watchers are summoned from individual posts throughout the world across time (Joseph in Egypt, a young Leonardo Da Vinci in Italy), but they’re of the animal variety as well!  The cats are back, hooray, but we are treated to helpful aviary and aquatic friends as well.  Arthur and his Guardians are surrounded by protectors (bless their hearts), though it seems wholly unfair to supervise/observe their charges, but not be able to defend them when threatened. 

“The Rule states that we must never intervene, but at times it is a hard command to follow.”  They were quiet as they contemplated their commission:  to Watch those assigned to them – but never to interfere.

A scene was particularly brutal and I was furious that harm came to one of our beloved characters!  Mental communication, or “deep listening”, lends a hand to speedy exchanges of information (fortuitously preventative on occasion), but they’re also costly to Arthur’s well being (the dark forces inflict agony upon his senses).

That’s when Arthur happens upon a book that unfolds as necessary (difficult to decipher in its current state).  Each Guardian, chosen for their unique traits, is being approached and assigned a duty regarding the safety of Arthur and his momentous undertaking.  Tamar, the sole female, has been designated the Time Keeper and she gets involved in plenty of “hairy” situations (remember this key word).  Unfortunately, as Arthur is evading their clutches, Arthur’s Guardians/friends have become nearly as valuable; they know his honor would never allow those he loved to be sacrificed.

“There are some who refuse to recognize your birth-right Art, an’ Tamar is also a Guardian; they believe that you will be weakened without her.”

A series of developments/revelations at their proper time lead to the inevitable, climactic showdown between light and darkness.  So many interesting events!  A sea of boiling water, Watchers come to life (trust me, they’re so cool), animals rallying to assist and thwart threats…it’s a magical book.  We even join the legend and interact with King Arthur, Lancelot and Excalibur!  My tiny criticisms involve character development and too many confusing exchanges.  The description of the Watchers, emphasis on the plural, because there are many, forced me to re-read several lines of dialogue.  It was at times difficult to keep up with who was talking during dialogue (Walker, Fisherman, Writer?), and I wasn’t always certain who was friend or foe.  While we had a good idea of Matearnas’ intentions in the debut novel, the new villain, the Lady of Darkness, or as “she calls ‘erself the True Queen of Kernow”, her role came on a bit late.  The dark forces, led by this self-proclaimed queen, are opposed to young Arthur assuming the ultimate power, but this woman, evil incarnate as she may be, is not fleshed out enough to understand her purpose.  Perhaps I’m missing something from the legend of King Arthur? 

Ms. Morgan is writing/editing book 3 and I am ready to read it in its earliest stages.  I love the camaraderie, the contemporary influence on a historic legend, the involvement of secondary characters, and the magic that is woven throughout its pages. 

“And in a dusty corner of a bedroom, a book flips wide open.  Its pages turn, a blur of ink, until they slow and stop.  A picture of a magical island, crowned by a castle and encircled by ice, illuminate the empty room.

The book – and the island – wait.”    

As will I…as patiently as possible.  🙂

Reviewed by Carmen

Copy provided by Author

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The Golden Sword by Rosie Morgan – a Review

The Golden Sword by Rosie Morgan – a Review

The Golden Sword

Link to order The Golden Sword: Amazon

Description:
Meet Arthur Penhaligon on the day his life changes – forever.
On the day he skateboards into the past, discovering a world of magic and mystery; unaware that he was chosen before birth to fulfil a unique destiny.

All Arthur really wants is to have a normal life, doing normal things.
But unknown to him, before he was born – a very long time before – Arthur was chosen.
And that will mean that his life is going to be anything but ordinary.
Skate-boarding down his local street he is suddenly aware that everyone has disappeared, except for just one man, a sinister stranger – and a crow. And the stranger is waiting for him.

Arthur and his friends, Nick and Tamar, quickly find themselves pulled into a strange world of deep magic, mystery and danger.
A world involving the murderous Crow Man, and Matearnas – the self-crowned Queen of Cornwall, determined to rob Arthur of his ancient birthright.
At any cost.

Normal is just about to go out of the window.

 

Review:
The Golden Sword, set in Cornwall, England, centuries after the rise and fall of Camelot, is about Arthur Penhaligon, a young boy destined for big things.  Author, Rosie Morgan, tells a lovely story about a normal teenager with normal wishes for a great summer.  When peculiar events interfere with said plans and can no longer go ignored, Arthur innately rises to the occasion.  Great-Uncle Lance must have had something to do with that?

Arthur is being stalked by a man wearing a long coat and wide-brimmed hat…and a crow.  From their first encounter, “the stranger slowly and deliberately raised one arm and pointed right at him” to a near confrontation that riled up and assembled a charming cast of cats in Arthur’s defense.  These surreptitious visits would soon turn more menacing and set off a series of events linking Arthur to the legendary past…and his imminent future.

Rosie Morgan is not retelling the legend of King Arthur – rather, she’s preparing the stage (and a sequel, I hope!), for young Arthur’s remarkable destiny.  Armed with Tamar and Nick as his trusty sidekicks (headed for the current-day Round Table?), “they were a force to be reckoned with when they were on the same side”.

Fortuitous meetings with members of the “Watchers” slowly, but assuredly, place Arthur in line for a triumphant conclusion.  Good versus evil ensues and Arthur faces Matearnas, an adversary unwilling to relinquish her “guardianship” over the land.  In spite of his disbelief over the impossible circumstances that have invaded his life, Arthur displays faith and allows fate to dictate his actions.  In a nod to the legend, Bedivere, a knight and loyal follower of King Arthur indicates to young Arthur that he is in fact The One:

“There are more things under the heavens than we can ever imagine, Sire.”

At 187 pages, lots of authors would overwhelm you and cram details.  This is an unhurried, albeit slow-paced, story of a boy gathering his troops for more adventures.  Will they all be of heroic proportions?  Who knows, but if Ms. Morgan supplies us with enchanting new quests, I’m reading!  The Golden Sword appeals to all ages and I think that’s important for the YA audience when, undoubtedly, the past will encounter the present.  Ms. Morgan entwines a brief history lesson while delivering a thoroughly enjoyable read about Arthur’s journey.     

Reviewed by Carmen

Copy provided by Author

 

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