World's End (The Age of Misrule : Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: An epic alternative future
Review: Five years after its first publication I finally get round to reading Chadbourn's opener in the 'Age of Misrule' and find I should have read it back then. However, the bonus is that I can read the other two immediately after.
Opening in a London pea-souper, Jack Churchill and Ruth Gallagher arrive at the scene of a scuffle which rapidly becomes a murder that leaves them firstly unconscious then traumatised. On waking and then undergoing hypnotherapy they come to realise that the duality that is the world is about to end, that science is shortly to die and magic to regain it's place in the world. What follows is a manic car chase down the M4 as they are hunted by a dragon, one of the Fabulous beasts and then stalked by the Baobhan Sith.
Over the course of the next hundred or so pages we learn that Ruth and Church are two of the Five Brothers and Sisters of the Dragon, fated to save the world from the return of the Fomorii, the fantastically evil enemies of the Tuatha De Danann.

After meeting the third sister, the overly cynical Laura and being tasked by one of the remaining Tuatha De Danann to find the four objects of power (Stone of Fal, Sword of Nuada, Spear of Lugh, Cauldron of Dagda) by Beltane they find themselves being hunted across Southern England as a lantern of power directs them to each object. After quickly gaining the stone in Avebury, Church and Tom (an aging hippy who has visited the Otherlands and has become the five's mentor) are caught by the Formorri leader and tortured, before they escape with new brother Dragon, Veitch. Laura and Ruth meet up with the fifth brother, Shavri and narrowly escape capture by the Wild Hunt. All the while science continues to fail and the countryside is beginning to realise that the stuff of fairy tales is coming true, whilst the great cities slumber unprepared.
The chase truly begins as they move to Glastonbury Tor for the cauldron, or Graal, to Tintagel for the Sword and deepest Wales for the final spear before hurtling northwards through the Lake District. During the events each experiences their own personal odyssey as we are introduced to the special skills that make up the quintet. However, the sum is always greater than the parts. Having recovered all then losing the artefacts they defeat the Erle King and bring the objects together for Beltane and free the Danann who drive off the Formorri. The victory comes at price as the Danann claim an intent to stay on Earth and claim it for themselves and we conclude with the British government finally broadcasting to a nation the darkness that lies ahead.
Chadbourn's first of three is a sparkling read, weaving multiple Celtic myths together to reopen a Britain that has much of its folklore in mistier times. Providing a new future for the island nation and bringing together some peculiarly British characters (who do need some more work to become more rounded) it is a magisterial tour de force from this author that any fantasy fan will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: An epic alternative future
Review: Five years after its first publication I finally get round to reading Chadbourn's opener in the `Age of Misrule' and find I should have read it back then. However, the bonus is that I can read the other two immediately after.
Opening in a London pea-souper, Jack Churchill and Ruth Gallagher arrive at the scene of a scuffle which rapidly becomes a murder that leaves them firstly unconscious then traumatised. On waking and then undergoing hypnotherapy they come to realise that the duality that is the world is about to end, that science is shortly to die and magic to regain it's place in the world. What follows is a manic car chase down the M4 as they are hunted by a dragon, one of the Fabulous beasts and then stalked by the Baobhan Sith.
Over the course of the next hundred or so pages we learn that Ruth and Church are two of the Five Brothers and Sisters of the Dragon, fated to save the world from the return of the Fomorii, the fantastically evil enemies of the Tuatha De Danann.

After meeting the third sister, the overly cynical Laura and being tasked by one of the remaining Tuatha De Danann to find the four objects of power (Stone of Fal, Sword of Nuada, Spear of Lugh, Cauldron of Dagda) by Beltane they find themselves being hunted across Southern England as a lantern of power directs them to each object. After quickly gaining the stone in Avebury, Church and Tom (an aging hippy who has visited the Otherlands and has become the five's mentor) are caught by the Formorri leader and tortured, before they escape with new brother Dragon, Veitch. Laura and Ruth meet up with the fifth brother, Shavri and narrowly escape capture by the Wild Hunt. All the while science continues to fail and the countryside is beginning to realise that the stuff of fairy tales is coming true, whilst the great cities slumber unprepared.
The chase truly begins as they move to Glastonbury Tor for the cauldron, or Graal, to Tintagel for the Sword and deepest Wales for the final spear before hurtling northwards through the Lake District. During the events each experiences their own personal odyssey as we are introduced to the special skills that make up the quintet. However, the sum is always greater than the parts. Having recovered all then losing the artefacts they defeat the Erle King and bring the objects together for Beltane and free the Danann who drive off the Formorri. The victory comes at price as the Danann claim an intent to stay on Earth and claim it for themselves and we conclude with the British government finally broadcasting to a nation the darkness that lies ahead.
Chadbourn's first of three is a sparkling read, weaving multiple Celtic myths together to reopen a Britain that has much of its folklore in mistier times. Providing a new future for the island nation and bringing together some peculiarly British characters (who do need some more work to become more rounded) it is a magisterial tour de force from this author that any fantasy fan will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A Rollercoaster of Excitement
Review: I whole-heartedly enjoyed this book. The characters especially linger in my mind for they were not what one would commonly consider heroes, they are merely people struggling with their own internal conflict and coming together against the greater evil.

The plot is not predicatable - although the characters do spend an awlfully large amount of time running away (which is reasonable given the unsurmountable odds rising against them). The seemingly excessive amount of vomitting and falling unconscious did detract somewhat from my intense enjoyment, but all-in-all, I found it a highly addictive, unpredictable read. And the ending is just the sort of ending I enjoy ^^ But I'm not giving away any hints except to say - I want the second book and I want it now!

Rating:
Summary: A Rollercoaster of Excitement
Review: I whole-heartedly enjoyed this book. The characters especially linger in my mind for they were not what one would commonly consider heroes, they are merely people struggling with their own internal conflict and coming together against the greater evil.

The plot is not predicatable - although the characters do spend an awlfully large amount of time running away (which is reasonable given the unsurmountable odds rising against them). The seemingly excessive amount of vomitting and falling unconscious did detract somewhat from my intense enjoyment, but all-in-all, I found it a highly addictive, unpredictable read. And the ending is just the sort of ending I enjoy ^^ But I'm not giving away any hints except to say - I want the second book and I want it now!

Rating:
Summary: What a read!
Review: Well I found this book by going through my local second hand book store and was amazed by the way this story line. Mark Chadbourn's continuous melding of ancient mythological creations with today's technology is great. I can't wait for his second book to come out so I can buy it.

Rating:
Summary: A nail biting story - A must read by all Fantasy aficionados
Review: Well, where do I start with this? What first attracted me to this book was the fact that it was the first book of a series. Which often tells me that the author is dedicated to writing a real 'story' and not trying to make a simple 'money spinner' one off book.

Mark Chadbourn in my mind has written a real story with characters to both hate and cheer, his characters are quite three dimensional and believable. Even though the story advances and the characters often overcome vast obstacles in their path, they do not come through unscathed. This is not a story of boy meets girl; boy and girl fall in love, and then together they defeat the villain. This story and characters have twists and turns throughout the plot. There is no real black or white in this book, more often than not there is mostly grey. This is not that the story is bland, far from it; this story is quite often filled with a seat of your pants thriller type of affair. The plot and story are quite believable and quite within a credible scope of reality.

Both myself and my friends, who I recommended this book to, could not put it down once we had started reading it. I was constantly reading this book to find out what happened to the main characters. Would they survive the current predicament that they were in? Would Jack and Ruth get together or are they destined for other things?

Overall, the book is fantastic and I cannot wait for the second and further books on this story to be published. I only hope that Mark Chadbourn has not gone on holidays now that the second book has been published. I hope that he is now hard at work with any other books so that I can enjoy them as much as I have his first book.

WELL DONE MARK CHADBOURN!

Rating:
Summary: A nail biting story - A must read by all Fantasy aficionados
Review: Well, where do I start with this? What first attracted me to this book was the fact that it was the first book of a series. Which often tells me that the author is dedicated to writing a real `story' and not trying to make a simple `money spinner' one off book.

Mark Chadbourn in my mind has written a real story with characters to both hate and cheer, his characters are quite three dimensional and believable. Even though the story advances and the characters often overcome vast obstacles in their path, they do not come through unscathed. This is not a story of boy meets girl; boy and girl fall in love, and then together they defeat the villain. This story and characters have twists and turns throughout the plot. There is no real black or white in this book, more often than not there is mostly grey. This is not that the story is bland, far from it; this story is quite often filled with a seat of your pants thriller type of affair. The plot and story are quite believable and quite within a credible scope of reality.

Both myself and my friends, who I recommended this book to, could not put it down once we had started reading it. I was constantly reading this book to find out what happened to the main characters. Would they survive the current predicament that they were in? Would Jack and Ruth get together or are they destined for other things?

Overall, the book is fantastic and I cannot wait for the second and further books on this story to be published. I only hope that Mark Chadbourn has not gone on holidays now that the second book has been published. I hope that he is now hard at work with any other books so that I can enjoy them as much as I have his first book.

WELL DONE MARK CHADBOURN!