The Stolen Planet

The Stolen Planet is the second children's fantasy novel from author Pearl Denham. It's part of a trilogy.

Readers will meet again Eirwen, who they will have met in Eirwen and the Gossamer Rainbow.

At age two, Eirwen and her sisters were banished to the planet Earth. Now, at the age of twelve, Eirwen feels that she is ready to seek out the answers to a number of questions.

Her Nereid talents and skills are beginning to grow and develop. Skills she will need on her long and lonely voyage of discovery.

She will traverse the depths of the Earth's oceans, facing many monsters until she can eventually find the sea god, Neptune. It's her belief that Neptune will be able to answer the questions that she has in her mind and heart. Why was she banished from her home world to planet Earth? Why were her two sisters stripped of their Nereid form?

Adaro Kato, her giant squid enemy, is constantly following her, riding a giant Weta, a vicious creature, once thought to be extinct.

Can she best Adaro Kato? But Eirwen is not without support or friends. Galene, the goddess of the Near Sea, the Decapods and other creatures of the realm of Neptune become her friends and her allies.

This book is intelligently written and is for readers who are middle grade.

It's published by Matador at £7.99 and will make an excellent Christmas present for young readers who are ready to move their reading up a notch or two.

Doreen Warinner's War

Doreen Warriner's War is a book by Henry Warriner about his aunt, Doreen Warriner.

It tells the captivating story of an extremely gifted and talented young woman.

She was a young academic who gave up her Rockefeller Scholarship for travel in the West Indies in 1938. Instead she departed for Prague.

Once there she joined up with a tiny but dedicated group of like-minded people who were to be credited with the rescuing of thousands of anti-Nazi men and women.

But she did more. With Nicholas Winton, Jewish children. For this in 1941 she was warded an OBE.

This bbok is also the biography of her subsequent life, the loves and losses, all retold by her nephew using the words of her own diaries, letters and contemporaneous accounts.

Doreen joined the Political Warfare Executive in London. She subsequently worked for the Middle East Supply Centre in Cairo, then becoming Head of Food Supplies, a Belgrade-based job, for the United Nations relief effort created to prevent starvation in war ravaged Yugoslavia.  Both were male dominated words. But this did not cause any pause for Doreen. She took everything in her stride.

After the war's conclusion Doreen returned to the life of an academic, working at University College, London, where she served as a Professor there until she retired in 1866.

She built up considerable expertise as an expert on economics and agrarian difficulties in developing countries. Writing extensively on these issues, working on secondment, to a number of international organisations.

Last year, in 2018, 45 years after her death, Henry Warriner was able to collect, on her behalf, a 'British Heroes of the Holocaust' medal which was awarded by the British government.

It's an extremely well-written and well-researched work, which is a very fitting tribute to Doreen Warriner, a most extraordinary woman.

It will be a perfect Christmas present for anyone interested in the history of World War 2 or in strong, independent women.

It's published by the Book Guild at £10.99.

Umtata

Umtata tells the story of Barney. Barney is very well qualified for his chosen career.

Unfortunately his chosen career was that of a trained assassin.

However, he decides that he no longer wishes to be a hired killer, so he leaves his old life behind, seeking a more tranquil and peaceable existence.

He cloisters himself in a small town in Southern Africa. He is fully aware that there are certain people who want him captured or want him dead. Some of them are government officials, some are not related to any governments. 

He meets a grieving and lonely mother, Naomi, who is separated from her children. In fact she is unsure if they are even alive.

Barney decides that he will assist her in tracing her family, but as time progresses the situation begins to look more and more hopeless.

At the bleakest point, hope is renewed and it seems likely that he will be able to help Naomi find her lost children. But at what cost to Barney? Will his acts of kindness reveal him to the people who wish him harm?

What does he do next? What can he do next?

Author Brian Godfrey has brought us a real and complex character in Barney, a man with conflicting moral imperatives.

The book is published by Matador at £8.50.

The Legacy of Mr Jarvis

The Legacy of Mr Jarvis is a new novel from Jude Hayland which is based on a true story.

In 1966 Mary Foster is 12 years of age and her ordered, peaceful life is disturbed and fragmented by a precipitous move from a nice house in suburban London to a badly neglected Victorian house on the south coast of England.

However, she manages to forge a new friendship which provides her with some comfort in a world that is alien to her.

But suddenly there comes a realisation that her life is not what she thought, that there has been deceit and deception that wrecks her life, leaving her feeling bitter and full of resentment. But she feels it necessary to keep her silence.

It's now 40 years later and Mary feels that now, as a mature woman, she needs to know more. Times are now different, we are in a different century. The secrecy of 40 years ago now seems awkward and strange. And now Mary is anxious to uncover the truth.

But what if the truth is something she might not really wish to learn? Should the secrets of the past remain buried or should they be exposed to the light?

What should Mary do? Keep on seeking and learning the secrets of 40 years ago? Or not?

The book is published by Matador at £9.99.

Charlie Palmer Says

In Charlie Palmer Says author Beverley Bowry introduces us to Nathan Clark. Nathan is ten and he is given the gift of a metal detector for Christmas.

Obviously, he's ecstatic with this present, so he rushes outside on Christmas Day  to use it. But what he actually discovers is a ghost by the name of Charlie Palmer.

Charlie Palmer tells Nathan a very sad story. He reveals that he was murdered by his neighbours, Mr and Mr Kimble. Not only are they murderers, they are also planning to undertake an armed raid.

When Nathan's parents are away for the weekend, he is left in the charge of his big sister. The family jewels go missing and, somehow, Charlie gets the blame.

When Nathan tells the police about the truth about Charlie Palmer, the police are sceptical about what he is telling them.

In fact, only a French scientist called Monsieur Dupont is listening to Nathan and believing him. But then he is the former owner of Nathan's house and he is very, very old. 128 years old.

But Monsieur Dupont wants something, too. But what? And can he get it?

Can Nathan beat the dreadful and murderous Kimble family? Or could he end up sharing the fate that happened to Charlie Palmer?

It's a quirky and very readable book for children and is published by Matador at £6.99.

It's going to be a great Christmas present.

Stiff Guy Yoga

Stiff Guy Yoga is a new book from Yoga expert Nikki Lynds-Xavier which is a guidebook for older, stiffer chaps who need to regain their good, younger selves.

Need to sit down to put your socks on, problems with hips that aren't supple anymore, back and shoulders that don't feel right, now?

Then you need this book. It's aimed at people who are beginners, who have no previous experience with Yoga. And all you need to get started, other than this book, is a Yoga mat.

And the author promises that you can get your good, younger self back, within 30 days.

You will be able to improve your flexibility, reboot your energy levels, cut down on your stress levels, and get back the two zeds. Your zip and your zeal!

The book is very well illustrated and contains a great deal of useful information and tips on healthy living and leading a healthier life.

It's published by Matador at £12.99 and will be a great Christmas gift for the stiff person in your life.

Poetic Justice: Oxford

In Poetic Justice: Oxford author Fran Raya brings us the latest instalment of the story of Randal Forbes.

It's what he, Randal Forbes, calls "the gift" the mysterious, dark powers that he employs, his telepathic mind powers.

However, the trail of destruction that his powers have left behind him has not gone unnoticed and has come to the attention of the police, who are investigating him on several potential charges of murder.

But he was never near the scene of any of the crimes. He was there, however, within the head of each victim who he had targeted.

By now Forbes is a student in Oxford, at Beaumont College, he glories in his successes and is on the way to becoming an author of considerable repute.

But by now he has discovered more enemies who he feels the need to deal with. People who are suspicious of his paranormal abilities he feels the need to eliminate.

His poetic justice is unpleasant and twisted, yet, conversely, he is loyal to his own family members.

Clearly, nobody would be able to offer any challenge to Forbes and his abilities. But what if Forbes isn't the only person in the world with such powers, such psychic abilities? Would they be able to face Forbes and take him on at his own game?

It's published by the Book Guild at £8.99 and will make a great Christmas gift.