Today we’re taking part in The Last Seal blog tour, so here Jonathan reviews it for us…

The Last Seal by Richard Denning 

What caused the Great Fire of London? The Last Seal offers an explanation… September 1666: a struggle between two secret societies threatens to destroy London. Three hundred years previously the Praesidum defeated and incarcerated a demon beneath the city. Now the Liberati aim to release it and gain its power for themselvesAgents of the King are seeking four suspected foreign spies who are, in reality, disparate and unlikely heroes: GABRIEL, the sole remaining member of the Praesidum, crippled by his fear of failure; FREYA, a young thief orphaned by the Great Plague, driven by poverty and self-interest; TOBIAS, a cynical physician, obsessed by his desire for vengeance against the Liberati cavalier who killed his father, and finally and most vitally, BEN, a Westminster schoolboy, whose guilt over his parents’ death threatens to destroy him. Yet these four must overcome their personal problems and work together if they are to foil the evil plans of the Liberati, protect the city and gain the means to defeat the demon. Thrown together by chance when Ben finds an ancient scroll revealing the location of arcane seals that bind the demon beneath London, the story launches into a battle between the Liberati and Praesidium, a battle which takes place within the Great Fire of London. Ultimately, Ben and his friends must confront and defeat both the demon and the evils of the Liberati to save their city and themselves.

The first chapter of the book explains haw a powerful Warlock released a demon called Dantalion. But very soon after the Demon had been released it was imprisoned in a stone tablet by a man in an organisation called the Praesidium. The rest of the book is set in 1666 right at the beginning of September.

Ben who is a school boy at Westminster had his parents killed by a small fire 6 months ago.  The last thing his Dad gave him was a necklace with a strange engraving of a portcullis on it. He has run off during his Latin class to try and do something more exiting in the rest of London. He soon comes to a book shop that mysteriously has the same sign as on his necklace. He goes in and is looking about when a strange man walks in and threatens the shop owner, Gabriel, and asks for a scroll. Ben leaves and Gabriel slips the scroll into Ben’s bag without anyone realising. Later upon reading the scroll Ben finds the Portcullis symbol on it and also realises it is information on how to release Dantalion. What will Ben do?

This book is good because it mixes magic and historical fact into one story. I found some parts of this book tedious because it has too much detail, but overall it was quite good. I would rate it 17/20.

Thanks, Jonathan! To find out more about the book, the author and the blog tour, check it all out here. The next stop on the tour will be on the 16th September, at Ya Yeah Yeah. You can buy it here now..

Today we hear from Bookbabbler Jonathan..

Yesterday’s Treasures – Richard Denning

Yesterday’s Treasures is a continuation of Tomorrow’s Guardian in which the main character Tom discovers his powers of time travel, tries to rescue some other “Walkers” (people with time traveling powers) and comes up against Captain Redfeld who is from the Twisted Reality (a world that is parallel to ours).  Both books are set mainly in London during the 21st Century but there is some moving about and time travel.

Yesterday’s Treasures centres on the “Crown of Knossos” a crown that enhances the power of a walker and was destroyed years ago and fragments of it are now scattered across space and time. Everyone is after it, most seriously, the Cult of Knossos who want to use it to bring their old master back and destroy the entire universe.  Who will get the crown first?

But there is another problem.  People from other realities and times are appearing randomly. This can only mean one thing; the walls of reality itself must be breaking up! Why is it happening and how can it be stopped?

I think it would be a bad idea to read this book without reading the first one in the series because there isn’t much of an explanation at the beginning. I liked this book much more than the first one because it is much faster and has more action. Although the problem about the Crown of Knossos is resolved, a new problem comes up and it is obvious that the series will continue. My rating for this book is 9/10.

Thanks, Jonathan, and thanks to the author for sending us a copy.

Today we have a review from Bookbabbler Jonathan…

Tomorrow’s Guardian – Richard Denning

Tomorrow’s Guardian is set in various places around the world but mainly in London and is about a young, brave, quick-thinking boy called Tom. It is set mostly in the 21st Century, but there is some time travel. Tom is only eleven years old.

On Tom’s birthday he feels a strange dragging sensation like he’s being pulled backwards. And then the time when he is given his birthday cake is repeated. That night in bed as he is wondering what happened a young man called Septimus suddenly appears out of nowhere. Septimus is young and immature, but he seems to understand what is going on. He says the sensation Tom felt is time travel. Tom wonders whether this could be possible. The next morning he thinks Septimus was probably a dream, but the dragging sensations carry on and even get him into trouble at school. Tom thinks that he is going crazy. And then Septimus comes back. He asks Tom whether he will come with him and they go and see a man who calls himself Professor. The Professor says that people who can travel in time are called walkers and tells Tom there is an energy called the Flow of Time and that is how Walkers travel through time. The Professor tells Tom that there are Walkers back in time that died but that could be saved and asks Tom whether he will go and help them. Tom agrees and the adventure begins…

Read this book to find out whether Tom will survive. Parts of this book can be rather slow, but there are many exiting bits, too . My favourite character is Charles (who is another walker that Tom meets ) because he is brave and his way of “Walking” is running really fast.  If you like science-fiction adventure stories then give this book a try.  I’m looking forward to reading another book by the same author.  My rating for this book is 7/10.

Thanks, Jonathan, and thanks to the author for sending us a copy to review. The sequel, Yesterday’s Treasure is available to preorder now here.