#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood:The Raven's Call by Kris Humphrey

Illustrated by Chellie Carroll

224 pages in paperback (read on Kindle via NetGalley)

Publisher: Little Tiger 

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer - a guardian of the wild.

As Dawn races to find the earthstone - the final link in the battle against the Narlaw - Ona struggles to keep control as the situation in the capital reaches crisis point. Can the young Whisperers of Meridina banish the shape-shifting demons once and for all?

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As far as children’s publishing is concerned, I wish we could drop the phrase ‘never judge a book by its cover’. We all do - so let’s not pretend. Let’s celebrate the art of creating attractive and truthful covers.

And while we’re at it, can we also express our delight in illustrations - for all ages. The combination of the right pictures and the right words is powerful - in a joyous spectrum from picture books to Folio Editions. I love them all. One more note on this topic to publishers: please can you make it as easy as possible for reviewers to know who created all this loveliness? Thank you.

You may take it from the above that I think Kris Humphrey and Chellie Carroll make a great team. Both make bold, straightforward art that children can enjoy - and both show Meridina to be both different to, yet echo our own world. (I have to wave cheerily at The Artful Doodlers too for the maps in all four books in the Guardians of the Wild sequence - maps give great pleasure to many fantasy fans.)

However tempting the black and purple cover is, do start at the beginning of the set. This way you will get to know the array of characters and really care what happens to them in this fast-paced conclusion to the Guardians of the Wild quartet. Begin with A Whisper of Wolves, then read Warning Cry followed by Gathering Voices. It’s fine if there’s a gap between these - each have some recaps to help you pick up what’s going on.

In The Raven’s Call, the conflict with the demonic Narlaw guarantees lots of action - but there are also moments of poignant beauty, threat and heroism. For me, the most pleasing and unexpected aspect of the whole series is the emotional growth in one of the non-magical characters. Most readers will find someone to cheer on - and (no spoilers) this person was mine. See if you can spot who I mean.

Overall - this is a lively fantasy series with hints of Narnia, and a touch of Abi Elphinstone’s passion for nature. The young characters are at the heart of everything - and the ending is sure to please. I wonder if there will be any more adventures for the Whisperers and their companions.

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed-and-breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You're always welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter.

#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood: Gathering Voices by Kris Humphrey

Summary

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer - a guardian of the wild. 

The war against the shape-shifting Narlaw is raging. Mika and her Arctic fox companion, Star, must travel from their distant mountain home to join Dawn and the other Whisperers at the palace. The journey is fraught with danger and the outlook for the kingdom of Meridina is bleak, but Mika has discovered a gift that might just change their fortunes. Could she hold the key to defeating the Narlaw?

Gathering Voices written by Kris Humphrey

Published by Stripes in 2016 ( read via NetGalley)

Illustrated by Chellie Carroll

224 pages in paperback with illustrations

****

This is the third book in the Guardians of the Wild series by Kris Humphrey. (A Whisper of Wolves and Warning Cry are both reviewed on this site). It will help to read them in order - certain references will make more sense - but it’s fairly easy to work things out by various clues. This time Mika the central character has an Arctic fox, Star, as her companion.

As the overall story is coming towards a conclusion (in book four), events are becoming more dramatic. There’s a strong sense of peril throughout - and good deal of challenge for Mika to deal with. Friends will make sacrifices to help the cause - and one is truly poignant. 

A pleasing sense of environment, as seen on the bold and attractive cover, infuses the story. The bringing together of people from a variety of backgrounds to defeat an evil that threatens them all is a heartening feature of these books. Why wouldn’t you like a kind of multicultural war on misery and greed?

The magical aspects include a range of tactics and it’s good to see characters you like grow and develop their skills. There are set-backs and at least one whoa-I-didn’t-see-that-coming moment (for me, anyway.) 

In short: fast-paced fantasy adventure with a taste of nature - ideal for a quick read. The publishers recommend nine and up but some fluent younger readers might well enjoy them.

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed-and-breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You're always welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter.

#ReviewMonday with KM Lockwood: Warning Cry (Guardians of the Wild Book 2) by Kris Humphrey

Chapter One

The sun rose behind Sleeping Rock and, as its rays crested the summit, long shafts of light speared into the savannah: pink, orange, brilliant white. The earth woke, insects buzzed into the air and the acacia trees shifted in the breeze.

Nara stood at the front of the house, her pack, bow and arrows beside her and her water skin hitched to her belt. She would miss this sight. Sleeping Rock would always mean home to her, no matter how glad she was to be leaving.

She could hear her father in the kitchen, cleaning up after breakfast. Her mother was tending to the cows, milking them in her quick, orderly way; and Nara’s sister, Kali, was busy cleaning out the chicken sheds and collecting eggs to sell at the next market.

All this hard work going on around her felt like a reproach.

Nara was a Whisperer, not a farmer. She had been chosen on the day she was born, when a single white feather landed at the door of her parents’ home…

Published by Stripes in 2015 ( read via NetGalley)

Illustrated by Chellie Carroll

224 pages in paperback with illustrations

Summary from series website

Nara’s life is turned upside down when she receives a summons from the Palace Whisperer, Dawn. The shape-shifting Narlaw are back and it’s up to the Whisperers to protect the kingdom of Meridina. But the journey from Nara’s remote savannah home will not be easy. Can she and Flame, her leopard companion, reach the palace safely? They’ll need all their skills to survive…

*****

This is the sequel to Whisper of Wolves in The Guardians of the Wild Series - reviewed here. I would advise reading that tale first if you haven’t already. It will make some of the characters easier to understand.

Here we see the same companion animal idea - but this time Nara has Flame the Leopard on her side. The matching of animal, culture and setting is well-done: who wouldn’t enjoy such a creature from a South African-like realm as part of the adventure? There are plenty of precise details which make this fantasy world both credible and inclusive. You immediately get a feel for that from the striking cover by Chellie Carroll.

One of the strong points of the first story was a range of interesting and varied female characters - Kris Humphrey has carried on in fine style. There’s plenty of drama too - with wild animals, demons, and conflicts between tribes and families.

It’s quite short and easy to read - suitable for relatively new independent readers. It’s only fair to point out that it neds on something of a cliff hanger - but the next is already out: Gathering Voices.

I would recommend this for fans of Abi Elphinstone who might enjoy a shorter book with a similar mix of magic, animals and fast-paced adventure.

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K. M. Lockwood lives by the sea in Sussex - see the pics on Instagram. She fills jars with sea-glass, writes on a very old desk and reads way past her bedtime. Her tiny bed and breakfast is stuffed full of books - and even the breakfasts are named after writers. You'd be welcome to chat stories with @lockwoodwriter on Twitter

Guardians of the Wild: A Whisper of Wolves by Kris Humphrey

 

Alice wished that the demons were just ancient history, but she knew better than that. The missing hunters and the changes in the forest were small things, coincidences perhaps, but Alice felt a growing fear that something sinister was behind it all - and she knew Storm and the other wolves shared her suspicions.

224 pages

Paperback due 2nd March 2015 from Stripes Publishing

Summary from Publisher’s website

When a raven drops a white feather at the doorstep on the day of your birth, it is a symbol of your destiny. You are a Whisperer - a guardian of the wild.

Many years have passed since the people of Meridina last knew war, but a shadow has settled over the kingdom. When Alice and her companion, Storm, sense a demonic presence in the forests, they send for help. But they’re running out of time. With the entire balance of the natural world at stake, will Alice and Storm have to face the demons alone?

******

Reviewed by K. M. Lockwood

This is the first in a four-part series featuring different children with animal companions who have to save their world from the evil Narlaw. It’s an appealing concept - and another in the growing trend of featuring the natural world in books for children - hoorah! As anyone who

knows children is aware, animals and nature have a deep resonance with younger readers. Anything that focuses the great outdoors as an alternative to a purely ‘virtual’ existence has a head start for many children - and a place in my heart.

It’s quite short - and fairly easy to read. It does move from Alice’s point of view to Dawn’s on occasion - though not without signal. Any reasonably competent reader would enjoy the adventure as it zips along. There are some frightening scenes - but the resilience of the main characters really helps you feel it will work out - somehow. That means I can recommend it for younger fluent readers - unless they are sensitive about demons and the like. One of the best aspects is the gender balance. This story passes the Bechdel Test - and then some. There are lots of male and female characters in important roles - which is an improvement on many traditional fantasies I have read or watched. I have hopes that the next story ‘Warning Cry’ will be even more inclusive. Surely Nara from the remote savannah with her leopard companion, Flame, won’t disappoint?

This first story has an attractive cover which gives a flavour of the book: full of green forest trees and featuring our heroines, Alice and Storm: I wish I knew who did it to give them due credit.

All in all, an enjoyable fantasy read for the younger fluent reader with a soft spot for magic and animals. I will be interested to see the series progress in summer 2015.