BOOK REVIEW: Crow's Revenge (Keeper of the Realms #1) by Marcus Alexander

Title: Crow's Revenge

Author: Marcus Alexander

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Puffin Books

Publication Date: 2nd February 2012

Goodreads Summary: I've just had a flesh-eating giant tearing around my house and now I'm in this strange land I don't know anything about'!

Before she can untangle the mystery that will save Bellania, Charlie Keeper needs the answer to a life-changing secret her guardian, the dastardly Mr Crow, has been keeping from her ...Just who is Charlie Keeper?

{ Review }

I recently became aware of this series when I won a copy of The Dark Army (Keeper of the Realms #2) from Goodreads and whilst I wasn't too keen to get started on Crow's Revenge, I was surprised to find that I was actually quite drawn into it from the opening pages. 

In Crow's Revenge, we meet Charlie Keeper, a young teenage girl who has lost her parents and lives with her grandma in a big shabby house. Her lawyer Mr Crow is a selfish man who constantly makes her sign forms without telling her what she is signing and she is convinced that he is stealing her family fortune. One day, Charlie finds a strange creature in her home, Jensen the treman. Of course, Charlie has no idea what a treman is but after going through several doors and corridors she has never explored before in her house, she discovers herself in Bellania, a whole new world, that she has entered via a portal in her house. She learns that she is a Keeper of the Realms which means that it is her duty to guard the portal between the human world and Bellania where magic exists. Trouble is brewing in Bellania though as Bane, an evil spirit, tries to capture Charlie and the pendant which is so precious to her. Just as Charlie was starting to think her life in London was really dull, she is thrust into a whole new world with new responsibilities. 

The plot is really well thought out and there are several major twists along the way. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next and begging for someone to explain how things worked in Bellania, a new world. It is impossible to know which characters are the good guys and which are the bad guys which keeps your attention focussed on looking out for the smallest clue that might help you figure it out. There are several plot strands working throughout this story, all involving Charlie Keeper but also many other characters as well so there's always a lot going on. My only complaint would be that I think the plot could've been condensed and the end of the book could have been reached a lot sooner. There was a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the plot line and some parts seemed a little repetitive to me, despite the fantastic amounts of detail. There were a few parts that I thought were unnecessary that didn't progress the plot in any way and I think I would've enjoyed the book a bit more had these extra parts been removed. 

The characters were all really likeable, those you were supposed to like anyhow, which made me really root for these characters and their cause. The main character, Charlie, is an admirable character who has such spunk for someone so young. I felt like I'd gotten to know her character really well quite early on in the novel which made me feel closer to her as a character. She's not a perfect character as she has her strops and can be a little selfish at times but she's a young teenage girl so it seems justified. The fact that she's not a perfect princess makes her all the more likeable and young girls reading this story will no doubt want Charlie Keeper to be their new best friend. 

The description of the bad guys is really quite creepy and scary and the pictures to go alongside them don't make me feel any less uneasy about them! There is such a great atmosphere in this book and I was spooked out by several of the creepier passages in this story. The characters of Mr Crow and Bane, two of the most evil characters in the story, are also really fascinating and although you can't like them as characters, I greatly enjoyed reading about them. 

Marcus Alexander really does need to be commended for his excellent use of description. The world of Bellania, or even the ordinary London, is so vividly described that you can visualise every last detail of this new setting. There are also a few pictures along the way in this book which gives you even greater clarity as to what the different beasts and species are supposed to look like (rather helpful in some cases where the description was so in depth that my mind couldn't keep up!). He has created so many different creatures, places, and ways of life that all need to be explained and he manages to do this without overloading the reader with new information. 

What I would say, however, is that this book is aimed at the lower end of 'young adult' readers I would not recommend this book for children over the age of around 17. Although I could still appreciate the detailed descriptions and the intricate world that Marcus Alexander has built up, I did find the whole book rather childish at times and this made me feel a bit bored, but I think this was down to my age rather than the content itself. I imagine that a 14 year old would find this to be an incredibly interesting and stimulating read, however, in my opinion, this book is largely inaccessible to those that have progressed beyond their teen years. 

All in all, Crow's Revenge is a great read that has perhaps passed a little under the radar and should definitely be picked up by those interesting in fantasy in their teen years. Crow's Revenge ends on a cliffhanger and there is clearly much more to come which I am rather excited for. I can't wait to get started on the second book to see what new adventures lay in store for Charlie!