Morphant are born with the ability to change shape and very rarely a Morphant is born who is The One With The Gift. It takes another Morphant to seek him out and as the book starts, Brother Dhankza Linpoche has just rung the Silent Gong to signify he has been successful in this quest. Ordinary 14 year old Gabriel's life is about to change beyond recognition.
Gabriel flees a pack of school bullies and hides inside an open electricity sub station. The engineer doesn't spot him arrive and turns the machines back on, sending a massive jolt of electricity through Gabrielle's young body. When he awakes from his coma 2 months later, everyone realises that it wasn't purely an electric shock and burns that Gabriel has been left with.
A quite complex book for confident independent readers aged around 9+, the Morphant leaps into the action and pulls the reader into several directions from the start. The book whips backwards and forwards through time, and you aren't quite sure which storyline you want to keep following the most, because they are all exciting and you know when they cross paths it'll be explosive.
Gabriel grows up rapidly as his life is turned around and that reflects the coming-of-age every young man has as he reaches his teens. My 9 year old felt he was reading a very grown-up book and it is ideal for any young reader who likes action and fast pace. The pace is broken up by the calm of the Brothers and the 'regular home life' at first and it's quite welcome respite at times.
This is a great book which really held my attention well, let alone my 9 year old. I won't give away any more of the storyline, but it is full of confusion and intrigue, and some of the settings are worthy of any grown up horror story, or a Scooby Doo mystery. Cornelius Fuel is, I imagine, quite eccentric and his head must be awash with ideas.
A great choice for a child who wants something with excitement and is prepared to believe just about anything is possible...
The Morphant (192 pages) is published by Troubador Publishing (a division of Matador Press) and is available to buy now from all good bookshops instore and online, including Amazon. Paperback rrp £7.99.
We were sent our copy of The Morphant by Cornelius Fuel for review. The Amazon link is an affiliate link, so I get a few pence each time someone orders through me, but they don't pay any more!
Thank you so much, Brick Castle!
ReplyDeleteKind regards
Cornelius Fuel
You are very welcome Mr Fuel! It's an excellent book - I look forward to the next one - although maybe not as much as my 9 year old! :)
DeleteThanks, Jenny! Well, if grown ups are kind enough to say good things about the book, ask for it at bookshops, review it on Amazon etc and children recommend it to their friends ... it all makes writing another adventure for Gabriel more feasible! Please say thanks to your 9-year old, I'm thrilled he (she?) liked it!
ReplyDeleteHe - and yes. It's fallen perfectly after his second read through of The Lord Of The Rings. It's notably more complex than young fiction for 7+, but not too 'old' for him. We lend our books to other children, so it won't be only my two who read it here - plus me :D
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