Rhys A. Jones' The Beast of Seabourne was published by Spencer Hill Press in October 2014.
Information about Rhys A. Jones:
You want to know? Really?
Okay, okay, here’s the bio. Rhys A Jones preferred.
Rhys A Jones was born in 1955 and grew up in a mining village in South Wales with his nose in a book and his head in the clouds. He managed to subdue his imagination long enough to carve out a career in medicine, writing whenever the chance arose.
In 1994, writing as Dylan Jones, he published his first scary book for adults, a thriller, which was subsequently made into a two-part film by the BBC. Other scary books followed.
A growing desire to move away from adult thrillers and write for children is what currently preoccupies him. The Obsidian Pebble is the first in a quintet featuring eleven-year-old Oz Chambers whose family inherits a ‘haunted’ house. His mother wants to leave, but Oz wants to unlock the house’s mysteries and uncovers a secret that will change his life forever.
Rhys also writes for adults as DC Farmer.
Rhys has three grownup children who have emerged remarkably unscathed into adulthood. When not writing, he practices medicine and lives in darkest West Wales with his understanding (very) wife and two dogs.
Oh, and the Rhys is pronounced Reece – as in the actor Rhys Ifans of Mr Lovegood (Harry Potter) and The Lizard (The Amazing Spiderman) fame. Or perhaps it’s easier if you just think of Reece Witheespoon, though she is a lady.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about The Beast of Seabourne:
Oz Chambers has a wonderful secret; an artefact of astonishing power gifted to him by his dead father. The kind that makes the year eight science competition a hands-down walkover thanks to the artefact’s genius avatar.
But there are sinister forces abroad who will stop at nothing to get their hands on such power, and when fellow pupils start being attacked, Oz finds himself in very hot water. Soon, he and his friend are caught up in a centuries old mystery involving a missing ring, lava toothpaste and a murderous monster known as the Beast of Seabourne.
Thrills and spills come from all directions in this mystery-solving second book in the Artefact series.
A REVIEW OF RHYS A. JONES' THE BEAST OF SEABOURNE
Rhys A. Jones' The Beast of Seabourne is the second book in the Artefact series. It's an excellent sequel to The Obsidian Pebble, because the story is so good that it will keep readers glued to the book until they reach the final page.
The first book in the Artefact series, The Obsidian Pebble, was an intriguing and well written introduction to the adventures of Oz Chambers and his friends. This sequel continues Oz's story in a fantastic way as new mysteries await Oz and his friends. It's a compelling and highly enjoyable book for all readers who love adventure stories, mysteries and good old-fashioned storytelling.
The Beast of Seabourne marks Rhys A. Jones as one of the best children's authors, because he knows how to write good stories for his target audience. This book is exactly the right kind of entertainment for children and young teenagers, because children and teenagers like to read exciting books that contain intriguing characters and mysterious happenings.
The Beast of Seabourne is - just like its predecessor - a thrilling combination of fantasy, science fiction, realism and adventure elements. All these different elements blend seamlessly together as they did in the first book. The only difference between this book and its predecessor is that this book is much better and more enjoyable (it's the kind of sequel that all sequels should be like).
Here's a bit of information about the story:
It has been a bit over a year since Oz and his friends became acquainted with Soph, the obsidian pebble's avatar. Now Oz and his friends are busy with a science project, because they intend to win the competition. Soph offers help to them. The Penwurt house is being repaired after the incident that took place in the previous book. A woman, Rowena Hilditch, is thinking about renting rooms at the Penwurt house. She's doing research about arcane things and tells Oz about the Beast of Seabourne. Soon Oz's fellow students are attacked by something strange and Oz is questioned by the police about the incidents. Oz and his friend try to find out more information about the Beast of Seabourne and the artefacts, and soon they realise that they're caught up in a web of mysterious and dangerous happenings...
It's easy to see that Rhys A. Jones loves storytelling and wants to entertain his readers, because the story flows effortlessly and the happenings are genuinely intriguing. This book has clearly been written out of love for storytelling and passion for writing.
The old and magnificent Penwurt house is just as charming and spooky a place as in the first book, because it seems to have many mysteries that are gradually revealed to the readers. The whole place is full of old-fashioned and creepy atmosphere that lures odd people like Rowena Hilditch towards it.
Here's a bit of information about some of the characters:
- Oz is a well-created character, because he's a resourceful, curious and brave boy. He's one of the most interesting young male characters to be found in children's books. His friends, Ellie and Ruff, are also interesting and provide all kinds of help for him. The three of them are a tight group and they trust each other.
- Rowena Hilditch is a charmingly odd and quirky character who's interested in arcane lore and holistic counselling etc. She's afraid of spiders and other insects, because she abhors them. She has quite a different kind of taste when it comes to decoration and she's helping Oz's mother with a few problems.
- Soph is an intriguing character, because she's an avatar and she helps Oz in many ways. Although Soph helps Oz in extraordinary ways, she doesn't do everything for him. There are limits to her abilities.
- Sydney and Savannah are interesting sisters, because they're Oz's friends and have all kinds of high-tech devices at their use.
- Caleb is a tenant at the Penwurt house. He belongs to a group called Obex. Obex is a secret society that protects the artefacts from falling into the hands of Puffers who would use them for their own ends.
The author writes about sadness in a realistic way. Oz has come to terms with the death of his father, but he still feels sad about it, because the mystery surrounding his death haunts him.
The Beast of Seabourne is far more intricate than many other chilren's books. It's one of the few books that can be recommended to children, young adults and adults alike, because it's something a bit different. The author doesn't preach about things and he doesn't underestimate the intelligence of his readership, but writes about difficult themes without any kind of condescension (this is rare in children's books).
One of the best things about this book is that the author doesn't rush into action, but takes his time to develop the happenings and introduces characters to the readers. I appreciate this very much, because it's nice to read about the characters, their lives and their problems. I have nothing against fast-paced books, because many such books as good entertainment, but books like this one are what I really love.
I also loved the way the author wrote about Oz, Ellie and Ruff. All three of them were three-dimensional characters and the author explored their lives and their friendship in a fantastic way. In my opinion he writes about these characters in a natural way, because he pays attention to money problems, school problems etc and lets his readers relate to the characters' problems. These delicate issues are handled in an effortless and realistic way.
It's great that the author continues to explore the friendship between Oz, Ellie and Ruff. Their friendship is being tested in this book, because something happens that makes Oz wonder about certain things. I'm not going to reveal what happens, but I'll mention that it was interesting to read about what happened between the characters when one of them acted a bit differently and tried to hide things.
There's plenty of humour in The Beast of Searbourne. It was enjoyable to read how the characters reacted to certain happenings and what kind of comments they made. For example, the scenes in which one of the teachers (who has been given the nickname "the Volcano") torments Oz with her unrelenting attitude are brilliantly amusing, because the teacher has her own ideas about how pupils should act and she doesn't like Oz very much.
There are several memorable scenes in this book. For example, when Oz visits the Chivyon House, the happenings are handled in an exciting way. The consequences of the visit will be a surprise for all readers, because Oz's enemies are capable of doing almost anything and will stop at nothing to get what they want. The trip that the children make near the end of the book also offers surprises for the readers, because Oz meets something horrifying during the trip. It was also interesting to read about the science project competition and everything that happened during it (the result of the competition will most likely surprise all readers).
The ending of this book is satisfying. I enjoyed reading about what happened to the characters and what Oz did to Rowena Hilditch. In my opinion the Rowena Hilditch incident was a great and humorous way to end the book.
When I read the first book, The Obsidian Pebble, the story reminded me of classic adventure stories. Now that I've read The Beast of Seabourne I can say that the author has managed to create an adventure story that pays homage to classic adventure stories by being a modern equivalent to them. All the elements that made classic adventure stories popular - friendship, dangers and courageous characters - can be found in this novel.
Although The Beast of Seabourne has many modern themes and the author addresses difficult issues, there's something very Enid Blyton-like in this book. I've always enjoyed reading Enid Blyton's classic stories, so it was nice for me to read a modern story that was written in a similar fashion, but was wholly original.
I have to mention that because I'm a Finn, it was intriguing for me to find a few Finnish words in this book. Finnish words are seldom found in speculative fiction, so it was nice to see them used in the story.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series, because I want to find out what kind of a new adventures await Oz and his friends. I'm sure that all readers who enjoyed reading this book and the previous book will be eagerly waiting for the next book.
If there are any parents out there who want to find good books for their children to read, The Beast of Seabourne and its predecessor should be on their list, because these two books are well written entertainment. Young adults and adults should also take a look at these books, because they're modern adventure books with a charmingly old-fashioned feel to them (they're a wonderful blend of mystery elements and entertaining speculative fiction elements).
Excellent entertainment for readers of all ages!