Shadowmagic

Shadowmagic is a newly released title by John Lenahan. At present it is only available in a limited edition signed hardback that is retailing at £20 a copy. ‘So what?’ I hear you say. ‘Why should I be interested in yet another new author?’ Well, let me tell you why …

I’ve read a lot of fantasy books over the years - an awful lot. There are lots of swords and sorcery, hack and slash stories out there. I’ve read dozens of tales where heroes, great and unlikely, battle evil in all its various shapes and forms. But I’ve not come across anything quite like Shadowmagic before. If Percy Jackson were to be hurled across dimensions into Middle Earth, you might hope to see a story like this one evolve. What? You’ve not heard of Percy Jackson? Shame on you! I’ll review Rick Riordan’s creation in another post, but let me tell you about Shadowmagic first.

This is the story of a modern boy, Conor, who has a fantastical heritage of which he has no knowledge. OK, it’s a bit cliche, but fear not - it get’s better. Conor lives with his father, an eccentric one-handed professor of ancient languages. When a knock sounds at the door, Conor is surprised to find two people riding huge horses outside. One is male and dressed in a full suit of armour. The other is a beautiful woman wearing a hooded cloak. The lady turns out to be his Aunt Nieve … who instantly tries to kill him. In fact Conor quickly discovers there are few members of his hitherto unseen family who are not keen to kill him. What a great way to hurl a character into the midst of a story! What I particularly liked about the way John Lenahan spins out this tale is the consistent use of Conor’s viewpoint. The young lad’s observation and use of language in all situations is priceless:

You could have knocked me down with a feather. If I thought my aunt was stunning, this was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Tall, dark, with a straight black ponytail plaited to her waist and wearing - check this out - animal skins. She just stepped through the wall…
Before dad could follow I put my hand on his shoulder. ‘Who’s the babe in the skins?’
That’s no way to talk about your mother,’ he said, and followed her through the wall.

Conor is most likeable for his humour and his (more often than not) clueless stumbling from one disaster to the next. As with all good fantasies, he gathers a loyal band of followers around him. In the land he finds himself transported to, learning the rules is nearly always painful. Take picking an apple, for example:

OK, it wasn’t a bus, but it sure felt like one. One moment I was in mid-jump with an apple in my hand. The next moment I was hit - hard in the shoulder and went flying ass over teacups through the air. Luckily I landed in a pile of thick barley that was pretty soft.
Fergal was at my side in a second. ‘Are you mad?’
‘Did you get the licence number of that truck?’ I groaned.

Picking apples without asking the permission of the tree in the land of Tir na Nog is not a good idea. The trees are more than able to take a swipe at you if you don’t respect their wishes. Indeed, trees are the core power in The Land - a lesson that Conor learns the hard way on more than one occasion. Of course, being the son of the one-handed prince means that nothing is easy. One of the most respected seers in The Land has pronounced that he must die lest he bring ruin on the land and just about everyone he meets appears ready to do the honours.

Shadowmagic is a great read, but one thing that did strike me about it as slightly odd was that John Lenahan seems to have a thing for hugging - his characters do a lot of it … even tree hugging at times! I wasn’t sure that it was all quite necessary, but this minor quibble did not take away from my enjoyment of a most entertaining read.

This story is original, fast, and above all, a whole lot of fun. John’s writing is crisp, tight and humorous throughout. The story is well constructed and rattles along at a super pace. Collectors are already snapping up the hardbacks, so I doubt you’ll have long to lay your hands on one. I’ll be very surprised if my copy does not increase in value. But if you don’t feel like investing £20, then be sure to watch out for the paperback. I feel sure that Shadowmagic will prove popular with its readers. It has all the ingredients for mass market success. I just hope it gets the promotion it deserves.