The 10-12 Book Club read and reviewed Knights of the Borrowed Dark this month. Set in modern day Ireland, the storyline nevertheless has a medieval feel to it which blends seamlessly. The main character, Denizen Hardwick was bought up in a cold forbidding orphanage. One day out of the blue he is told that his aunt is coming to visit, when as far as he knew he had no living relatives. Thus ensues a rip roaring page turning magical fantasy adventure. Rudden does not spare his young audience, bringing some very dark characters to life. It is incredibly atmospheric and seriously well written. The book club members would recommend it to age 11-14. They loved the characters and one girl commented that the only thing she disliked was that the book was not long enough despite being a hefty 337 pages. They found it exciting, with a perfect pace, mysterious, full of emotion and sometimes violent.

Dave Rudden is a very exciting young author who visited Tipperary Libraries during Children’s Book Festival this year, holding his young audience spell bound as he acted out his books. Knights of the Borrowed Dark is the first book in a nail biting trilogy, with echoes of Harry Potter but totally unique as well. This book comes highly recommended and as an adult book club facilitator I would recommend it to adult fantasy readers as well. Well worth a read.