Keeper of the Realms #1
Crow’s Revenge

By Marcus Alexander

When I found out about this book, I thought it was going to be kind of similar to the series ‘Keeper of the Lost Cities’ series (which is like one of my favourite series ever) but I decided to give it a try anyway. And I’m really glad I did because they are NOT similar. I guess this just proves the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” (or its name, in this case). This book definitely deserves to be a lot more famous. It’s a great series! I’m just sad that there are only three books in this series. So, the main character is a 13-yr-old girl, Charlie Keeper, who lives in London with her old grandma. (Charlie is like my favourite character because of her feisty attitude). Her parents are missing, presumed dead for seven years. Their lawyer, Mr. Crow, (who is a mean, money loving, little……ahem.) takes ‘care’ of them. One day, Charlie comes home to find a blood thirsty giant waiting for her. While trying to run from it, she accidently opens a doorway to the magic realm of Bellania. She escapes through it and…. finds an amazing realm full of wonder. Three races live together, Stomen, Treman and Human. Stomen sing to stone and carve it, Treman sing to trees, and Humans…. just muddle on. Charlie Keeper is a special human, a Keeper, and Keepers always have special abilities. In Bellania, she finds out that the giant was Bane, the Western Menace who is feared throughout the lands. The reason he was after her was because she had a special pendant that her parents had given her, that could change the fate of all of Bellania. Bane might not be the only threat……
When it seems like the entire world wants her pendant, Charlie isn’t sure whom to trust. Can Charlie and her friends stop Bane and his allies before they can get a hand on her pendant, especially with Mr. Crow making a rather drastic return? ………
This was an awesome book, and of course the author had to give a cliff-hanger ending. It’s interesting, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! It’s a great book for those who love the genre fantasy (like me!), and the traitor (Bane’s ally) is extremely unexpected. It’s actually really innovative and new. I loved the game of K’Changa, and I would love to play it. K’Changa is a special game of Bellania. It’s fun to read, and I don’t think you’ll get bored reading this fast-paced ride of adventure. There are some loose ends, but I think they’ll all tie up nicely in the next books. It’s not too heavy but it’s not kiddish either. It has got a lot of action and mystery and humour and fantasy, and those are for me the best things to mix up for a book. It’s basically a fab read! Oh, and the handful of illustrations are very nice! They help to picture the characters clearly and they are really good drawings! I recommend this book for 11+. EXCELLENT!!!!!