Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac #1) by Caroline Peckham, e-book ARC, 341 pages, expected publication 10th December 2015.
Oliver and May Knight find themselves alone in the world when their mother mysteriously vanishes from their home. The authorities ship them off to live with a grandfather that they have never met, and don’t know anything about. He lives in a strange house and is keeping secrets from them. When May awakes screaming under the pain of a powerful curse, some truths must come to the surface. The earth is but one of seven worlds connected by gateways, there is real magic and mages who can control it, dark creatures, and more family secrets. Oliver and May must accompany their grandfather into the next world, and as they discover more about their family and themselves, they find that there may be danger lying ahead for them, and perhaps for all of humanity.
Creeping Shadow was an intriguing and complex novel that captured me right from the start and hooked me to the very last. It was a real page-turner, and so so hard to put down at bed time! The plot was fast, well constructed and gripping. The creation of seven worlds is interesting, and I love the idea of being able to travel through them via gateways, though passing the challenges to be allowed to travel through sounds a little daunting. The landscapes, new animals, plants and food are all described beautifully, making me feel like I could just step into Aleva myself.
The Race of Aleva reminded me of The Hunger Games, though with less murder. It was physically and emotionally challenging, with each task coming to life through the pages. It really tested the competitors, revealing their true selves. I felt like I got to know Oliver and May intimately, sharing their hopes and worries. All the characters were so well written, they came to life as I read. I became invested in the characters, always a good sign of an excellent story. I cheered Oliver and his team on during the race, my stomach lurched at signs of danger, I smiled at Ely’s concern, laughed at Rogan’s and Quinn’s attempts at disguise, and I wanted to punch Larkin in the face. I felt a thousand emotions as I ripped through Creeping Shadow. And I will be thinking about it for a long time to come.
I don’t normally get hung up much on the covers of books, however, I just love the cover for Creeping Shadow. It would definitely grab my attention from across the bookstore!
Suitable for high school students and older, Creeping Shadow is perfect for fantasy fans. It is the first book in a new series called The Rise of Isaac. It is due to be released on the 10th of December 2015 on Amazon, and would make an excellent Christmas gift for a teenager (or young adult fan of any age!). I can hardly wait for the next installment in the series!
*I received this advanced reading copy as a digital version from the author, who asked me for an honest review of this book. I did not receive any other remuneration, and the review is composed entirely of my own opinions.
Today We Did 
Loved this book and am waiting impatiently for vol 2. I felt exactly the same way about Larkin. Grrr
It was fantastic, wasn’t it?! I hate the wait to the next book in a series…it comes out, I read it in a day, and then have to wait all over again for the next one! What are you reading next?
Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits (Wong) is the current read but NaNoWriMo is cutting into my read time. Dying For a Living (Shrum) is on deck.
Oh, yeah. Also a dozen or so in progress books on Wattpad. 🙂
I’m into about eleven at the moment, but Dangerous Reflections by Shay West is top of the list. Are you also a writer?
I am! Again. A bunch of years ago I was a prolific writer (blogs and shorts) but I lost my muse. It’s back now and I’m developing a novel series. After that long in suppression it’s not so much trying to write as it is trying to catch everything that’s tumbling out of my head.
That’s exciting! I guess you just have to capture as much as you can, then hone it later 🙂 What genre is your novel series in?
All of them, I think. 😉
I’m working on a series with 3 ages, 3 books each (intro novella and 2 novels). All of them are adventure based but the genres are (near future) sci-fi, (late future) post-apocalypse and (distant future) fantasy. The story starts in the fantasy age and ends in post-apocalypse. The first 2 novellas are completed for draft and the first novel length book is about 70% drafted.
I love playing with time and asynchronous storytelling.
That sounds epic and interesting! Will it be suitable for YA or kids? Good luck with getting it finished 🙂
I’m not even sure what YA means any more. I’m 46 and my favorite series over the past years have almost categorically been classified as “Young adult”. Even the ones not specifically targeted to that audience (notably about everything Brandon Sanderson has done) are appropriate for the age.
For me, I am making sure that the novellas will all be appropriate content-wise for teens and up. The later novels may get a bit grittier.
Would you like to take a look? I finished the early reader draft for Ninja at Law earlier this week. If you’d like to peek at it I’d love to let you.
I know what you mean about YA, they often do appeal to a wide audience, though I think the classification is about the age of the characters as much as the content suitability. I’ll read just about anything, but I am drawn to YA, especially fantasy and dystopian. One of my favourite series is Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden, it follows a group of teens surviving and fighting back after Australia is invaded by a foreign army. It has a lot of action and violence, adult themes, but I think that only added to the attraction of the series.
I’d love to have a look at your draft! Drop me an email at todaywedid@outlook.com 🙂
Uploaded an old fairy tale for you. http://jrpeacock.com/2015/11/13/hunting-todd/
That’s very clever! I like number three the best too.
Glad you liked it! #3 was the original fairy tale ending. 1&2 were developed for the horrorzine.
Oh, wow. Just looking over your reviews and reading lists. I’ve found another fairy tale lover. Yay! 😀
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