Otherworld: The Isle of Mist

by Adrian Bailey

Wally Gobbet is an apprentice conservator who finds a medieval manuscript in the basement of the British Library: the Secret Chronicle of the Isle of Mist.

Following the untimely death of his grandfather, Wally uses the book to uncover a strange new world of wizards and witches, dragons and hobgoblins, and a mysterious organisation called the Order.

With the help of an unlikely group of friends, Wally aids the sorcerer Mannannan in his quest to vanquish the sinister Strifelord and the evil Buggane Queen, Malaficia, who plan to destroy the world of magic forever.

Fast paced and full of wonder, Otherworld: The Isle of Mist announces Adrian Bailey as a great new voice in the world of fantasy.

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure

501 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2011

About the author

Adrian was born in Clatterbridge, near Liverpool, in 1967 and the first thing that happened to him, apart the customary smack on the backside, was to receive the last rites due to acute oxygen deprivation of the brain. Now while this is not the most auspicious start to life, things could only get better and it does explain an awful lot about why his mind works the way it does. Having stubbornly survived the attentions of the NHS he enjoyed a thoroughly middle class upbringing in Greater Manchester. No tales of working class woe to tell here. No stories of battling illiteracy and escaping from poverty, although he did attend a boarding school where using an umbrella was a sixth form privilege.

For a lad from rainy Manchester, that was akin to social depravation and left him psychologically scarred for life. In 1989, by some miracle, he qualified as a Chartered Physiotherapist and in 1995, after a short stint in Hong Kong, he moved to the Isle of Man where he set up his own clinic. Adrian enjoys cooking and especially eating. He is a long time rugby player and a keen movie buff, but of late spends most of his free time cutting, pasting and yelling at his computer. Otherworld: The Isle of Mist is his first foray into the world of literary fiction since winning the prestigious 1977 Pownall Hall Prep School Prize for Creative Writing. He also won the history prize too, which reassured his Mum that, despite evidence to the contrary, he wasn’t stupid, just lazy. Those who have read his book understand those two prizes were strangely prophetic and gave an early indication of some talent. As Adrian himself said when asked about writing his first novel “This writing lark is easy. I don’t know what all the fuss is about!” But then again, maybe that was the oxygen deprivation talking.

Reviews

[Michael Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel. The characters are good and interesting. My only two criticisms are that it seems like too little story for 500 pages: it's slow going in places and things tend to take a long while to get going. Also, I didn't feel the sense of 'place' was very strong in the Otherworld, which is the one place where a little more time could have been spent to describe it more fully.

Apart from those little quibbles, highly recommended, especially for bibliophiles (you'll see what I mean).

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tricky one to review as I acquired an Advanced Reading Copy which was unfortunately littered with mistakes. This detracted from the story considerably.
However, it was enjoyable, it kept up a good pace (with the exception of the extended race to the Isle which could have been much shorter) and paved the way for a sequel. I think there was probably too much time taken pre-Isle of Mist developing some entertaining characters which then didn't feature again. If they were to re-appear in a sequel all to the good.

[Hattie Lotz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. The first 100 pages were an adorable, fast paced, imaginative story about a young boy who escapes to an island filled with magic that is very evidently based on the Isle of Man. But the remaining 300 pages dragged, were poorly plotted out, and contained some of the most egregious typographical errors I have ever seen in text. I went into this looking for a whimsical children’s novel, and sadly did not find what I was looking for.

[ari aragón · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like stepping into a D&D campaign—like if Harry Potter and a Renaissance Festival had a baby. The world is magical and immersive, but what really stood out to me was how refreshing it was to see the “nerdy” kid be looked out for instead of pushed aside. It made the adventure hit harder and gave the story real heart. Absolutely loved it!

[Mrs Reddy Mallender-Katzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice innocent entertaining book good for any age group

[Mark Pearce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant young adult novel with great pace.

real page turner that i couldn't put down.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting well-paced book, but got a little slow in the middle. Otherwise, a great start to a new series.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this imaginative book with its mix of present and magical mystery worlds. Lovely characters and relationships

[Pat Walsh]

Excellent, wild and smart.