Art Pengriffin & The Curse Of The Four

by Norman Revill

After moving around his entire life, Art Pengriffin is at last settling into a new school. He's got a crush on the best-looking girl in his class and joined a band to impress her. When they rip the school concert on the eve of his 14th birthday and a record producer parent wants to sign him, it's happy days. Until mum Egrainne announces they're moving again. What is her problem? Unknown to Art, his father was the magician Merlin, Egrainne is King Arthur's sister and they're being pursued by Four terrifying ghouls hell-bent on killing him for his father's powers, which Art can take when he's 14. Art thinks his mum has lost it, big time, until he's back in time in Camelot with unsuspecting school crush Megan, seeking a sword and stone. Egrainne wants the magic to die, so Art stays a normal boy. If Art takes the powers, he must fight the Four - alone. Lose and they will destroy the world. Art must choose, and fast - his birthday is only hours away.

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 11, 2012

About the author

Norman Revill was born in Liverpool and educated at Quarry Bank school (John Lennon's alma mater) and Liverpool College of Commerce. He played guitar in bands and lived in Zimbabwe before moving to London, where he worked in advertising. He is married and still lives in London. His work includes:

DEAD BEAT IN DAKOTA, a play about John Lennon in New York in the late '70s struggling to find his lost muse. (Stanley Theatre Liverpool 2003, Little Theatre Southport 2004, Unity Theatre Liverpool 2005, all productions directed by Tracey Batchelor ("impressive, gripping theatre", Spencer Leigh, BBC Radio Merseyside & GOLDMINE magazine.)

ROCKIN' ON THE CAST-IRON SHORE, life in a 60s Liverpool beat group (www.mersey-beat.com Mersey A-Z Articles)

ART PENGRIFFIN & THE CURSE OF THE FOUR is his first published novel. It was written from the pilot script MERLIN JR, an idea for a childrens' tv series he created with director Clive Fleury.

Reviews

[Gavin Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read, cracks along at a great pace and reaches a terrific finale. Looking forward to the next one and TV should be snapping it up!

[Debbie Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Receiving free review copies of books often takes me out of my reading comfort zone, and this book was a prime example. I'm hardly its usual target, being grown-up and female, and I've never read a line of Harry Potter. As the cover didn't particularly appeal to me, I'm embarrassed to say this book sat on my to-read pile for a while before I opened the first page. But once I'd made a start, I was gripped, very much more than I'd expected to be, and I was eager to find out how the likable hero Art's adventure would unfold.

This is a neatly plotted novel aimed at teens, particularly boys, but I think girls would enjoy it too, if they're not too squeamish. If they're interested in myth and magic, and what child isn't these days, thanks to J K Rowling?

Presented in bite-size, tiny chapters, often just two or three pages long, this is a super book to lure teens away from online games. There are plenty of ingredients to get them turning the pages and reading avidly in spite of themselves: cliffhanger endings; action-packed adventures; gruesome, grisly moments; all couched in a slangy playground style seasoned with the occasional token swearword for street cred. This could be just the right kind of book to bring out the latent bookworm in reluctant teenage readers.

I liked the blend of classic teenage new kid in town tale with the ancient legends of the court of King Arthur. The central character, Art, unaware that he's the son of Merlin transported to the 21st century, must deal with issues of peer pressure in the playground, and very much more, before travelling back in time to a besieged Camelot.

I must admit my knowledge of Arthurian legend is hazy: when someone mentions Merlin, I picture the cheery blue-robed gent from Disney's "Sword in the Stone" film, rather than anyone with potential to slay the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I therefore can't vouch for the accuracy of the Arthurian theme in this book, but it certainly spins a good yarn of the battle between good and evil, finishing neatly and happily in the modern world, resolving the problems with which it began. This full-circle ending is very satisfying.

The story was strong enough to withstand the odd editing hiccup along the way, such as a mother being referred to unaccountably as both the American style "mom" and English style "mum" on the same page, and I personally found the abundant use of .... in the middle of sentences ... a bit irritating, giving the .... impression of someone speaking with .... either a stutter or ...narcolepsy. But I don't think those details would deter the average teenager racing through the story. I didn't enjoy the graphic horror scenes of cats and people being eaten alive, but then you can't really expect the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to be exactly cudddly.

I can see this book working well as a series, with young readers anxious to snap up another as soon as they finish each book. I hope the authors will return with more action stories about the likable young Art and his sweet sidekick Megan. As it says on the cover, "Move over, Harry, there's a new wizard in town".

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art Pengriffin is the first in what will become a series of novels. The story is a modern twist on the legends of Arthur and Merlin.

Art is (unbeknownst to him) the son of Merlin. He and his mother live in a sleepy Welsh village and Art is new to the local school. He is bullied and his unusual name is the butt of many jokes. Just as things start to look up for Art, his mum announces they’re moving again. But what is she running away from?

This book is brilliant – having recently returned to reviewing I was beginning to despair that I wasn’t going to find another gem like some of the brilliant books I read earlier on this year. However, I can say that this is a REAL gem. The writing is fluid and the story is exciting. It flows really well, and it keeps you gripped as it develops. The book is full of magic, intrigue and mystery and is one of those rare cross over YA novels – it will capture the imaginations of both young and old, and I can imagine it being read to children by excited parents. Although I’ve not read them… I imagine the Art Pengriffin series to almost be a Harry Potter in the making.

The book is gory and mysterious and is a real rollercoaster as the ‘four’ try to capture Art and his mum. Art is a really likeable character, and you can’t help but root for him as he faces the bullies and seeks to capture the heart of Megan.

So… if the book is so fantastic, why not a full blown five stars? Well… if I’m honest there was some language in it that I thought wasn’t quite suited to the YA market (And that may just be me being prudish!) and the final scene where Art seeks to meet his destiny went on a little too much for me, personally.

That said, I absolutely cannot wait for the next instalment in the Art Pengriffin stories – there’s much to work with and it looks set to be an exciting series.