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The Door Beneath
Two young children, their first Christmas away from the parents travel to their grandmothers place outside New York deep in the woods. Nervous, excited and unsure of what to expect they instead discover the greatest adventure of their lives and find themselves in a new land, with strange new friends and are thrust into a position of worlds depending on their young courage to save them.
Alex, a young calculating ten year old girl and her brother, a care free risk taking eight year old find themselves drawn into the dark mysterious woods led by animals, guided into discovering an amazing land that parallels their own except with unbelievable differences. They are greeted by an eccentric Baron and a Middle Eastern Prince that were transported to the land hundreds of years before. They have since created a land of beautiful castles, floating bridges held by only bubbles, talking elevators that float high above the land, talking animals and amazing inventions.
They start on an adventure that catapults them into a land on the brink of thirst and starvation, two once proud cultures that are on an unstoppable course to a giant final battle. It is up to Alex, Dean and their new friends to find the legendary hidden underground city, bring three competing cultures together, stop a devastating battle in the last moments and create a new life full of opportunity and beauty for an entire world.
Alex and Dean despite their sibling rivalry come together as a force and discover a new hidden confidence that neither knew they had and discover a bond that they have always possessed.
A story of adventure and wonderment and how two young children can change the course of a world with mistaken ideals and prejudices in a land of adults.
Alex, a young calculating ten year old girl and her brother, a care free risk taking eight year old find themselves drawn into the dark mysterious woods led by animals, guided into discovering an amazing land that parallels their own except with unbelievable differences. They are greeted by an eccentric Baron and a Middle Eastern Prince that were transported to the land hundreds of years before. They have since created a land of beautiful castles, floating bridges held by only bubbles, talking elevators that float high above the land, talking animals and amazing inventions.
They start on an adventure that catapults them into a land on the brink of thirst and starvation, two once proud cultures that are on an unstoppable course to a giant final battle. It is up to Alex, Dean and their new friends to find the legendary hidden underground city, bring three competing cultures together, stop a devastating battle in the last moments and create a new life full of opportunity and beauty for an entire world.
Alex and Dean despite their sibling rivalry come together as a force and discover a new hidden confidence that neither knew they had and discover a bond that they have always possessed.
A story of adventure and wonderment and how two young children can change the course of a world with mistaken ideals and prejudices in a land of adults.
150 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 2012
1 person want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 9, 2012
A story about magic and wonderment of two siblings, Alex and Dean. They are off to their Grandmother's house just before Christmas, and embark upon a journey into a magical land.
During the beginnings of the story, I found myself comparing this to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. So much so, that I believe the author used it as an influence when beginning this tale.
Siblings unwittingly find a magical entrance to a new and mysterious land full of talking animals and magic. It's a great tale in concept, and I must commend the author in his ability to paint a picture in the mind of the reader. The scenes were very detailed and there was liberal usage of adjectives to make sure the reader knew exactly what was going on and/or what the scene contained. Very well done there.
Even though the language was wonderfully written, I had a hard time reading this book. The introduction to the story was almost dream-like in its non-sequitur approach to the events. To me, the opening few chapters felt as if the kids were hopping from one event to the next, without any rhyme, reason, or sanity depicted as to why these things were occurring. In one very vivid scene, they were riding the back of a moose into a foggy lake... and then suddenly they were riding in a car with a man they hadn't ever met before. And, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to them. The story just continued on without question or pause for reflection. In addition to that, I felt that there was not significant plot lines until about halfway through the book. The first half was dedicated to meeting the characters, getting the children to the new land, and then saying how perfect this new land was. It wasn't until about halfway was there any indication that there was a conflict, point of contention, or even plot direction. Then once that began, things really began getting interesting.
I'm giving this book 2 out of 5 stars because of the difficulty I had getting through the first half of the book.
However, to be fair to the author and those who may read this... the latter half of the book was extremely well written and very interesting. I would give the last half of the book 4 out of 5 stars.
During the beginnings of the story, I found myself comparing this to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. So much so, that I believe the author used it as an influence when beginning this tale.
Siblings unwittingly find a magical entrance to a new and mysterious land full of talking animals and magic. It's a great tale in concept, and I must commend the author in his ability to paint a picture in the mind of the reader. The scenes were very detailed and there was liberal usage of adjectives to make sure the reader knew exactly what was going on and/or what the scene contained. Very well done there.
Even though the language was wonderfully written, I had a hard time reading this book. The introduction to the story was almost dream-like in its non-sequitur approach to the events. To me, the opening few chapters felt as if the kids were hopping from one event to the next, without any rhyme, reason, or sanity depicted as to why these things were occurring. In one very vivid scene, they were riding the back of a moose into a foggy lake... and then suddenly they were riding in a car with a man they hadn't ever met before. And, nothing seemed out of the ordinary to them. The story just continued on without question or pause for reflection. In addition to that, I felt that there was not significant plot lines until about halfway through the book. The first half was dedicated to meeting the characters, getting the children to the new land, and then saying how perfect this new land was. It wasn't until about halfway was there any indication that there was a conflict, point of contention, or even plot direction. Then once that began, things really began getting interesting.
I'm giving this book 2 out of 5 stars because of the difficulty I had getting through the first half of the book.
However, to be fair to the author and those who may read this... the latter half of the book was extremely well written and very interesting. I would give the last half of the book 4 out of 5 stars.
September 26, 2012
The Door Beneath
10 year old Alex and her 8 year old brother thought they were going to their Grandmother’s for a magical Christmas holiday. Magical is exactly what they experienced.
After arriving at their Grandmother’s house and settling in for the night, they awoke to a mysterious sight. Being inquisitive youngsters, they followed what they saw, only to be amazed. Beautiful scenery, talking animals, castles that could not possibly be as large as what they seemed from the outside.
They meet a Baron and a Prince and are treated with the greatest of kindness in every way. They have been taught to be kind themselves and find they are the key to solving a devastating problem.
Written through the eyes of the children, you can imagine their surprises at every turn along the way. Very good young adult read. My only problem was the transfer to an e-reader version was the page numbers appeared mixed in the text. Otherwise, a nice fantasy read.
10 year old Alex and her 8 year old brother thought they were going to their Grandmother’s for a magical Christmas holiday. Magical is exactly what they experienced.
After arriving at their Grandmother’s house and settling in for the night, they awoke to a mysterious sight. Being inquisitive youngsters, they followed what they saw, only to be amazed. Beautiful scenery, talking animals, castles that could not possibly be as large as what they seemed from the outside.
They meet a Baron and a Prince and are treated with the greatest of kindness in every way. They have been taught to be kind themselves and find they are the key to solving a devastating problem.
Written through the eyes of the children, you can imagine their surprises at every turn along the way. Very good young adult read. My only problem was the transfer to an e-reader version was the page numbers appeared mixed in the text. Otherwise, a nice fantasy read.
August 10, 2012
Great new book!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews