The Lost Boy

Talendia #1

by A.E. Colmer

The first fantasy novel in the Talendia series. A fantastic world hidden beneath our own. A resourceful heroine and hero with a mystery to unravel. The story began in Merrymead, a fictional town in Cornwall, where a young boy, Samuel Lucas, vanished after a stormy night chasing a cat in his uncle's garden and discovered a staircase in the trunk of an old mulberry tree. The only clue to his disappearance was his book "Tales from Talendia" that he had received from his uncle the same day. Almost thirty years later, a young and troubled girl called Frida, who lives in London with her single mother meets a mysterious bookseller who sells an old book with the same title to her. Frida quickly notices that the book is dedicated to Samuel Lucas. The same night, Frida and her mother have strange visitors who can turn into birds and are seeking Frida out. She manages to escape from them through a small door under her bed that leads her to Talendia, a kingdom inhabited by wizards, witches, centaurs, dwarves and other fantastic creatures. Frida quickly makes friends, but realises that Talendia must face a dangerous enemy. She comes to believe that Samuel also somehow got to this magical world. She is determined to find him before it is too late for all of them.

Great reviews about Talendia: The Lost Boy on Amazon:

"A magical tale, exquisitely written. Fast paced and packed full of page turning adventures with witches, dragons and goblins." by Ms

"Talendia is a great read. It took me into a completely new world full of Griffins, giant snakes and dragons. The characters are really believable: you can picture what they look like and are feeling as they go through their adventure in Talendia. I can't wait to read the next book!" by F. L.

"Between the attractive covers of this well-presented book lies an intriguing, web-like, fantasy-adventure story, which CPID recommends to all imaginative young fiction readers. With hints of Alice in Wonderland, A. E. Colmer paints a labyrinthine world for Frida’s amazing adventures." by J. B.

"I Ioved reading Talendia, it's full of original ideas and exciting characters. I particularly liked the dangerous toads and the dragon. It was fast paced and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. You must read it!" L. G.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2017

About the author

A. E. Colmer was born and grew up in Hungary where she later studied law and political science at the University of Debrecen by which time she had completed a collection of poems, a novel, two dramas and various articles for magazines.

After qualifying as a lawyer, she lived in Budapest for a few years. She moved to London in 2010 and has been living here ever since, now with her husband, Thomas, their daughter, a Newfoundland dog and a Scottish fold cat.

Reviews

[Judy Brulo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Between the attractive covers of this well-presented book lies an intriguing, web-like, fantasy-adventure story for all imaginative young fiction readers.

The story begins with an account of a twelve-year-old boy who has gone missing from the Cornish town of Merrymead.
After the passing of almost thirty years and with the mystery still unsolved we meet eleven-year-old Frida. When she opens the cover of a curious old book, which her mother has bought for her, she sees a dedication to someone called Samuel Lucas. Frida wonders, where is Samuel now and why didn’t he keep the book? In the spirit of her adventure-seeking late father, she resolves to find out.
As Frida becomes engrossed in the book little does she realise she will soon be drawn into a bewitching land of interconnected strands of dangerous adventure.
In this magical land Frida makes new friends like Sidonia, the White Witch and Alpert, the mind-reader tomling. With Frida’s wit and Alpert’s telepathic gifts, they make a good team. Together, they confront a kaleidoscope of curious creatures. Which of these creatures will hinder Frida in her mission? Which of them will help her? Unintentionally, Frida is drawn into the concerns of rival kingdoms but rather than distracting her from her goal, she finds surprising connections which assist her with her journey to find the Lost Boy.
With hints of Alice in Wonderland, A. E. Colmer paints a labyrinthine world for Frida’s amazing adventures.

Review by Judy Brulo 2017

[Carl Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher of 9 and 10 year olds, I am so happy to find a story that contains all the magical ingredients of Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings and a bit of Alice in Wonderland all mixed together and that is actually written for your average 8 to 11 year old. The book itself is not too big (size can be very daunting to young readers), the line spacing is double (this makes reading much easier for children just gaining reading independence) and the vocabulary is not too difficult. I think many children feel they ‘ought’ to be able to read the classics mentioned and many pretend that they can, hence not getting the warm enjoyment from a story that they should. This story is the first of a series that takes us into a magical world, via a mysterious book called ‘Tales from Talendia’, (reminiscent of the plot of the film Neverending Story). Here we meet the usual inhabitants (and some newly invented) of such a world – on the baddies side: the evil goblins, toads, witches, ‘stone snakes’, a griffin etc. – and on the goodies side: the White Witch, a king, a queen, tree frogs, a ‘tomling’ and the two main characters, Frida and Samuel (the Lost Boy). The story ends on a cliff hanger which certainly makes you want to read the next book to find out what happens– a clever ploy to make children want to read on!

[Najwa Warraich · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book is a children's novel so my review is in comparison to other children's books that I have read. So the beginning chapters of this book was really great and left me wanting more but when our main character Frida enters the world of Talendia it just annoyed me that she just accepted that she was all of a sudden in a different world. Like in my opinion, I would have thought she would have worried or even attempted to return to the normal world but it was like "oh okay - this is totally normal." Also, the plot line was so convenient. They get attacked someone saves the day and there was like no turmoil or hardship for the characters everything just fell into place. I understand that it being a children's book it needs to be understandable BUT I do feel that there could have been points in the novel where some turmoil could have ensued for the characters. However, I did get that in the last chapter where there was turmoil and action and the book ended on a cliffhanger! Also, there were certain parts where my heart broke and I felt very attached to those character like Brell and Flin but also Melvin and Mel - and I wanted to know more about them and their storyline. I thought the book was okay but the ending had me hooked and I want to continue on with the rest of the series. The illustrations and the creatures in this book are super beautiful and interesting, which was one aspect of the book that I really liked. I give this book a 3/5 stars; it had so much potential to be this epic children's fantasy but fell short in some parts. Hoping the next books have some turmoil and epicness to it that the last chapter in this book provided.

[Viktória Ferenczi-Sóvágó · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this children literature as an adult was a mistery for me. I felt as a child with flying and unlimited imaginations again.
Talendia is a fantastic and hidden world and the story about Frida, the brave little girl and Samuel, the lost but also hero boy is gripping. The plot is well written and exciting full of uninvited occurences and unusual inhabitants like witches, cantaurs, dwarves, etc.
I was special happy that finally I could find an empowering book for children with full of strong female characters and no gender stereotypes: Frida is one of the most courageous one but the other females also play a powerful and defining role as well. They could be an ideal model for the young little girls to feel the "girl power"!
The story ends on a cliffhanger and I am looking forward to read the next book!

[Arlene Mengel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samuel, a young boy, disappears one day without a trace. 30 years later, a young girl, Frida, also disappears while following clues in search of Samuel. Both children find themselves in a world of fantasy filled with dragons, wizards, witches, and talking animals. Trouble is coming in the form of an evil, dark, revenge-seeking brother to the King of Talendia. Samuel and Frida work together to help the residents of this fantasy world to try and defeat the King's sinister brother and return to their own home in England.

Talendia is a great book for young readers (ages 9-14) of Fantasy. There is plenty of page-turning adventures that will keep readers engaged in the story. Dialogue of the characters is easy for them to understand and follow. Those who enjoy this book will be anxiously waiting for the next book in this series.

[Cecile Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked reading this book. It is full of fantastic creatures and amazing situations. I especially liked the Griffin, that you can see on the cover but also the 2 main characters, long ears Alpert and his friend Frida. I recommend reading this book if you like fantasy and adventure stories.
It is a real page turner and I cannot wait to read the sequel.

[Csilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book from a fresh voice!
The book is full of fictional creatures and adventures beyond one's imagination. The story is very capturing, once you start reading, you simply can't put it down. Although it's a children's book, adults may also enjoy it as an afternoon read, the text is well written, clear and easy to understand.
I highly recommend it to anyone who simply wishes to escape reality for a few hours and thus discover a land full of fantasy.