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Star of Nimrod
Join teenager Joe on a rollercoaster adventure travelling back in time to the heyday of Victorian Crystal Palace.
Joe's world is turned upside down when he discovers a shattered compass among the brambles where the Crystal Palace once stood and travels through time back to 1888.
With help from the teenage H. G. Wells and Samuel Coleridge Taylor, daredevil Iris Blondin, Arthur Conan Doyle the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of the Gypsies, Joe must foil dangerous diamond thieves to uncover dark secrets about the 'People's Palace'. Standing on boundaries between worlds, its mysterious secrets are tied to the fate of his family.
Will Joe be trapped in the past with his new friends, find a way to return to his family or can he somehow have both?
Joe's world is turned upside down when he discovers a shattered compass among the brambles where the Crystal Palace once stood and travels through time back to 1888.
With help from the teenage H. G. Wells and Samuel Coleridge Taylor, daredevil Iris Blondin, Arthur Conan Doyle the creator of Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of the Gypsies, Joe must foil dangerous diamond thieves to uncover dark secrets about the 'People's Palace'. Standing on boundaries between worlds, its mysterious secrets are tied to the fate of his family.
Will Joe be trapped in the past with his new friends, find a way to return to his family or can he somehow have both?
- GenresTime TravelYoung Adult
330 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2021
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Graham Whitlock
6 books5 followersI am a writer, walker, local instigator and born-and-bred Norwood boy hopelessly in love with London.
My granddad sold programmes at the Crystal Palace before it burned down (which had nothing to do with him, or so he said ....). I’ve always been drawn to the park’s mystical feel—the crumbling terraces of the ‘People’s Palace,’ the dinosaurs and sphinxes like phantoms from the past.
I enjoyed a misspent youth making up stories with plasticine and producing epic plays to ‘entertain’ my primary school classmates including the latest instalment of Land of the Little People, staring a cast of painted toilet rolls.
I loosely grew up to help found and run award-winning charity DreamArts, which transforms young lives fusing arts and therapy.
I also moved on from toilet rolls to adapt Shane Meadows’ film 24/7 for the stage, and create the UKs first immersive musical based on the classic Ealing Studio comedy Passport to Pimlico.
I love visiting schools, running workshops and answer all emails—so do get in touch!
My granddad sold programmes at the Crystal Palace before it burned down (which had nothing to do with him, or so he said ....). I’ve always been drawn to the park’s mystical feel—the crumbling terraces of the ‘People’s Palace,’ the dinosaurs and sphinxes like phantoms from the past.
I enjoyed a misspent youth making up stories with plasticine and producing epic plays to ‘entertain’ my primary school classmates including the latest instalment of Land of the Little People, staring a cast of painted toilet rolls.
I loosely grew up to help found and run award-winning charity DreamArts, which transforms young lives fusing arts and therapy.
I also moved on from toilet rolls to adapt Shane Meadows’ film 24/7 for the stage, and create the UKs first immersive musical based on the classic Ealing Studio comedy Passport to Pimlico.
I love visiting schools, running workshops and answer all emails—so do get in touch!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 6, 2021
"What if the past became your future"
I was so excited to discover that The Crystal Palace Chronicles is a Science Fiction featuring time travel, one of my favourite tropes. I couldn't wait to read it and let me tell you it did not disappoint. The story was gripping and I lost myself completely.
We meet teenager Joe Cook who's skateboard is thrown over a fence in Crystal Palace by a couple of bullies. When retrieving it Joe discovers an old compass. He soon realises it's not an ordinary compass when he's transported back in time to 1888.
We follow Joe on adventure of a lifetime. He makes a great friend called Elias and together they find themselves in one problematic situation after another. They overhear conversation about a plan to steal the Star of Nimrod, one of the treasures of Nineveh and decide to do all they can to prevent it. Along the way Joe also manages to lose the compass, the only way he has to get back home to the present day!
It's full to the brim of fast paced action.
Graham Whitlock clearly did so much historical research to support this book. It's clear to see by the historical dialogue and the facts about Crystal Palace. We meet some real life Victorian Characters including a young H.G Well and the great Blondin. At the end of the book Graham wrote a section that explains which real life people the characters are based on.
I'm really impressed with Graham Whitlocks mind for creating such an exciting adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with Joe and I'm looking forward to The Crystal Palace Chronicles Book 2, Palace of Shadows.
A big thank you to Netgalley, Grass Roots Productions Ltd and of course Graham Whitlock for sending me an advanced reading copy of The e-book.
I was so excited to discover that The Crystal Palace Chronicles is a Science Fiction featuring time travel, one of my favourite tropes. I couldn't wait to read it and let me tell you it did not disappoint. The story was gripping and I lost myself completely.
We meet teenager Joe Cook who's skateboard is thrown over a fence in Crystal Palace by a couple of bullies. When retrieving it Joe discovers an old compass. He soon realises it's not an ordinary compass when he's transported back in time to 1888.
We follow Joe on adventure of a lifetime. He makes a great friend called Elias and together they find themselves in one problematic situation after another. They overhear conversation about a plan to steal the Star of Nimrod, one of the treasures of Nineveh and decide to do all they can to prevent it. Along the way Joe also manages to lose the compass, the only way he has to get back home to the present day!
It's full to the brim of fast paced action.
Graham Whitlock clearly did so much historical research to support this book. It's clear to see by the historical dialogue and the facts about Crystal Palace. We meet some real life Victorian Characters including a young H.G Well and the great Blondin. At the end of the book Graham wrote a section that explains which real life people the characters are based on.
I'm really impressed with Graham Whitlocks mind for creating such an exciting adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey with Joe and I'm looking forward to The Crystal Palace Chronicles Book 2, Palace of Shadows.
A big thank you to Netgalley, Grass Roots Productions Ltd and of course Graham Whitlock for sending me an advanced reading copy of The e-book.
December 22, 2023
What a fantastic read! Filled with magic, suspense, history and adventure. I devoured this book. I adored the characters and their individual quirks, the odes to past greats like Wells and Conan Doyle and the atmosphere created in the historical Crystal Palace. I really can’t wait to join the crew on another adventure very soon.
December 30, 2021
Wow, this was such an amazing read I can’t believe how much I have enjoyed this time travelling tale! Joe is bored, having to spend his summer helping out in his dad’s restaurant. When he’s not helping out his dad he’s practicing his skateboarding and parkour skills in Crystal Palace Park, but when he gets into trouble with some bullies and they throw his skateboard over a fence, he has to retrieve it by scrambling among some brambles. While there he finds an old-fashioned compass which he decides to keep, but soon something strange happens to Joe and he finds himself transported back in time, to the Victorian Crystal Palace.
This is such a brilliant time-travelling story and I just love what happens to Joe when he ends up travelling to Victorian times. While in the past Joe ends up meeting some famous characters and overhears some people talking about stealing a famous diamond. I won’t go into the details of what happens, but I love how fast-paced this story is and how interesting it is with Joe not only dealing with being in the past but also getting mixed up in the criminal plot to steal a famous gem.
I love all the characters that Joe meets including a teenage H G Wells and a young Dr Doyle, who so far has written only one short story featuring Sherlock Holmes. Wells, or Bertie, as he’s known in the story, is such a character that I instantly loved the conversations he had with Joe, his manner and speech often making situations more funny. I also loved Elias’s character, the way he spoke and the adventure he and Joe end up going through. The descriptions of the place, both present and past do bring the area to life, I was especially thrilled with the descriptions of the Victorian Crystal Palace, the exhibitions it had inside and just how big and busy it was.
As the story progresses more and more happens with Joe and his friends. A lot happens and there was never a dull moment as the tale moves on from not only being a time-travelling historical story to one featuring some stranger more magical things happening. I really enjoyed how this story builds up towards the ending too, with so much happening and Joe not only going through his own adventure but growing as a person too. The ending is really good, I like how everything resolves for the characters and how things end up. The story ends well as a standalone book, but it also hints at a sequel with the first chapter available at the back of the book to read. I’m already so eager to read part two of this series, whenever it is published, as this first adventure ‘Star of nimrod; just had me so engrossed!
While there was one part of the story that I did manage to guess before it was revealed, having managed to spot it in the few clues given in the text, I couldn’t have predicted the rest of the story at all and I like how I didn’t know what would happen. There is one use of the s swear word but nothing else considered offensive and it’s just such a good read!
This book has been such a thrill for me. Maybe because I know the area of Crystal Palace from my childhood, I have a keener interest than some would in this tale, but this book is so well written and with such an exciting plot and good characters that it would make great reading for anyone regardless of whether you’ve ever been to or heard of Crystal Palace or not. At the back of the book there is a list of some of the famous people mentioned in the story as well as the author’s notes of where a little creative licence was used to make the story more interesting to read. I do love how, despite the creative licence, a lot of the characters are actually real life people who had fascinating sounding lives too, and how this book is being released in the same year that marks the sad anniversary of the burning down of the Palace (which is shown briefly in an interesting first chapter of the book).
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or stories featuring time travel. I adore time travelling stories and can’t wait to read more about Joe’s adventures going back in time to the Victorian Crystal Palace. And although this book is aimed at young teens/older children, I think this book will appeal to so many, including adults, it’s just so exciting, so well written and such a fun tale!
-Thanks to Literally PR and the author for a free copy for review.
This is such a brilliant time-travelling story and I just love what happens to Joe when he ends up travelling to Victorian times. While in the past Joe ends up meeting some famous characters and overhears some people talking about stealing a famous diamond. I won’t go into the details of what happens, but I love how fast-paced this story is and how interesting it is with Joe not only dealing with being in the past but also getting mixed up in the criminal plot to steal a famous gem.
I love all the characters that Joe meets including a teenage H G Wells and a young Dr Doyle, who so far has written only one short story featuring Sherlock Holmes. Wells, or Bertie, as he’s known in the story, is such a character that I instantly loved the conversations he had with Joe, his manner and speech often making situations more funny. I also loved Elias’s character, the way he spoke and the adventure he and Joe end up going through. The descriptions of the place, both present and past do bring the area to life, I was especially thrilled with the descriptions of the Victorian Crystal Palace, the exhibitions it had inside and just how big and busy it was.
As the story progresses more and more happens with Joe and his friends. A lot happens and there was never a dull moment as the tale moves on from not only being a time-travelling historical story to one featuring some stranger more magical things happening. I really enjoyed how this story builds up towards the ending too, with so much happening and Joe not only going through his own adventure but growing as a person too. The ending is really good, I like how everything resolves for the characters and how things end up. The story ends well as a standalone book, but it also hints at a sequel with the first chapter available at the back of the book to read. I’m already so eager to read part two of this series, whenever it is published, as this first adventure ‘Star of nimrod; just had me so engrossed!
While there was one part of the story that I did manage to guess before it was revealed, having managed to spot it in the few clues given in the text, I couldn’t have predicted the rest of the story at all and I like how I didn’t know what would happen. There is one use of the s swear word but nothing else considered offensive and it’s just such a good read!
This book has been such a thrill for me. Maybe because I know the area of Crystal Palace from my childhood, I have a keener interest than some would in this tale, but this book is so well written and with such an exciting plot and good characters that it would make great reading for anyone regardless of whether you’ve ever been to or heard of Crystal Palace or not. At the back of the book there is a list of some of the famous people mentioned in the story as well as the author’s notes of where a little creative licence was used to make the story more interesting to read. I do love how, despite the creative licence, a lot of the characters are actually real life people who had fascinating sounding lives too, and how this book is being released in the same year that marks the sad anniversary of the burning down of the Palace (which is shown briefly in an interesting first chapter of the book).
Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or stories featuring time travel. I adore time travelling stories and can’t wait to read more about Joe’s adventures going back in time to the Victorian Crystal Palace. And although this book is aimed at young teens/older children, I think this book will appeal to so many, including adults, it’s just so exciting, so well written and such a fun tale!
-Thanks to Literally PR and the author for a free copy for review.
November 24, 2021
Joe Cook lives with his father and sister near the Crystal Palace Park in London. When Joe finds a broken compass one day, he is transported back to the real Crystal Palace in 1888. Joe stumbles upon a plan to steal the diamond brooch, The Star of Nimrod. Along with historical figures such as H.G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Joe must prevent the theft so that he can return to his own time.
This was such a fun time traveling mystery. I love it when historical stories have real figures from history. The future historical figures in this story were not yet famous, so they had no idea what they would be known for centuries later. H.G. Wells and Samuel Coleridge Taylor were children, and Arthur Conan Doyle was a doctor who had just written the first Sherlock Holmes story. I always find it a fun way to learn about history when real historical figures are woven into a fictional story.
There were a few moments in the story that weren’t finished, but may be cleared up in a later novel. There was one scene where Joe supposedly travelled back to a different future from the one he left behind. There was also the Alone Child, who made some brief appearances but I wasn’t really sure who that was supposed to be or his role in the story. Maybe these parts will be cleared up in the next story, but I was left wondering what those parts meant.
The Crystal Chronicles: Star of Nimrod was a fun middle grade historical fiction mystery.
Thank you Literally PR for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a fun time traveling mystery. I love it when historical stories have real figures from history. The future historical figures in this story were not yet famous, so they had no idea what they would be known for centuries later. H.G. Wells and Samuel Coleridge Taylor were children, and Arthur Conan Doyle was a doctor who had just written the first Sherlock Holmes story. I always find it a fun way to learn about history when real historical figures are woven into a fictional story.
There were a few moments in the story that weren’t finished, but may be cleared up in a later novel. There was one scene where Joe supposedly travelled back to a different future from the one he left behind. There was also the Alone Child, who made some brief appearances but I wasn’t really sure who that was supposed to be or his role in the story. Maybe these parts will be cleared up in the next story, but I was left wondering what those parts meant.
The Crystal Chronicles: Star of Nimrod was a fun middle grade historical fiction mystery.
Thank you Literally PR for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 21, 2021
I was given an ARC of this book by the author as I work in a local Bookshop close to where the story is set and I wasn’t sure what to expect! I was however very impressed not only was it a wonderfully crafted adventure for kids but it had loads of interesting historical figures all of whom lived in the surrounding area close to where I live and as a result the story was both fun and fascinating! The story starts in our time and follows Joe a young boy who loves to ride his skateboard and is looking forward to his summer holiday. The descriptions of Crystal Palace are great especially to someone familiar with the area and it really gives the story a sense of place. Soon enough Joe finds himself sent back in time to when the Crystal Palace exhibition was in full swing and people like Arthur Conan Doyle and HG Wells were alive! After making some friends he stumbles upon a plot to steal a jewel and vows to solve the mystery with the help of his new friends and the creator of Sherlock! I highly recommend this story as not only was it a fun adventure but I loved the historical elements too. Perfect for any child who like a good mystery adventure along the lines of Murder Most Unladylike and The highland Falcon Thief
February 13, 2022
Brilliant. I really recommend this, not just for young adults either ! Well written, intelligent, tense, great characters. Can't wait for the next book.
February 10, 2023
A fun wander through the local streets in another time.
March 7, 2025
This is an exciting read, that weaves together a truly amazing cast of historical characters really well. As someone who lives near Crystal Palace, all the facts about the places we know so were fascinating, Whitlock describes the place with a sense of wonder and love.
The section at the end details the real people and events that inspired the story and it's clear that the where the author has diverged from the historical record (Though it's also amazing how much of it actually happened) he's done so in a way that serves the story well or incorporates a figure who's great to have along for the ride.
Sometimes the descriptions can feel a bit on the nose or the writing can be a little clunky, but overall this was a lot of fun and really fascinating, especially if you've been to the area around Crystal Palace.
The section at the end details the real people and events that inspired the story and it's clear that the where the author has diverged from the historical record (Though it's also amazing how much of it actually happened) he's done so in a way that serves the story well or incorporates a figure who's great to have along for the ride.
Sometimes the descriptions can feel a bit on the nose or the writing can be a little clunky, but overall this was a lot of fun and really fascinating, especially if you've been to the area around Crystal Palace.
January 18, 2026
What a joy to read! As a child I spent many a summer holiday in Crystal Palace amongst the ruins of the “People’s Palace “ imagining what it was like, making up my own stories in my head about people that would have visited and reading many historical books on the subject. I have been so eager to begin the series and it didn’t disappoint.
This book, the first in the series introduces us to Joe whose summer is turned upside down by the discovery of a compass and tells of his first adventure in 1888 with new friends he meets along the way including young historical figures (who were part of the period) that Graham has successfully woven into the story. Graham has successfully taken his passion for the Crystal Palace and borough it back to life for a new generation. Can’t wait to start Book Two.
This book, the first in the series introduces us to Joe whose summer is turned upside down by the discovery of a compass and tells of his first adventure in 1888 with new friends he meets along the way including young historical figures (who were part of the period) that Graham has successfully woven into the story. Graham has successfully taken his passion for the Crystal Palace and borough it back to life for a new generation. Can’t wait to start Book Two.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews