Will's Elf

Pepys Blake

Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)

Be critical.
Ask questions.
Don't always accept the answers.
This is what Will Fine believes.
And just see what a fat lot of good it did him...
Rice?

Will, instinctively knew what was behind him; he did not need to see its fiery image reflected in the wide eyes of his two friends. Nevertheless, as though in slow motion, Will pivoted himself to face the wide expanse of chill water and the great creature that had risen soundlessly from its depths.

"...dragon."

Beside the lake there now stood a creature of unfathomable dimensions and incomparable design. The dragon was vaguely serpentine in appearance, a large flattened head projecting out from one end of a long neck, which broadened only to taper again to a thin, seemingly never-ending tail. It had four legs, each as thick as a tree-trunk, and a set of leathery wings, which it pressed against the flanks of its body, as it emerged from the aqueous depths. Water cascaded off its scaly sides, and as it rose, it snorted like a marine iguana, sending forth a shower of hot steam from its nostrils. A row of hard, raised scales ran along the entire length of the backbone of the creature, and knobbly outcrops protruded from its skin, like armour-plating. This much Will took in, in a split
second. He felt a hand tugging urgently at his clothes.

"Come on. Let's go."

Review by John Goode (310311) Rating (8/10)

Review by John Goode
Rating 8/10
Will's Elf is a fast-paced young-adult fantasy fiction book, which will appeal to dads as much as it will to teenage boys. Will B. Fine, the young hero of the novel is an adventurous-minded schoolboy stuck in a boring, stifling boarding school in the centre of England. His only escape from the tedium of the school curriculum is his imagination, where he is ably assisted in his flights of fantasy by his companion-in-escapism DAY-Z, a spirited and mischievous elf.

Will's Elf combines an exciting narrative with a genuinely informative novel - topics such as time travel, alternative universes, the philosophy of religion, the meaning of history, all are discussed within the context of the book, and the reader is left with a sense of having been educated as well as being entertained. A fun, non-PC, unconventional read, which will stretch minds and tickle humours. A BIG read and a BIG recommendation.
John Goode ( 2011)