Review:
Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
.
Puffin 2006 Age 10+. Matthew Skelton has made an impressive debut with Endymion Spring, a richly researched and original historical fantasy which weaves together two stories: one set in modern day Oxford and the other set in Mainz in 1452, where Johannes Gutenberg is assembling the first printing press. Blake Winters, a twelve year old boy who is visiting Oxford with his mother and sister Duck, finds a mysterious book with blank pages, titled Endymion Spring, and discovers that only he can read the mysterious riddle printed in it. Helped by his precocious sister Duck and a strange tramp he attempts to solve the mystery of the book. In the parallel story the author takes the reader back to the Middle Ages and tells the tale of the real Endymion Spring, Gutenberg's young apprentice, who struggles to keep a book made of dragon skin out of the hands of the greedy Johann Fust.
Skelton's vivid use of language make his locations come alive. The descriptions of medieval Mainz, the way of life and customs such as the Dance of Death, is fascinating, as is the insight the reader gets of the remarkable libraries and scholarship in Oxford. The magic of ancient books, their binding, clasps and illuminations, and the wonder of the Bible being printed by the first printing press, is vividly described.
Skelton's characters are not the overwhelming heroic or evil figures often found in fantasy. Instead Blake, the main character, is an ordinary boy who is overshadowed by his smarter sister, Duck; his mother is obessed with scholarly work, and there is family disfunction. Endymion Spring is an engrossing Middle Ages orphan. The evil character Fust (Faust) is portrayed as a greedy manipulative merchant and the present bad characters are every day scholars who would do anything for books.
The open ending leaves room for a sequel and the film rights have been bought for this book. Readers who have enjoyed the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman should find this engrossing and thoughtful readers may want to do some research of their own about Faust and the first printing press.
Pat Pledger
Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
.
Puffin 2006 Age 10+. Matthew Skelton has made an impressive debut with Endymion Spring, a richly researched and original historical fantasy which weaves together two stories: one set in modern day Oxford and the other set in Mainz in 1452, where Johannes Gutenberg is assembling the first printing press. Blake Winters, a twelve year old boy who is visiting Oxford with his mother and sister Duck, finds a mysterious book with blank pages, titled Endymion Spring, and discovers that only he can read the mysterious riddle printed in it. Helped by his precocious sister Duck and a strange tramp he attempts to solve the mystery of the book. In the parallel story the author takes the reader back to the Middle Ages and tells the tale of the real Endymion Spring, Gutenberg's young apprentice, who struggles to keep a book made of dragon skin out of the hands of the greedy Johann Fust.
Skelton's vivid use of language make his locations come alive. The descriptions of medieval Mainz, the way of life and customs such as the Dance of Death, is fascinating, as is the insight the reader gets of the remarkable libraries and scholarship in Oxford. The magic of ancient books, their binding, clasps and illuminations, and the wonder of the Bible being printed by the first printing press, is vividly described.
Skelton's characters are not the overwhelming heroic or evil figures often found in fantasy. Instead Blake, the main character, is an ordinary boy who is overshadowed by his smarter sister, Duck; his mother is obessed with scholarly work, and there is family disfunction. Endymion Spring is an engrossing Middle Ages orphan. The evil character Fust (Faust) is portrayed as a greedy manipulative merchant and the present bad characters are every day scholars who would do anything for books.
The open ending leaves room for a sequel and the film rights have been bought for this book. Readers who have enjoyed the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman should find this engrossing and thoughtful readers may want to do some research of their own about Faust and the first printing press.
Pat Pledger
© Pledger
Consulting, 2007