James Clyde did not have the greatest start in life, as an infant he was deposited at a children’s home by his wounded, blood-soaked grandfather. As a result, he grows up under a cloud of mystery.
His grandfather remains in his life and James always visits him over the Christmas holidays, he is a rather unusual man it has to be said. It is on one such visit, when James is just eleven, that his grandfather is murdered by an evil, black clad figure who stands at the head of an army.
Finding his grandfather on his deathbed James is handed a large diamond and is instructed to keep it safe. Told that the diamond will grant him one wish Clyde uses it to escape the hunting army. James finds himself running for his life as the black clad figure and his bloodthirsty army hunt him down.
James finds himself whisked away to Orchestra, a strange land which is on the verge of being conquered by the evil Queen of a land called Darken. It turns out, in pretty predictable fashion, that James is the missing King of Orchestra and that he is the promised prophet who will one day return and lead Orchestra to safety.
James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra is predominantly a children’s/Young Adults book, but it does have enough surprising twists and turns to hold anyone’s attention for the length of the novel. I found myself picking this book up any spare moment I had. It would be whipped out on the bus, over breakfast and even at the dinner table. But it was a great read and each little twist and turn was so well placed that it just made me keep reading on to find out what the truth actually was.
There is a little violence to be found in these pages, the murder of James’ grandfather being the pinnacle of it, yet most of the violence is left off the page so worried parents have no need to worry about doing their child any sort of psychological harm.
This book is beautifully well crafted with an intricate backstory and some fantastic and well paced narration which will hold a child or teenagers attention long enough to constitute as reading.
Some children nowadays do not enjoy reading as much as they should. TV and games come first for too many children. But with books like this out there they have no excuse not to pick up a book and read. This is a great story with a compelling lead character and a well envisioned world within which to escape.
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If you’d like to check out James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra you can grab a paperback copy on Amazon.
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