Fifteen years old Jewel Ranson and Elliott, her father, are travelling merchants. To get to Shelf Fair in time, they decide to cross a forbidden Barrens. But at the Fair, Elliott is murdered. Jewel vows revenge. With Rainy Gill, a travelling juggler, Jewel journeys to Harrypark where a Syb - a wise woman - confirms that exceptional powers are awakening in her. There too, in Rotten Pavilion, an island gambling den, Jewel gets embroiled in the grisliest of wagers...
In a ritual test to mark his coming of age at sixteen, Thorn Jack steals a mysterious crystal from the treasury of a neighbouring settlement. Returning home, he discovers that his younger sister Haw has been abducted. A raven's feather painted with a yellow band is the only clue to the kidnappers' origin. With the enigmatic adventurer Racky Jagger as his guide, Thorn sets out to track the kidnappers down. His way lies through the heart of danger-ridden Judy Wood...
As Jewel and Thorn move towards a momentous meeting, a sinister net closes around them...
Reviews of Jewel and Thorn
In School Library Journal (November 2008), Emily R. Brown writes:
"In Lowmoor, diminutive humans have adapted to a world in which flowers loom over their heads. Assassins, gold diggers, madcap performers, and errant preachers all populate this place. The most dangerous characters are twins who take pleasure in manipulating others - with deadly consequences. Teenagers Jewel and Thorn set out independently to avenge their families against the twins. The winding and intertwining paths they take to track down their sworn enemies lead them to conflicts both philosophical and physical. Fans of elvish bildungsroman and classic adventure stories will appreciate the elevated diction and enigmatic characters. Although the book's not short, even reluctant readers may be drawn in by the scenes of gambles gone awry and battles with crayfish. The cliff-hanger ending promises a second book in the saga."
Kraze Club magazine rates the novel 4.5 out of 5.
Verdict: "If you like spooky stuff, this is for you!"
Sci-Fi Online awards Jewel and Thorn an 8.
Read the full review on the Sci-Fi Online website.
In Bradford's evening paper, the Telegraph and Argus, David Barnett gives Jewel and Thorn a rave review which ends: "Jewel and Thorn will undoubtedly capture the Harry Potter/His Dark Materials/Lord of the Rings market and deserves to see the author propelled to the top of the bestseller lists."
Sally Owen at www.gwales.com writes:
"I thoroughly enjoyed Jewel and Thorn Richard Poole has created a very detailed and well-realised society, with a range of cultures and characters, all intent on their own needs and with their own motivations."
Read the full review at gwales.com.
Extract from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
Starburst magazine's April 2005 issue also gives J&T a rave review. Here's a taste: "All the ingredients for an enjoyable read are here: colourful characters; plucky youngsters; shifty villains; cute animals; psi powers and treachery; danger and action; magic and mystery; journeys and not one but two quests... This would make great Sunday teatime TV; someone tell the BBC!"
"... a very lively and accessible fantasy, a contribution to what is often called crossover fiction... Folk tales - and these lie at the root of almost all fantasy literature - were always meant for everyone, and The Book of Lowmoor seems likely to add very enjoyably to the genre."
Sally Roberts Jones in Planet 172 (August/September 2005)
"Thorn is an engaging hero and Jewel a feisty girl: they have a few quirks of personality to distinguish them, but are easy to sympathize with..."
"The book is difficult to categorise; though fantasy, it mixes elements of other genres (the miniature world, the detective thriller, even a touch of noir). Teenage readers will enjoy the laconic dialogue and variety of perils..."
"Jewel and Thorn is well written, pacy and exciting. It is a considerable achievement and promises much."
Catherine Fisher, New Welsh Review 70 (Winter 2005)
At Write Away!, Luke Slater writes:
"Richard Poole has created an intriguing world and peopled it with engaging characters. Quite daringly, he has also positioned his protagonists, not in the role of the noble and just, but in the grey areas between good and evil."
Read the complete review at Write Away!
Gateway writes:
"There are so many excellent trilogies around at the moment, it's nice to find something outstanding, and Richard Poole's Lowmoor trilogy is just that. Jewel and Thorn conjures up visions of a Middle Ages world but the fantasy elements add an ingredient that makes the book really satisfying and totally original."
For the whole review click on this link: Gateway
Buy Jewel and Thorn in hardback from Amazon
Buy Jewel and Thorn in paperback from Amazon
Signed first editions are available from Goldsboro Books
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