Defender of the Realm: Dark Age by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler

Defender of the Realm: Dark Age by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler
Buy Defender of the Realm: Dark Age by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Confident Readers
Reviewer: Sophie Diamond
Summary: Fast paced, fun and thrilling. A fantastic follow up to Defender of the Realm, perfect for kids and big kids alike.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 352	Date: June 2017
Publisher: Scholastic
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9781407164243
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King Alfred the Second is still growing into his roles as King and Defender of the Realm. Just having defeated the Black Dragon at his coronation, Alfie is trying to focus on making less of a fool of himself in his day job, something the Prime Minister is keen to encourage as much as possible, when a new threat hits the Kingdom. The UK is being savaged by a hoard of undead Vikings, intent on causing as much trouble as possible, who have all been stirred up by Alfie's old History teacher, Professor Lock. But how do you kill something that's already dead? Alfie is trying to save the Kingdom by night, rule it by day and keep his family together, all the while knowing if he fails, we could be thrown into another dark age. Well, no one said being King would be easy.

This is a fantastic children's adventure! It follows directly from the events of the first book, so I'd advise refreshing your memory before picking it up. Dark Age, like the first Defender novel, has a clear story that is always moving forwards. For children, this story is fast, exciting and funny and for adults it is full of entertaining content. I still think the premise of this is genius. It's so relevant and original, a royal British Captain America. This is a comic-booky type story that is just pure, joyful adventure.

This time round we delve further into the relationships between the royal children, particularly the complicated dynamic between the heir and the spare. I'd say more but that would be a spoiler. The relationship between Alfie and Hayley is also changing and I really hope this is something the writers develop as the series continues and Alfie grows up.

One of the many strengths of this novel is the pace. If you're aiming a story at kids, or people with a short attention span, you need a book that gets to the point and that is exactly what happens here. There isn't a chapter that drives away from the plot, something is always happening, you start and finish in the action which isn't easy to accomplish. The writing too is accessible without being too simplistic; this is a well-written book which any age will enjoy.

I really like the way they weave history and public controversy about the royal family into the novel. And while any contemporary British royal is highly, highly unlikely to descend from Alfred the Great, I can forgive this because it's part of the plot and the book teaches other history lessons. I really hope that when this is read in classrooms, it encourages children towards history and all the fantastic stories of the past. My personal favourite history lesson of the book is that Vikings didn't have horns on their helmets (as this was the first lesson we were taught at uni).

There isn't a part of this book which I don't like. I'm such a fan of this series and like last time, I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series!

Thank you the publishers and the Bookbag for my copy!

To see how Alfie's adventures started pick up Defender of the Realm.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Defender of the Realm: Dark Age by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Defender of the Realm: Dark Age by Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler at Amazon.com.

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