The Thirteen Hallows

October 3, 2011
Scott (The Alchemyst) and Freedman blend magic, folklore, mystery, and history in this zippy fantastical thriller. Sarah Miller is a discontented 22-year-old Londoner in a dead-end job who lives with and supports her widowed mother. When she comes to the aid of an elderly woman getting mugged, she becomes hopelessly entangled in a murderous conspiracy. A criminal mastermind known as the Dark Man is gathering together the 13 Hallows, sacred ancient objects of immense power, and ritualistically killing those who protect them. The woman Miller saved was one of the last Hallowed Keepers. Armed only with a broken sword, Miller must stay alive long enough to somehow stop the Dark Man from completing his apocalyptic plan. Relentless pacing and a richly detailed story line replete with historical references and bombshell revelations give this fantasy tremendous mainstream crossover potential.

February 27, 2012
In Scott and Freedman’s fantastical thriller, when Londoner Sarah Miller helps a mugging victim, she finds herself face to face with one of the Keepers—guardians of powerful and deadly artifacts know as the 13 Hallows. The Keeper gives her Hallow (a broken sword) to Miller and persuades her to deliver it to the Keeper’s American nephew, Owen. But when Miller is accused of murder, she and Owen embark on a quest to find the other surviving Keepers, prevent the Hallows from falling into the wrong hands, and avoid the mysterious and malevolent Dark Man. Kate Reading’s narration of this audio edition is crisp, emphatic, and well paced. She creates distinctive voices and accents for the novel’s characters and keeps listeners engaged throughout. But Reading shines brightest when rendering moments of tension, modulating her tone and pace perfectly and leaving listeners on the edge of their seats. A Tor hardcover.

October 15, 2011
Fantasy from bestselling author Scott (The Warlock, 2011, etc.) and playwright Freedman (Sister Cities, 2009, etc.). Let's eavesdrop on a parallel universe, where a literary agent is having a phone conference with a couple of co-authors: "…Sure, Potter has Hallows, but…Okay, so yours are magical whatzits that defend the realm against whatever, Dark Lords, demons, aliens…right…We need a number…Thirteen? Great! And they're protecting Britain or the world or whatever…No, no, everybody does Irish…Welsh, wonderful! I get it, the Hallows have huge long unpronounceable titles in Welsh, they'll lap it up. Go on…The keepers of the Hallows are all clueless old doddery types, and the agents of the bad guys are slaughtering them, lots of blood, gore, mayhem? Love it! We need some sex, though…Bad guy, bad girl, and they have to screw to get mystical visions and stuff, psychic powers… Brilliant! And the good guys? That's always a problem…I know, I know, well, we can work something out later. So how do you bring in the Americans, that's the big payoff…Yeah, right, everybody English or Welsh has relatives in America…uhuh…So, these Hallows, what…Ancient, mystical chess sets and chalices and like that…cool…and they need to be bathed in blood to be activated…perfect! Wait, wait, thirteen McGuffins is way too many. What if one of them is the master control or suchlike? But it can't be something wimpy like a chalice, you can't whack bad guys with…of course, a sword!..." It's just fiction, folks, manufactured rather than crafted; still, it could have been a lot worse.

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July 1, 2011

The Hallows of Britain: 13 ancient treasures that can do great good or great evil. Someone is gathering them, evidently not intent on doing good, and only a group of young people can save the day. Okay, echoes of Harry Potter and Scott's own beloved Nicholas Flamel series, but this novel is intended for adults. Could be lots of fun.

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