The Princelings of the East

The Princelings of the East, Book 1

By: Jemima Pett

Narrated by: Christopher Preece

The Princelings of the East is the first of a trilogy telling of the adventures of Fred and George.

When the King's birthday feast is ruined by an unnatural power drain, our Princeling heroes leave their scientific experiments to set out in search of answers. They encounter the enigmatic businessman Hugo, the impressive Prince of Buckmore, the wise Lady Nimrod, and the irrepressible barkeeper Victor, but find themselves threatened by those with vested interests. The scene shifts from a rural, feudal setting to the towers and heights of the curious Isle of Hattan, but where, or when, are they? Time is of the essence in solving this puzzle, and our heroes must keep their wits sharp and their heads clear if they are to survive.

Suitable for everyone aged 10 and over, The Princelings of the East is a fantasy adventure with the charm of the Wind in the Willows in a world reminiscent of Anne MacCaffrey's Pern.

©2011 J. M. Pett (P)2020 J. M. Pett

Imaginative romp through space & time

Jemima Pett has written a fun story of twin boys on an adventure. They discover hidden passageways and tubes that allow them to travel to other places and times. They meet a host of interesting characters along the way. To build more drama, there is a mysterious energy drain, strawberry fizz kind of drink and Wasna. (Guessing on the spelling of that drink since I was listening.) Christopher Preece was terrific as the narrator. Appealed to my sense of adventure, hidden connections, and other worlds.

Fun story with guinea pigs!

After a strange power drain ruins the fun of King Cole's birthday feast, his twin grandsons, Fred and George, take it upon themselves to find out what caused the power drain and put a stop to it. Fred and George reminded me a lot of Phineas and Ferb - they are inseparable, with each of them supporting the other, while they have their own interests, George being an inventor and engineer with Fred being a thinker and philosopher.

As the two brothers, who are in fact guinea pigs, begin to explore and search for the reason behind the power drain, they discover the answer is not going to be very simple. Indeed, there's a bit of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey action going on that creates some interesting situations.

One of the best parts of this book, for me, was the growth that Fred and George both go through as they are trying to solve their mystery. Where they had always been together before, much of their investigation separates them, and they find themselves struggling with that - and with learning to make decisions on their own. The secondary characters of the story are fun and quirky, even the villains of the story, and the discovery of what is causing the power drain - and how to stop it - had me laughing. While the secondary characters aren't as well-defined as Fred and George, due to not having as much "screen time" as the twins, but Pett does a great job of using individualities for those characters, to help them stand out.

In addition to the fun characters are the different settings the characters travel to. The differences between the various settings help the reader keep certain things straight - though I can't really say what things without giving away too much. Though this book is written for younger readers, in the 8-12 age range, I think slightly older readers would also enjoy the fun.

For myself, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Christopher Preece. He was so much fun to listen to, and there were several places I found myself giggling and wondering how many times Preece had to read the manuscript before he could get through it without giggling himself. I already have the sequel to this book, also as an audiobook to listen to, and I'm looking forward to continuing the story.

If you like stories like The Wind in the Willows or The Cats of Tanglewood Forest, then you will most likely enjoy this book too. So, grab a copy and jump right in!