MIDNIGHT’S TWINS

RELEASED OUT NOW! 432 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Holly Race Publisher Hot Key Books

At times this debut novel bursts with creativity: fitting, as much of it takes place in a world built from the imaginations of people who are asleep and dreaming. They need defending from creatures who hunt them in their nightmares, and for this purpose an Arthurianinfluenced army of knights have been created. We follow new recruit Fern as she battles problems as a teen in London, while also training in this other world to kill monsters.

The accounts of her skirmishes against a Big Bad (an evil politician, naturally) are cool. But then there’s the clunky core premise: that Fern and her twin brother Ollie have had their relationship torn apart by a prank that resulted in Fern almost being burnt to death. We only see glimpses in limited flashbacks; we’re left with Fern’s hatred for her brother and Jenny, the prank’s instigator. But there’s no attempt to build Jenny as a character, so we don’t know why she did it, why Ollie helped her, or how they both got away with near-murder.

It’s a gaping hole in the middle of an otherwise impeccably plotted fantasy – and it’s a scab you can’t stop picking. A good read? Yes, but thanks to the decision to sketch out a background rather than show it to us in full, also a deeply frustrating one.