Kindle Edition Lobo Publishing Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Lobo Publishing Type: Fiction Pages: 469 Copyright: November 28th 2011 ISBN-13: 9780957099807 Epic fantasy set in the Dream Realm Dimension. Imagine surviving a car crash that claimed your mother and brother. You are fourteen, struggling with terrible injuries and horrific memories that haunt your dreams. Now imagine waking up in a dimension where every dream created in the human mind is made real. Add a host of demons, a collection of fantastical creatures, ancient Wiccans, Merlin, and the entire human population driven to the brink of insanity, then place yourself in Alice Tower’s shoes. Excerpt The game would be over soon. Alice was close to the gate, but the demon slavered with pernicious glee as it meted out her torment; savouring each epicurean moment of her terror. The door appeared in the clearing up ahead; an obsidian monolith writhing with the amorphous faces of a thousand captive horrors. Her pursuer’s breath roared in her soul. So close she could almost taste the foetid stench of it. The demon. The door. The demon. The door. The rhythmic thundering of fatal choices. Only insanity could save her now. Madness manifests in myriad form. The demon. The door. The demon. The door. Powerful muscles flexed and bunched beneath her. Thundering hooves pounded out a new rhythm of choice. Alice opened her eyes and grabbed a handful of mane. Her valiant rescuer tossed his head. A livid flare of nostrils. A fiery glint in black eyes. He snorted and powered away from the beast behind. The horse veered away from the dreadful portal and galloped into the darkness. The beast of her nightmare bellowed its anger as she sped out of its reach. The Gate swallowed her up.

Tug at your heartstrings charming
The Toy Sorcerer

Book One
by Laura Hart
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“' . . . at times it's as if she is painting with words.'”

This book contains spells, potions, incantations, gods, goddesses, elementals, talking animals, flying horses, witches and, of course, witchcraft; the religious sort of witchcraft with gods and elementals, not the fantasy sort of witchcraft with wands and brooms.
There are so many aspects to the book that it’s a wonder that the author managed to stitch it all together. But she did, and she did it well.

As a result it took me a while to write an adequate review of this book.

The main thing that struck me about The Toy Sorcerer was how beautifully written it is. It’s what attracted me to it in the first place. The use of language and imagery really sucks you into the story, at times it’s as if she is painting with words.
Laura also has a knack of making you really feel for and care about the characters, which makes you really root for them.

There are many characters woven into this tale, some of them are from Myth, some are from the Wiccan religion and some are masterful creations of the authors very own.

The author is very adept at inventing worlds for these characters as well as describing the world around her.
The real world is painted so vividly as ordinary that is seems a very strange to have something as extraordinary as a fully fledged witch and her familiar running around, fighting demons and casting spells.

On the flip side the dream realms allow you to encounter strange lands and even stranger locals that at times seem more real than the real world.

This is a steadily paced, well thought out book that I would recommend to anyone. Although there are a few minor expletives so perhaps not for very young children, unless parents are prepared to edit.

The only fault in this book that occasionally jarred me from the story are the interactions between the characters. At times mannerisms and turns of phrase tend to swap characters. Some of the conversations between characters felt also felt a little too ‘nice’ or contrived at times.
But I have to say that this is me nit picking. I found this book to be extremely well written, gritty and imaginative with well thought out twists and turns, complete with characters that suck you into the story and make you root for them.

Jo Baker
Goodreads Author Member

“Tug-at-your-heartstrings charming.”

I was quite impressed by Laura Hart's debut novel The Toy Sorcerer - I fell in love with the first characters introduced to me, and became even more committed to them the further I read. Ms. Hart tugged at my heartstrings by helping me connect with her characters on a very intimate level, that of tragedy and pain. This could be the first time I've ever been enchanted by characters rendered more lovable by the painful and bittersweet trials they endured.

Alice Towers and her father are struggling to pick up the pieces of their life after the tragic death of her mother and her brother Tommy. Leaving the only home Alice knew in order to get away from their memories, the Towers move from London to the North Devon countryside where they hoped to begin anew. There they meet Leona Heggarty, known by the townsfolk as the local midwife, but also a witch from the Coven of Immortal Souls, who asks Alice's help in rescuing her apprentice Magog from a dimension known as the Dream Realms. Something goes quite wrong with Leona's plans and instead of helping Magog get out of the Dream Realms, Alice gets imprisoned like him. Initially unaware of her dire straits she travels the land looking for Magog - but an even greater war is brewing with Alice as the linchpin and the continuation of the human race at stake. To free herself and Magog from the Dream Realms, Alice faces greater trials and difficult truths of self-discovery that will take its toll on her already broken heart.

Let me state from the beginning that I will be repeating myself when it comes to the words, 'enchanting,' 'charming,' and 'endearing' when I speak of this tale. What is quite refreshing was that Laura Hart's rendering of her character's tragedies gave me a feeling of intimate familiarity that made them more believable. For example, the sadness and despair Alice felt may be a mirror to the author's own loss, or it may just be that Ms. Hart's experience in the performing arts gave her great skill in making readers empathize with the character's woes. Either way, I resonated with the authenticity of the pain, making the young protagonist Alice more real and endearing. This is not in any way a depressing story - there are quests and dangers and battles to face, and a message of respect for one's fellow creatures - but because the author does not shield the readers from the losses and tragedies, one doesn't get an antiseptic Disney adventure, but a story with characters readers can root for. The little bits of sorrow in each of Ms. Hart's characters made me commit more to them, made the tale sweeter, and left me eagerly awaiting the next volume in the series, The Final Prophecy.

A large contributor to the charm of the tale was the language. The author has achieved an ambiance of 'coziness' in her character's conversations and in her treatment of crucial points - other than being in the genre of contemporary fantasy, the tale feels like a story your aunt is telling about the family two blocks down the road. It takes skill to make demons, gryphons, and dragons cozy and familiar, yet Ms. Hart made it very easy for me. The conversations don't feel stilted, and the voyage of self-discovery undergone by Alice and Magog was gut-wrenching because I could easily see myself or a dear friend discovering similar things not easily faced.

Let me repeat myself a final time: this is a charming tale for readers of all ages, even if it is initially for the young adult demographic. A very impressive debut for Laura Hart, and I encourage everyone to pick up The Toy Sorcerer - may it captivate you and leave you anticipating the next in the series as it did for me.

Celina Quadro
Book Ideas

A gift for storytelling.
The Toy Sorcerer is the first book of a trilogy aimed at young adult fantasy readers. The main protagonist is Alice, a 14-year-old girl who has suffered a family tragedy and settles in a new house in the country with her father, where she meets Leona, an elderly woman who impresses Alice with her insight and a little magic, for she is a Wiccan. She enlists Alice's help in rescuing her long-lost apprentice, Magog, who is trapped in the Dream Realms, a place where people go in their dreams, but which is also populated by a tremendous variety of fantastical creatures and characters, including the sorcerer Merlin.

However, Alice becomes trapped in the Dream Realms herself, and subsequently embroiled in an archetypical war between good and evil. Most of the story takes place in the Dream Realms, following Alice's quest to find and rescue Magog, and her adventures with the unusual creatures she meets and befriends. The story is much more than a fantasy plotline, however; the character of Alice is delineated in a realistic and empathetic way that pulls the reader through the story with her, and when Alice's journey forces her to face some difficult facts and memories, the reader shares her pain. Alice is a character with psychological depth.

The story itself is engaging and fast-paced, with spots of humour, well-defined characters and dialogue that sounds very natural. What I enjoyed most was the wonderfully evocative descriptive writing. In this regard, I think the author demonstrated a gift for storytelling that really puts the reader into the heart of the story with the main characters.

It is hard to find faults in this book... I did trip over occasional punctuation errors that another proofreading might have found, and I did find the ending a little unsatisfying as it left the story hanging (though of course this was probably to be expected, and it whets the appetite for the second instalment). There is a little swearing also (though nothing gratuitous). These, however, are rather minor, nitpicky things which do not detract from what is a well-written book.

At times I was reminded of the world of Narnia, though the writing style is quite different (and better, in my opinion, than the Narnia books). Overall, I found The Toy Sorcerer very enjoyable and appreciated the author's descriptive prose and natural dialogue. I think this is a very good read for young adults and adults alike.

An impressive debut novel
14 year old Alice Towers is the survivor, along with her father, of an horrific car crash, which took the lives of her mother & younger brother. She is not coping well.

They move from London to Devon, where Alice meets Leona Heggarty, local midwife, who just happens to be a witch of the Coven of Immortal Souls and has been around for a very long time, along with her canine familiar, Black Jack.

Leona needs Alice's help to bring back her apprentice, Magog, who has been trapped for over 300 years in the Dream Realms.

Leona's evil sister Lillian has other plans for Alice. She want to use her to bring back something very nasty indeed. The fate of the real World depends on the outcome of Alice's quest.

It's a very well-written & gripping book for the most part. I had one small problem, however.

When Alice first begins her travels in the Dream Realms, she has several encounters which seem to be set up specifically so the author can put across her views on certain issues involving mankind's treatment of wild life, the environment & each other. It's not that I didn't agree with all the points made… I certainly did & the issues are relevant to the plot, but it got a little tiresome & preachy for a short while.

Don't let that put you off though, as she moves on very quickly & when the narrative does pick up again, it becomes an absolute page-turner.

I should mention here that the Dream Realms are very heavily influenced by Lewis Carroll (naming the heroine Alice was no coincidence) with maybe a little L. Frank Baum & C.S. Lewis thrown into the mix.

Do not, however, by any means assume that this is a children's book!

When it gets dark, it gets very dark indeed & there's enough blood, violence & slaughter of innocents to bear comparison with any modern zombie novel. The author doesn't completely shy away from strong language either, although she doesn't overdo it, hence the YA/adult rating.

Small faults aside, this is an impressive debut novel. I, for one, am genuinely looking forward to the next book in the series, not only because this one ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger.