Click here to buy this book! Kindle Edition Download to your Nook (eBook) Download from Apple iTunes (eBook) Amazon Lulu Barnes & Noble.com www.lulu.com www.amazon.co.uk Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Lulu.com ISBN-10:  B00LESJW0Q Type: Fiction Pages: 554 Copyright:  Aug 31, 2013 ISBN-13: 9781291398052 Magika: Mirror Worlds Book 1 is the first of a two part story in the new Magika series written by British adult fantasy and sci-fi author James Hemming. After a number of youthful indiscretions, and the legacy of a notorious thief for a father, the last thing failed university student and strip-club barman Thomas Hargreaves wanted was to receive a letter from a law firm. Much to his surprise, Tom discovers that a previously unknown and famous grandfather has left him an inheritance that will change everything about the world he thought he knew. Now, being guided by a nomadic Scotsman with poor dress sense and a heavy nicotine addiction, Tom is about to discover that he holds the key to saving a world beyond their own . . . . . . Which would be fine, if he wasn’t the target for mercenaries, rogue illusionists and strange creatures, all of who want to see him dead. Oh, and he can’t shake the feeling that little blue men are spying on him . . . Please Note: Ebook price varies depending on location and format purchased from.                                                         Excerpt Randle Joyce sat behind a glass topped table and tapped away on an expensive looking computer system, barely acknowledging Crank when he walked in, barely glancing in his direction. The man eventually looked up and said: ‘Like I say to every other lawyer who walks into my office, Mr . . .’ he glanced at the flat monitor, ‘. . . Crank, we’ll happily take it to court. I’ve not had any dealings with your firm before. I actually had trouble finding much about it. So, if you would just like to leave your number, someone will be in touch. By the way, who is your client? Aggivero? Blake? I don’t think I’ve heard from either of them in a while, although we’ve been picking apart their performances for a good few months now. I’m sure we’ve pissed them off good and proper.’ There weren’t many things that could agitate William Crank, but this man’s voice grated on every single nerve of his being, and he managed to subdue the tick he’d had since a child - just below his right eye - as Randle Joyce’s nasally whine set his teeth on edge. Crank took a seat opposite the man and pushed his hands together, his elbows resting on the desktop. Randle wasn’t expecting him to sit, and fixed him with a glassy stare before letting out a sigh. ‘Okay, so you’re one of those lawyers, eh? Well, let’s get started. To begin with -’ ‘Consider this,’ Crank interrupted before Randle could continue, ‘everything that you have been working towards is for nothing. You have been labouring to expose those who already acknowledge that their craft is nothing more than an illusion, and yet you strip away every single fibre of that craft - that skill, and show its bones to fill your own pocket. It takes all the mystery and fun away, doesn’t it?’ The man sitting across from Crank remained impassive, his grey eyes and thin lips remained still and calm. ‘Now,’ Crank continued, ‘there are these magicians that, let’s say, lack the imagination to create their own illusions, so decide that it would be fun to recreate illusions by - and this is just off the top of my head - Oscar Bailey . . . He was quite famous, wasn’t he?’ Crank spotted the brief flicker of emotion cross over Randle’s face when he said the name, and it caused him to smile inwardly. ‘Actually, now I come to think about it, these people gave themselves a name - not a very original name, as it happens. What was it?’ Crank feigned ignorance briefly. ‘Ah, oh, yes, The Joyce Inner Circle, that’s it, isn’t it? Really they’re just pariahs of the performing world. Whoring their own craft whilst destroying another. You do realise that a magician - a true magician, never reveals the secrets of his work, don’t you? What is supposed to be a mystery should, on occasion, stay a mystery.’ Randle Joyce sighed once again and drummed his fingers on the glass top. He still said nothing, but had now fixed Crank with a sharp glare. ‘The funny thing is, these people actually do this because they believe in real magic - a pure magic. Isn’t that right, Mr Joyce? And the reason for the work you do is because you believe it’s an insult to this real magic . . . Any luck finding it, by the way?’ Randle Joyce smiled. ‘Very good, but you may have got a few facts wrong, as it happens.’ ‘Ah!’ Crank said, slapping the top of the desk with his palm and causing Randle to wince at the sound. ‘That’s right, because The Joyce Inner Circle could never actually figure out how Oscar Bailey did his tricks. And if your little group couldn’t figure it out, with all you’re experience and knowledge, then it must be real magic, right? There must be some supernatural influence behind all of Oscar Bailey’s feats. It was the only explanation to it all, especially as your little band had the best engineers, scientists and -I use this term loosely - illusionists that can be hired. You give yourselves a lot of credit.’ Randle snorted. ‘Oh, right, so you’re not representing a performer, then. So, what? A spiritual institution? Some God-fearing fanatics, maybe? I’ve pissed someone off, no-doubt about it! So why don’t you just cut the crap and come on out with it, Mr Crank. How much is it going to cost for all this to go away?’ Crank shook his head. ‘I was expecting more - I really was, especially for someone who’s supposed to be so . . . enlightened. Allow me to demonstrate something for you.’ The lawyer’s palm had remained flat on Randle’s desktop where he’d slapped the glass, and as he closed his eyes his lips began to move quickly and silently. It was subtle at first, no more than a delicate tang, but soon a sharp eye-watering smell began to fill the room, and the clear glass beneath Crank’s palm began to glow a faint orange. It quickly grew to a searing red, and smoke, an acrid black, began to rise up around them. Randle Joyce pushed his chair away, coughed hard from the fumes, and looked on in astonishment as the heat spread out to the edges of the desk and enveloped over the computer terminal. The LCD screen flashed and flickered as the circuitry began to feel the effects of the charm Crank was casting, before it died completely and was sinking downwards like hot candle wax - along with the molten glass of the desktop - to the floor. Crank opened his eyes, and snatched his hand away as the skin on his palm began to blister. He balled it into a fist and gritted his teeth, before looking down the end of his nose at Randle. The man’s face was a mixed mask of bewilderment, amazement and fear as the molten ball began to singe the new carpet and cool into a large blob. Small sparks leapt upwards with the slightest of pinging sounds; the fumes were choking, and the little smoke detector that sat on the ceiling above their heads began to beep furiously. ‘I’ve been saving that up for years, just for you,’ Crank explained above the noise, before blowing out a strange green smoke from between his lips to his hand. The skin turned from a bloodied mess to a healthy white and pink before Randle Joyce’s eyes. The man, however, said nothing, and looked wide-eyed at Crank who had remained calmly seated. ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot the rules of the game,’ the lawyer said, pushing up the cuff of his jacket. ‘As you can see, there is nothing up my sleeve . . . I suppose I should have said that before hand, eh?’ ‘How -’ Randle began to say, words failing him as he tried to make sense of what had just taken place. ‘Did I do that?’ William Crank finished. He gave a snorting laugh and said: ‘I’m not here to sue, I’m here to educate . . . I’m here, Mr Randle Joyce, to tell you that everything that you’ve searched for is about to fall into your lap.’

Adventurous and Entertaining
SurfWales

Format: Kindle Edition

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Hemming's dry wit and entertaining prose delivers a fantastical story of the adventure of the main character Tom Hargreaves. An engaging read that is well conceived by a new author in this genre. Rankin and Pratchett spring to mind with a touch of Wilt, all mixed with Hemming's own style. Entertaining.

Gripping Tale
Doreen Hill

Format: Kindle Edition

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Beautifully written , great adventure story with mystery and intrigue. Different characters from a mirror world who are persuing a stolen shard, which ensures the continuing peace in their world
once I started reading this book I couldnt put it down until I had finished.I look forward to book 2