Have you ever wondered what else there is beyond the stories and myths you know? You may not have heard of The Magdon but it is there, in the shadows always watching and waiting.
Hadrian's Wall, Summer 1911 Archy is given the chance to spend his summer at the excavation of a Roman Fort called Vercovicium. One fateful day Archy stumbles across a buried tomb. Braving the dark Archy sets off in exploration and discovers a long forgotten part of history. The events of that summer open a new adventure to Archy that will change him forever.
Origins Of The Magdon: Vercovicium marks the first in a series of episodic adventures following Archibald "Archy" Skevington as he struggles to find out the truth behind the hidden monster. Archy's first encounter happens when he is only sixteen but the adventure lasts for the rest of his life.
Note from the author:
The whole idea of the Magdon came about when my youngest son as a toddler asked me what a noise was in the woods as we walked home. Instead of telling him what it was I made up the idea of the Magdon and since then it has been part of our family adventures. Between this and the constant questions and my sons have grown up I have created a whole mythology and background behind the monster. It was during a conversation with one of my children's teachers that I was told how much I had captured my children's imaginations and they encouraged me to write the story down. As a result I have decided to break down the "origins" story into a series to make it accessible to younger ages but also keep the story clean and to the point setting myself a limit of 10,000-12,000 words per volume. The fact my children have totally immersed themselves into the twisted world of monsters I have created it only seems fair (on them and me) that I share it with the world. So here is truly the madness of my imagination and something I have made so real and believable for my children.
Hopefully you will enjoy the adventure.
Professional Reviews
Excavating Buried Truth
I was given the paperback version of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The summer of 1911, 16-yr.-old Archibald Barney Skevington (Archy), enthusiastically sets off on a train to the countryside, glad to leave London behind due to the discomfort he feels being around a father he deems cold, stern, and distant following the death of Archy’s mother. Likewise, Professor Skevington is just as glad in having arranged for his son to visit an archeological site under the jurisdiction of a colleague: Vercovicium, a Roman fort.
This story is a reading expedition worth embarking on for the oblivious and unobvious truths you will unearth which the author hints at in the prologue:
“It is easy to accept the world we live in and forget the things that happened long ago.”
“There is more to the world than you have been told.”
One day, left to explore the less obvious reaches of Vercovicium, Archy digs his way into a buried tomb. What he discovers inside shatters his psyche and tests his mettle to survive demonic forces, changing him forever when he barely escapes with his life.
Having stumbled across a truth hidden deep in the shadows of a forgotten past, and unbeknownst to anyone else but Archy—the Magdon and its guardian, Nivag, exist. At the risk of putting his life in danger yet again, Archy feels compelled to dig at the nagging truth whose surface he’d barely scratched.
Fourth Book in the Southern Swallow Series finds the Academician Li K'ai-men in exile on Hai-nan Island. China has a new invasion threat. A showdown between ingenuity and technology explodes as the Sung Dynasty tries to preserve itself.
Tralee, Ireland. September 1948.
An arrogant, and highly agitated, priest arrives home after 40 years.
Days later he's dead. Suicide? Or did his past catch up with him?
Shanghai Escapist grabs the faint-of-heart right from the get-go and serves up an ultimatum: What would you do if caught in the same circumstances? From the opening scene, the reader is tossed into the maze of daily intrigue as it existed in 1960s-70
