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Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Lulu
ISBN-10: 095598727X
Type: Fiction
Pages: 261
ISBN-13: 9780955987274
The casewrap-hardcover version of 'Anywhere and Nowhere'.
A must for all railway buffs or those seeking nostalgia engendered by 1960s England and the sequel to 'The Fantastic Journey' and the 2nd in a series of 4 fantasy stories for all the family. More fantastic adventures for young Eddie and Len.
Eddie and Len have both received a gift through the post and, having lain unopened for some time, the presents eventually provide the spark that begins this curious adventure. A tale of fantasy and adventure set in 1960's England in a fictitious sleepy seaside town whence teenage friends Eddie and Len are taken on a series of adventures where fantasy and reality collide with strange results, continuing their amazing adventures which commenced in the first book, 'The Fantastic Journey', published by www.arimapublishing.com.
Excerpt
Read an excerpt below!
Excerpt
1
Eddie’s Train Set
The August school holidays had been hot and dry, unusually so for
Fenton-on-Sea. Best friends, Eddie and Len had spent the first two weeks
swimming in the sea and playing beach cricket on the sands near to the
pier, whence they repaired occasionally to buy ice-creams and drinks or
just to play the one-penny slot machines.
Eddie had scarcely thought about the magical journey which he and
Len had experienced that May half-term. No one in the small East
Anglian seaside town knew anything about what had happened to the two
boys. Even Eddie and Len themselves had begun to doubt whether the
journey had really taken place. They certainly hadn’t discussed it openly;
perhaps just the odd knowing wink when the loss of Eddie’s billiard table
– in the sea off Fenton beach – was mentioned by their parents. As time
had gone on, they reassured each other less and less that the extraordinary
events had actually taken place. In the end, by the start of the summer
holidays, there was a tacit agreement between the two twelve-year-olds
that the fantastic journey would not be talked about. Each, in their own
way, knew that the events had taken place, but since no one else knew
and because they could never prove it to anyone, they put it to the back of
their minds, along with all the other deeply imagined fantasies that boys
of their age were prone to invent. They realised that a momentous thing
had happened and they knew that they had been used as pawns in a plan
instigated by God, or some greater power. Neither boy was particularly
religious but both knew that something otherworldly existed, whether
they were prepared to admit it to each other or not.
8
If they hadn’t talked about their journey much, they’d talked even less
about the mysterious Mr Canter – George, as they had come to know him.
Eddie’s purchase of the mysterious object from George’s junk shop in
Mill Road had, after all, sparked the fantastic journey in the first place
anyway. The gifts they’d received by way of a ‘thank you’ for their part
in restoring the treasure to the new synagogue in the Polish city of
Bialystok, lay unopened in their respective bedrooms. George Canter had
wanted to repay the two boys for helping him overcome his guilt and
provide him with the impetus to start a new life in his home city. Canter’s
junk shop was now no longer the mysterious place that attracted
customers to buy things, whether they wanted to or not. In fact, it was
now Watson’s Electrical, the second shop of that name in Mill Road,
almost opposite Watson’s the ironmongers and both owned by Mr Paul
Watson and sons Jed and Paul junior.
Len’s brand new football, signed by the entire 1962/63 Tottenham
Hotspur football team, was still in its plastic wrapper and Eddie’s electric
train set was boxed and taped as it had been that Wednesday at the end of
May when the two gifts had arrived by post, courtesy of Mr George
Canter. Neither boy had opened their surprise gifts for one or two reasons.
Firstly, the warm weather that summer had not been conducive to playing
indoor games or, as Len would say,
“You don’t play ‘footie’ on the ‘rec’ in the summer; it isn’t cricket!”
Len always giggled at his clever double meaning, while his friend
would just groan. In any case, there were too many games of cricket
played on the ‘rec’ – their local recreation ground – to be able to kick a
ball about. The second reason, however, was stronger. Neither Eddie nor
Len wanted to be reminded of their previous adventure, in case it sparked
off something else equally amazing and, perhaps, more frightening. Not
Professional Reviews
A Promising Good Tale
A promise of magic 24 Jan 2009
by Julie Powell
A good introduction to the mystery of 'what has gone before'. Phrases like 'magical journey' always invoke a sense of wanting to know more while 'mysterious object' brings definite intrigue, and the dialogue between the two boys gives enough insight of their characters.
A promising good tale.
Julie Elizabeth Powell, author of Gone, The Star Realm, Knowing Jack and Slings & Arrows
Reader Reviews for "Anywhere and Nowhere"
Reviewed by Martyn Croft 2/28/2009
Anywhere and Nowhere by Martyn Croft, 15 Dec 2008
By Nigel Wood (Plymouth, UK) - See all my reviews
An enthralling sequel to 'The Fantastic Journey' by the same author.
Excellent reading for the 11-13 year old bracket. This book does not have foreign locations like TFJ but has much to feed the imagination of a railway enthusiast.
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