Aetheros is a very different sort of world compared to ours; it’s a world where the air is filled with the hiss of steam, the smell of soot from the fires which are constantly stoked to keep heat and power flowing, and with the crushing knowledge that no matter how hard you work, you will only ever get so far in the world. Welcome to Oldtown-Against-The-Wall, where the dregs of the society of Aesirium, the city encircled by the wall that Oldtown nestles up to, were banished generations ago.

Although Oldtown sounds like a rather bleak place, all is not as it seems, for even as the steam rises from the pipes, there is magic here as well for those few gifted enough to hear its music.

The first book of an intended trilogy, The Morrow Stone centers on an unlikely trio of heroes: Rom, the youngest and most unusual with her snow-white hair, crystalline blue eyes, and affinity for animals, Kari who is a mechanical genius, possessing an almost instinctive grasp of concepts which should be far advanced for her, and Cousins, the eldest, who seems to know (or be related to) just about everyone in Oldtown-Against-The-Wall. From the humble beginnings of Rom and Kari living in an orphanage in the shadow of the wall, the trio must use all their considerable courage and cunning as they take the first steps to discover their respective destinies as Sheharid, Smith, and Seer, meant to rebuild the world.

Although the Morrow Stone is by no means a perfect book, it is a very good book. The prose flows well and the heroic trio are very likeable which makes it easy to engage with them and want them to succeed… not for the sake of the world, but because they’re good kids and failure would be a devastating blow. The world of Aetheros feels like a real place with a history that we have only just begun to see unfolding, populated with intriguing characters that hold the reader’s interest and make the minor flaws of the novel ultimately forgivable.

Suitable for children as young as 7 or 8 years old, The Morrow Stone is a great read for fans of Harry Potter or other fantastic children’s literature. It is available both in paperback via Amazon or Barnes & Noble and there is also a Kindle edition, which is great news for those of us who love our Kindles!