This is the story of Kate, Mark, Alan and Mo, four orphans who become friends and are called to the world of Tír, which is linked to Earth through a portal.

The character development at the start of this book is superb and I thoroughly enjoyed the exploration of Tír and finding out some of its secrets (there are more to come I'm sure). However, the end of the book meshed into one big battle - I think there were actually about three - and I felt these dragged on a little too long.

I should also point out that I knew where the book was heading, having read the second one first, which might have made the battles less exciting (are they going to survive? Yes they are because I remember them popping up in [b:The Tower of Bones|16003050|The Tower of Bones|Frank P. Ryan|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347371846s/16003050.jpg|21765753]...). Overall I thought the second book held the story better, although I need to re-read it now I understand what is going on (it doesn't really work as a standalone).

If you are a fan of unusual fantasy worlds then this book is definitely worth checking out.

My copy was kindly provided by the author.