Beyond The Shining Portals (The Portals Trilogy Book One)
About
Jack Brennan is scared. The bounty hunters are combing London for runaway factory apprentices, and it’s only a matter of time before they track him down.
Worse still, his sister has just sent a message. A drunken nobleman has stolen an amulet, a blood-red spider encased in amber, from the Maiden temple in which she serves. It is of the greatest importance that he and his brother get it back.
By contrast, his older brother Billy is full of confidence about their newfound freedom. He introduces Jack to a young theatre make-up artist, and the brothers quickly become adept at disguises. Billy promises his sister they will retrieve the amulet.
They devise a plan to carry this out one evening in the busy Mercers’ Tavern. Little do they know that one of the men playing cards with the nobleman is the time traveller, Michael Basilicus, who intends to kill them both.
Also, unbeknownst to them, they have been set up, and the tavern is swarming with bounty hunters. The brothers retrieve the amulet, and Jack escapes with it, but Billy is captured. The next day, he is put on trial and sentenced to death.
Jack has seventy-two hours to save him. The public hangings will take place on Tower Hill on New Year’s Day. If Jack cannot rescue him in time, Billy will die…
At first, ‘Beyond The Shining Portals’ appears to be a historical novel set in 18th-century London. It’s an alternate London, to be sure. There are underwater factories and canals instead of roads. There are temples to the Maiden Goddess as well as churches. But it is recognisably 18th-century London. Even Captain Van Buren, the owner of the Temple Tavern, seems to fit into this world, as does the mysterious Greek shipping magnate, Michael Basilicus.
But as the book progresses to its mid-point crisis, it becomes clear that these two are on opposite sides of a titanic struggle that spans the cosmos: the wars between Imperium and the Maiden Orders.
And there is something about Jack.
Van Buren and Michael Basilicus have travelled through time to London in late December 1793, one to protect him, and the other to kill him.
With danger pressing from every side, Jack climbs through a shining portal into an extraordinary world beyond.
Reviews.
‘I gave 5 stars because it’s simply a fine and often thrilling read which I have only been able to put down when necessary.’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘Characters have depth, and you really are pulling for them. I found myself feeling their struggles and goals mattered, their personalities deep and applicable to their scenarios.’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘So many twists and turns, and just when you think you have understood it along comes another twist.’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘From a ‘Dickensian’ story in a poor London neighborhood, it evolves to a time travelling plot where several worlds interact and the whole existence of the universe is at stake.’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘I was absolutely enthralled by this book. The author deftly mixes themes of time travel, mythology, and historical facts. Reading this story puts you right in the middle of locations that seem both familiar and bizarre, while the characters seem like old friends and enemies.’
Goodreads Reviewer
‘The book excels at building suspense, especially surrounding Billy’s impending execution. The characters of scrappy Jack and charming Billy are appealing. However, the villainous Basilicus steals every scene he’s in.’