After discovering that she is actually the next Champion and having acquired the first piece of the Oceanforged Armour, the gauntlet, Cori and her two companions set sail on their quest to retrieve the next item. They sail to Whalehead where a secret group of Loyalists meet them and send them off to Mutemount. There has been no word from residents of that island for years and no-one knows if they still exist.
As they get closer, Cori, Jim and Tarn see signs of habitation. They discover that the islanders are terrorised by sea monsters called Leviathans who keep them from leaving their island. One of the monsters attacks their beloved houseboat and sinks it so Cori and her friends are stranded.
The islanders befriend them and teach them useful skills, handy when they discover where the second item of the Armour is. They also uncover murals telling the island’s history and uncover the source of the misunderstanding and enmity between the people and the Leviathans. After rescuing a trapped Leviathan, a tenuous peace occurs.
This second instalment is more convoluted than the first and is perhaps less successful, with several sub-plots underway. Lucky the houseboat is constantly called ‘he’ whereas as all mariners know, boats and ships are always referred to as ‘she’. But maybe this is deliberate on the author’s part.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
Age Guide 8+
Read our interview with Amelia Mellor on Oceanforged: Book 1 here.
Listen to our podcast interview with Amelia Mellor here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amelia Mellor is an author, teacher and nature nerd. She is the creator of The Grandest Bookshop in the World, The Bookseller’s Apprentice and The Lost Book of Magic, a multi-award-winning historical fantasy trilogy based in Melbourne where she lives. She holds degrees from Monash University and The University of Melbourne. To find ideas for Oceanforged, Amelia spent three days at sea, swam with sharks, hiked in jungles, got lost in Italy, handled real pirate artefacts and scuba dived on a shipwreck. When she’s not writing or researching, she’s usually tending her collection of tropical fish or attempting a wildly ambitious craft project.
Follow Amelia Mellor on Instagram here.
Read more about the book on the publisher’s website here.
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