The Jake West Trilogy
Young-Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Series
~ When worlds collide, heroes are born. ~
The Jake West Trilogy tells the story of two ordinary British teenage boys who by accident unlock a deadly secret which threatens to destroy all humanity. Hunted across two worlds, the teenagers escape to a fantasy land where they will have to rely on each other and the alliances they make in order to survive against the overwhelming magical forces of evil who seeks their destruction.
These inspirational novels, originally written for the Author’s own children, contains heroes in abundance, battles, wizards, dragons, spirits, warriors and beasts, and just plain human guts and determination, with strong elements of friendship and loyalty.
The Jake West Trilogy is an epic fantasy adventure series that has been compared by some readers to the great author C. S. Lewis, and has been described as a cross between The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter Series. Without question, this series is destined to take the YA Generation by storm as the next big thing in books and film.
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Excerpt:
Jake West – The Keeper Of The Stones
(Book 1)
Chapter 1
14th August – Harry West’s Attic
Lichfield – Staffordshire, England
In the middle of cleaning, or rather exploring, his grandfather’s attic, Jake West and his best mate, Ben Brooker, both fifteen, discover an old dusty chest in the midst of what was considered to be a collection of old junk. Ben, happily seeking hidden treasure and adventure takes the lead and out of curiosity opens the chest. Working his way through its contents, surrounded by boxes, books, hats, and flags, he finally catches Jake’s interest with the discovery of family photos and memorabilia from his grandfather’s travels and military history. After a comment about a mysterious family situation, Jake was about to walk away but stopped as he saw his friend reach forward into the chest once more…
“Hey! Look at this.” Ben stated, as he pulled out a beautifully ornate wooden box.
“What is it?” asked Jake. “Looks like a music box or something?”
Ben held it up towards the skylight for a better view. The box was made out of a wood they didn’t recognise and it was intricately carved with exquisite patterns all the way around. On its top was a crest, formed out of a different type of wood altogether, a shade darker than the one used to make the box itself. It was shaped like an eagle with outspread wings and it was embossed onto the box somehow so that it protruded ever so slightly.
“That’s weird,” stated Ben, as he examined it closely. “I can’t see any way of opening the thing. There’s no hinges or anything.”
“What? There must be.” replied Jake. “Here, let me have it.”
“Listen, I’m telling you it won’t open!” snapped Ben in frustration, as he tugged and pulled at the sides. “It feels hollow, but as if there’s something inside. Ahh, it just won’t open!” he shouted, before giving up and passing the box reluctantly to Jake.
Jake looked at it closely. Ben was right; there was no obvious way of opening it. He turned it around and around, searching for a catch or a lock of some description and as he did, his right palm passed over the crest.
‘Click!’
The sound was just loud enough for the boys to hear and they instinctively looked at one another.
‘Boom !!!’
An enormous roar shook the building and frightened them both. It was a deafening sound, as if an explosion had occurred nearby.
“Christ !!! What was that?” shrilled Ben. “It sounded like a bomb. Only it was in here.”
Jake’s eyes didn’t move from the box as he replied. “I- I don’t know, it…” He stopped again in mid-sentence, as he suddenly felt the box move slightly in his hands. “It’s opening. Look. It’s opening!” he cried out excitedly, shouting at Ben as if his best friend couldn’t see what was right in front of him.
The top of the box began to split into two and very slowly each top panel moved outwards. Both sides of the box began shifting, layer after layer, moving slightly outwards until the box had opened fully and each side resembled small inverted stairs. The back of the box had remained intact, but it had extended the entire length of the new object so that it now resembled the shape of a small, opened sewing box.
“Holy sh… Hey, look at that!” shouted Jake, now staring directly into the open box.
Positioned neatly in each corner were four round, coloured gems, all of them roughly about the size of a large grape. Each stone was a different colour; the first was a bright red, the second dark green, the third a bright blue and the fourth a bright yellow. In the centre of the box was a larger , more ruggedly cut, white stone that had no discernible shape and was far less pleasing to the eye. It seemed to just lie there in the centre of the box, without moving. It didn’t move! The stone was touching nothing. But it didn’t move an inch when Jake shook the box. It was somehow suspended in mid-air. The boys looked at each other in amazement, forgetting all about the thunderous bang that had scared them so badly, only seconds before. Suddenly, all four corner stones began to glow brightly. Jake was unnerved by it and he shuffled backwards. He put the box down on the floor and stood up quickly. Ben instinctively stood up beside him. A small hum began resonating from the four corner stones, growing louder and louder until suddenly, each stone came to life and emitted a bright ray of coloured light which surged rapidly towards the centre stone. The four differently coloured beams of light hit it simultaneously and an even louder hum began, as the centre stone started to rise out of the box. It stopped ascending once it had reached its apex and a beam of bright white light suddenly appeared which raced up to the ceiling. The light hit the roof and then it bent, running along the ceiling to the skylight, from where it shot straight up to the sky outside, miraculously leaving the skylight completely intact. When the beam reached the sky, the box once again erupted into a deafening roar. It was even louder than the previous one had been and this time, the boys fell over backwards onto their behinds.
“Aaarghh!!! Christ, I can’t see!” yelled a terrified Ben.
“Yeah, me too!” replied Jake, rubbing his eyes in a hurried attempt to clear his vision. “It’ll be that flash, it shouldn’t last long. Yeah, that’s better. I can see a little now, it’s all blurred and everything’s a little red, but it’s coming back. How about you?”
“Yeah, pretty much the same, thank heavens for that! I thought I was blind for a moment. Oooh that was loud. My ears are still ringing.” Said Ben, as he shook his head and banged his hands against his ears in turn.
“Ditto. Cor, my head’s pounding.” Jake shouted. He moved his jaw around to try to ‘pop’ his ears. “Wow! Bloody hell, mate. What a rush! What have we done? What was that?” The palms of his hands were sweating, he rubbed them on his jeans. His heart was beating so furiously that it felt as if it was going to come out of his chest. Adrenalin was coursing through his body and he was shaking all over.
Ben went quiet, the realization of what had actually happened having just dawned on him. He couldn’t speak, he just stared back at Jake with the same astonished expression on his face and shrugged, before immediately returning his gaze to the stones, and the now slightly diminished light. After a short while though, Ben recovered himself and the power of speech. He turned to face his friend.
“Phew, come on then, Einstein,” he said, with his customary sarcasm, “explain that one!”
Jake shrugged. He had no answers to give. He was equally as stunned and amazed as Ben. As he continued to peer anxiously into the box, waiting to see what else might happen, his mind was in complete turmoil. Something amazing had just happened, that much was abundantly clear. But he really didn’t know whether he should be feeling excited, or scared.
“I don’t think I can explain it, mate.” He answered truthfully. “But I tell you this; there’s one thing I am pretty sure of.”
“Oh yeah? What’s that then?” asked Ben.
“This ain’t no music box!” (And he was right.)
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Jake West – The Keeper of the Stones – Book1 – http://amzn.com/B005GA9AQ4
Jake West – Warriors of the Heynai – Book 2 – http://amzn.com/B005VSJKLQ
Jake West – The Estian Alliance – Book 3 – http://amzn.com/B008SW6EF2
http://www.jakewest.co.uk
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“About the Author”
M J Webb is a forty-something father of two and husband to one from Walsall in the heart of England. He has worked for the British Civil Service for over twenty years. As a full-time employee and father he has limited spare time but what little he can find is spent reading, writing, cycling, and following football.
Recent News:
M.J. Webb has been contacted by Radio WM and asked to appear on Joanne Malin’s show – “Mornings with Joanne Malin” – to talk about his books/self publishing in general.
Immortal at Sea
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