Midnight's Twins: A dark new fantasy that will invade your dreams

By Author / Illustrator

Holly Race

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Hot Key Books

ISBN

9781471409165

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

11-06-2020

Synopsis

Dreams come true, but so do your nightmares... Fern King is about to uncover a place that she could not have imagined in all her wildest dreams. Annwn is the dream mirror of our world, a place where Dreamers walk in their slumber, their dreams playing out all around them. An enchanted, mysterious place that feeds our own world - as without dreams, without a place where our imaginations and minds can be nourished, what kind of humans would we be? But Annwn is a place as full of dangers as it is wonders: it is a place where dreams can kill you.

Annwn and its Dreamers are protected by an ancient order known as the Knights - and when Fern's hated twin Ollie is chosen to join their ranks, Fern will have to do whatever she can to prove she is one of them, too. But the world Fern discovers in Annwn, in this dream mirror of her London, is a fragile one, threatened by vicious nightmares. Nightmares that are harder and harder for the Knights to defeat. And something dark is jeopardising the peace and stability of Annwn, something that must be rooted out at all costs. And gradually, Fern realises that the danger lurking inside our sleep is more insidious and terrifying than any nightmare. Because if you can influence someone's dreams, you can control their thoughts...

Holly Race introduces Midnight's Twins

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Reviews

Midnight's Twins is a debut fantasy novel by Holly Race and is the first in a trilogy of books. As an adult reviewer, I have read many fantasy novels, but this author has truly impressed me. She has managed to create a new world called Annwn, which you visit in your dreams. Through her beautiful descriptive writing and well developed, likeable characters the story is easy to follow, understand and engage with.

The main character is 15-year-old Fern. She hasn't had an easy life; her mother, Una died when she was a baby, and her dad, Angus, prefers her brother Ollie, who happens to be her twin brother and sadly she is constantly bullied at school. You would think that having a twin would be a good thing, but not in this case; Fern really hates Ollie, especially as he spends time with a local gang that tied her up and set her on fire, causing the scars on her face. Fern feel isolated and alone..

Life is going to change for Fern as she is about to go on a journey into Annwn, which is the mirror image of London where she lives. However, she soon discovers that dreaming is not just a place where you can let your imagination run wild, its also a place that can be deadly, a place where dreamers die!

Much to her displeasure, Ollie is also part of this dream world, so at first she believes things will be the same in Annwn as when she is awake. But during their adventures in Annwn, Fern and Ollie begin to examine themselves and their relationship. They also learn what really happened to their mother, who was thought to have died in her sleep...

This is a book that has a fair amount of fear, violence and gore within its 432 pages (think Harry Potter and Mortal Instruments themes here), making it suitable for the 12+ YA reader. The book's well written contents and plot would also make it a great read for intervention groups and book clubs as it will hold many YA readers' attention.

Oh, I just have to mention the ending... a twist I did not see coming and lots of hooks that reel the reader deeper into the adventure, leaving you wanting more. I just wish I had the second book in the series to hand, A City Dark and Golden, so that I could continue the journey with these characters, but sadly that will have to wait until next year.

432 pages / Reviewed by Linda Brown, school librarian