Witcher Keys

by I.R. Johnson

'Lock the doors and settle down to a great read', Scarborough News. The Witcher Keys is set during a chill winter on the North York Moors. Tragedy has hit Victoria Featherstone's life, but little does she yet know the dangerous forces she is up against. Mark Walker, her childhood friend seems to be the only person brave enough to help her unravel the mystery. The two teenagers are drawn into an epic struggle between the forces of the unseen world. There they meet allies and foes, coming face to face with light and dark elves, spriggans and hobgoblins and an evil terror, out stalking the Moors. A dark host is gathering and it will stop at nothing until the Witcher hoard is in its grasp.

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young adult fantasy set amongst the ridges and dales of the North York Moors. A pair of teenagers get caught up in a fantastical world of elves and goblins as they try to thwart a plot to steal a hoard of fabulous riches hidden somewhere under the moor.

After some slow initial chapters this was a fast, fun read, though I found the authors over-reliance on similies and exposition of character motivations somewhat jarring at times. This book reminded me a little of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen with a timeless feel to the setting and an interesting use of folk-tales and characters. Not always the most elegant writing but it captured an essence of the moors and had a great sense of adventure.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an absolute struggle it was to get through this book.
I bought it years ago because it was based in the area I always used to holiday at in my childhood.
The story was poorly written and it was a tedious read. There was no character development at all throughout the book and it was impossible to connect to any of them. It's very much a, and then he said this, and she said that dialogue , which bores me. I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tremendously entertaining read with a rich host of characters, both good and evil. It moves along at a good pace, and keeps you interested page after page

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, keep you on the edge of your seat for the whole book!

[Roxy Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book about elves and goblins and I’m going to pass it to my son as I think he will enjoy it too, he’s 14. 😊

[Dave Sanderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit to looking forward to this book but unfortunately the anticipation did not pay off. I really struggled through the book, only finishing as I'm a Mastermind reader (I've started so I'll finish!) There was some nice passages and indeed the basic story was decent but I too often found myself not connecting with the story or not caring what happened to the protagonists.

The revelation at the end seemed reasonable but the resolution seemed less satisfactory than I had hoped, indeed I had hoped it would have salvaged the book as a whole. Overall a 3.