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A Freddie Malone Adventure #1
The Treasure At The Top Of The World
When Freddie Malone is given an ancient map for his birthday by his eccentric Uncle Patrick, it seems an odd gift, but Freddie is thrilled. Little does he realise that the mysterious map is about to turn his world upside down.
Plunged into a perilous adventure between two worlds, and pursued in turn by a ruthless bully and a determined adversary who will each go to any lengths to get what they want, Freddie must fight for what's right - and for his very life.....
Clive Mantle brings all the drama of his TV, film and stage career to the first in a thrilling series of incredible time-travel adventures.
Plunged into a perilous adventure between two worlds, and pursued in turn by a ruthless bully and a determined adversary who will each go to any lengths to get what they want, Freddie must fight for what's right - and for his very life.....
Clive Mantle brings all the drama of his TV, film and stage career to the first in a thrilling series of incredible time-travel adventures.
272 pages, Paperback
First published May 24, 2018
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 30, 2021
Clive’s first book is a winner. Following Freddie on a wild & risky adventure is a great way to spend an afternoon.
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
November 5, 2019
This is more than just a tale to tell. This a story of (in no particular order) adventure, social and land geography, history, present day, travel and friendship.
It is indeed a fictional book, but also seems part travelogue in a way, although not strictly written like one.
There are relics and treasures to be had, people to meet and a country to explore, all within the safety and comfort of your own home.
This is an impressive story that will grip children from the age of 8 years old and teenagers alike. It will send them on a terrific journey of exploration within their imaginations as they read and delve further into this book.
The cover is brilliantly conceived. It looks exciting and instantly eye-catching, with the swirly writing going into Mount Everest. It is very fitting to the content within the book. The characters are well developed – they are realistic, relatable and likeable. Readers will be able to care about these characters enough to want to find out more about them.
In the beginning of the book is the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It’s not as random as it first appears. Read further into the book and all becomes apparent and makes complete sense as to why it is cleverly featured right there. It’s a fantastic, attention grabbing beginning to this novel!
The story begins at the beginning of the school summer holidays with Freddie and his best friend Connor joining together for Freddie’s birthday party. One of the gifts is an ancient map. This is where the adventure begins… After feeling unwell, he mysteriously finds himself in Kathmandu, Nepal. The map is definitely no ordinary map!
The map illustrated within the book, featuring all the locations within the story.
Children and teenagers would absolutely be able to get a sense of the sights and sounds of the city as well as a sense of emotions. They will find themselves transported to this country through the map, photos and descriptions given.
There are great photos of Mount Everest and Namche Bazarr. The photos are a brilliant way of enhancing children’s knowledge of these two iconic places in Nepal in a very visual way. Infact, throughout the book, each location in Nepal is wonderfully descriptive, which for children and teens (or anyone unsure of what anything in Nepal looks like), would be very useful for them.
Clive Mantle weaves facts about Mount Everest and famous exhibitioners/mountaineers and other people Freddie comes across living in Nepal, into what is essentially a fictional story, very effectively. There is enough to create a fascination and to enhance knowledge, but not so much that readers will feel overwhelmed with it all. There is a very good balance between fact and fiction as well as a good pace being mantained throughout.
The book twists and turns between two worlds. It’s not all plain sailing for our intrepid explorer as the story moves along at a good pace. The transition between the two worlds are written clearly, ensuring the book is accessible to all within the age group, avoiding confusion. It also effectively mantains a natural flow.
The book may well contain the much used method of time-travel, but the concept and the map, which is used as a device here to tell the story has a freshness about it.
There is a real sense of adventure and danger within this book that will excite any young reader. There are large themes of friendship, adventure and bullying all interweaved within the narrative and dialogue of the story. Clive Mantle has handled it all very well and has evidently given a lot of thought, sensitivity and care to this. Within the back of the book are several useful websites which children and their parents/carers etc can access for support. On a lighter note, he has also given further reading books for teenagers. His choices are good, they will resonate with teens who want to find out more about Nepal, Mount Everest and adventure. There are also a few pages at the end of the book, devoted to explaining the facts behind the story. This is informative and also age appropriate and connect beautifully with the story. All of this additonal information is definitely worth reading and back-up the book very well. They are also as well written as the main story itself.
This book will excite, inform and educate children and teenagers in a way that will spark their imagination, curiosity and interest. The fictional story itself is absorbing. It can be read within a home, a school and there is plenty of content within it that schools, parents, children, teenagers can use to encourage both private reading and to spark conversations with each other.
Overall, I was impressed by the content and the way it was all semlessly handled within this book and how well it is written as a whole, especially since so much is covered within those pages. Clive Mantle’s writing is very good, the language used is age appropriate for the suggested marketing age of 8+. His passion, that he has had since childhood really comes through within this book, as does the desire to share tales with others, as his father did with him. Children and teens generally like to learn about different parts of the world and Nepal, certainly in my experience of previously working within a voluntary children’s group, is one of those countries which does fascinate them. So, this book certainly feeds into their natural curiosity very well.
Coming Soon
Watch out for more Freddie Malone books to come! Excitedly, I can tell you that Clive Mantle has informed me that he is currently in the process of writing book 2 of the series, which is set in Ancient Egypt, and book 3 will be about Pepys and the great Plague and Great Fire of London.
I would like to thank Clive Mantle for providing the photos and other very useful information, such as the synopsis, personal info and details about his upcoming books.
Namaste
It is indeed a fictional book, but also seems part travelogue in a way, although not strictly written like one.
There are relics and treasures to be had, people to meet and a country to explore, all within the safety and comfort of your own home.
This is an impressive story that will grip children from the age of 8 years old and teenagers alike. It will send them on a terrific journey of exploration within their imaginations as they read and delve further into this book.
The cover is brilliantly conceived. It looks exciting and instantly eye-catching, with the swirly writing going into Mount Everest. It is very fitting to the content within the book. The characters are well developed – they are realistic, relatable and likeable. Readers will be able to care about these characters enough to want to find out more about them.
In the beginning of the book is the poem “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It’s not as random as it first appears. Read further into the book and all becomes apparent and makes complete sense as to why it is cleverly featured right there. It’s a fantastic, attention grabbing beginning to this novel!
The story begins at the beginning of the school summer holidays with Freddie and his best friend Connor joining together for Freddie’s birthday party. One of the gifts is an ancient map. This is where the adventure begins… After feeling unwell, he mysteriously finds himself in Kathmandu, Nepal. The map is definitely no ordinary map!
The map illustrated within the book, featuring all the locations within the story.
Children and teenagers would absolutely be able to get a sense of the sights and sounds of the city as well as a sense of emotions. They will find themselves transported to this country through the map, photos and descriptions given.
There are great photos of Mount Everest and Namche Bazarr. The photos are a brilliant way of enhancing children’s knowledge of these two iconic places in Nepal in a very visual way. Infact, throughout the book, each location in Nepal is wonderfully descriptive, which for children and teens (or anyone unsure of what anything in Nepal looks like), would be very useful for them.
Clive Mantle weaves facts about Mount Everest and famous exhibitioners/mountaineers and other people Freddie comes across living in Nepal, into what is essentially a fictional story, very effectively. There is enough to create a fascination and to enhance knowledge, but not so much that readers will feel overwhelmed with it all. There is a very good balance between fact and fiction as well as a good pace being mantained throughout.
The book twists and turns between two worlds. It’s not all plain sailing for our intrepid explorer as the story moves along at a good pace. The transition between the two worlds are written clearly, ensuring the book is accessible to all within the age group, avoiding confusion. It also effectively mantains a natural flow.
The book may well contain the much used method of time-travel, but the concept and the map, which is used as a device here to tell the story has a freshness about it.
There is a real sense of adventure and danger within this book that will excite any young reader. There are large themes of friendship, adventure and bullying all interweaved within the narrative and dialogue of the story. Clive Mantle has handled it all very well and has evidently given a lot of thought, sensitivity and care to this. Within the back of the book are several useful websites which children and their parents/carers etc can access for support. On a lighter note, he has also given further reading books for teenagers. His choices are good, they will resonate with teens who want to find out more about Nepal, Mount Everest and adventure. There are also a few pages at the end of the book, devoted to explaining the facts behind the story. This is informative and also age appropriate and connect beautifully with the story. All of this additonal information is definitely worth reading and back-up the book very well. They are also as well written as the main story itself.
This book will excite, inform and educate children and teenagers in a way that will spark their imagination, curiosity and interest. The fictional story itself is absorbing. It can be read within a home, a school and there is plenty of content within it that schools, parents, children, teenagers can use to encourage both private reading and to spark conversations with each other.
Overall, I was impressed by the content and the way it was all semlessly handled within this book and how well it is written as a whole, especially since so much is covered within those pages. Clive Mantle’s writing is very good, the language used is age appropriate for the suggested marketing age of 8+. His passion, that he has had since childhood really comes through within this book, as does the desire to share tales with others, as his father did with him. Children and teens generally like to learn about different parts of the world and Nepal, certainly in my experience of previously working within a voluntary children’s group, is one of those countries which does fascinate them. So, this book certainly feeds into their natural curiosity very well.
Coming Soon
Watch out for more Freddie Malone books to come! Excitedly, I can tell you that Clive Mantle has informed me that he is currently in the process of writing book 2 of the series, which is set in Ancient Egypt, and book 3 will be about Pepys and the great Plague and Great Fire of London.
I would like to thank Clive Mantle for providing the photos and other very useful information, such as the synopsis, personal info and details about his upcoming books.
Namaste
August 5, 2018
A book which is itself a real treasure, a treat and a joy to read. Completely captivating from the first page to the very last. Beautifully written. A thrilling adventure story which will be enjoyed by readers from 8 to 80 and beyond. This book also looks at the issue of bullying and includes a page of excellent resources for children, parents and guardians to access help, advice and support. It is also an excellent teaching resource as readers will learn a lot about Nepal, its people and customs, and, the magic of Mount Everest. A must read!
August 19, 2024
When I was younger and this had only just come out, I read this book and was instantly hooked. To this day i can recite every twist and turn in this book because i read it SO MANY TIMES. It was my favourite book! Clive is such a kind man too and i wrote a review and sent it to him when i was around 9 years old. He kindly wrote back and told me how much he appreciated it. I absolutely adored this trilogy of books, i BEG you to read them if your into adventure style books. The writing is SO well thought out and informed and it was so fast-paced and very enjoyable. I wish i could read it again for the first time! - Neve Holden
June 25, 2018
Bought the book on the recommendation of the author himself 😁 I enjoyed every minute. The story is fast paced, full of adventure and thrills. My daughter struggles with her reading, but taking it in turns to read with her, she’s actually asking to read more often to see what happens next. A great read for young and old alike. I look forward to reading more of Freddie’s adventures.
April 12, 2023
Fun and learning all in one book
How I wish learning geography and history had been this much fun when I was young. I learned so much about the Himalayas reading this fun and fantasy adventure book
How I wish learning geography and history had been this much fun when I was young. I learned so much about the Himalayas reading this fun and fantasy adventure book
June 2, 2019
Cracking adventure story with an important central message.
October 1, 2023
I enjoyed this. It’s a great adventure story based in real places and events; though fictionalised. It has mystery, romance & facing up to bullies.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2024
Loved this book. Read it to both my boys, but loved reading it for myself too. Clive writes so beautifully, I feel like I've visited Nepal. Couldn't wait to read the follow up stories.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews