Nye Joell Hardy, The Crows Of Bedu

Title: The Crows of Bedu

Author: Nye Joell Hardy

Rating: Four Siren Stones
Genre: Fantasy

Sub-Genre: Young Adult

Keywords: Magic, Fantasy, Mythology, Sorceress

Page Count: 311

ISBN For Print (If available): 978-1617060083

Publisher: Pill Hill Press

Buy-Link (If available): http://www.amazon.com/Crows-Bedu-Nye-Joell-Hardy/dp/1617060089/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_3

Reviewer: Rhonda J Callum-King

Blurb/Summary:

Holly is a juvenile delinquent. Gregory is a teenage ballet dancer. Sabine is the new kid in town. They don't have anything in common until thousands of crows appear, and with them, a legendary sorceress named Circe. Then their seaside town gets a little crazy. There are hordes of young pickpockets, a prison of famous paintings, a scraggly black tree that appears only at midnight, a thief who turns into a gray owl and a dead Queen who has reigned for hundreds of years. Now, Holly is a shapeshifter. Gregory is king of the Tree House. Sabine is a siren. But the magic is not as wonderful as it first seemed, and Circe has even more planned...and these three teens are the only ones who can stop her.

Review:

The Crows of Bedu by Nye Joell Hardy was a unique blend of ancient Greek mythology, and current teen issues. The story was fanciful and fun in places. At other times, the narrative became dark and dismal. It was somewhat hard to get into in the beginning, as it started by snap-shooting several different characters’ lives one after another. Once the reader got a handle on each character’s placement, the story flowed along nicely.

I enjoyed the depiction of the arrival of Herakles into the 21st century. The issues that each of the three main teens were dealing with, were so varied that most teens today should be able to relate with at least one of them. I would caution on the acceptable age for this story to be read by. While it remains in a PG-13 type rating group, it does hint at rape and incest. There is murder, imprisonment, torture and body snatching going on throughout the story.

That said, I enjoyed this story immensely and will doubtlessly read it again. It is the sort of story that may take reading twice to completely absorb. It is a darker look at what could occur if a wilful and mentally unstable, all-powerful, childlike goddess were loosed into today’s society, with plans of world domination.