Thursday 30 January 2014

Dory's Avengers by Alison Jack


What They Say:

A brutal regime. A docile population. A glimmer of hope.
In a stifled and oppressed United Kingdom, nothing can be achieved without the approval of the dictatorial Sponsors, at whose head is the malevolent and cruel Lord William St Benedict. In Britain’s cities the Sponsored live narrow, if privileged, lives, while the Unsponsored are confined to menial roles and to ‘less desirable’ districts. Among the Sponsors’ many victims is Lord William’s own son, the forthright and charismatic Theodore – ‘Dory’ – held captive by his father since he was a boy.
In the unassuming town of Applethwaite, in the shadow of the Cumbrian fells, an unlikely revolution is brewing. Albino gymnast Louis Trevelyan and his motley group of friends are fiercely proud of their Unsponsored status and gradually forge a plan not only to liberate the beleaguered Theodore but the whole of the United Kingdom.
‘Dory’s Avengers’ are coming!

What I Say:
When I first started reading this book I want sure I would like it...... Was I wrong I  found myself loving Louis and his electic mix of friends, Louis is an easily likeable character who at the beginning of the book it is predicted he would bring down the Sponsership Scheme run by the evil Lord William St Benedict.
The book is set years later and Louis is a promising gymnast trained by the once great gymnast Gideon Wallis, who was injured in a car crash years earlier and retired to the Lake District, as you follow the story you find Gideon's car crash is no accident, Lord Benedict and his minions are behind it, as he opposed their scheme.  
The Sponsorship Scheme and those who run this think they are above the law and can do what they like especially the evil Lord Benedict.  He's imprisoned his son Theodore (Dory) once Louis's childhood pal, because he didn't agree with him and accused him of makin his mother disappear.
Dory  manages to make contact with Louis to ask for his help and here is where Dory's Avengers are formed. They are set up in Louis's local pub The White Lion.  The action travels from the sleepy Lake District town on Applethwaite to London, there's a siege at the pub, personally this is where I would love to be in a siege, then there's even action at the Olympics in London thrown in the add to the action, a nice touch after the Olympics here.
I laughed, cried and was glued to this book, the characters were so colourful and likeable.  Always wanting the bad guys to be found out and brought to account.
Absolutely brilliant debut from the author, the book ended perfectly and I can't see if there would be a follow up book, but I will be looking out for any others by the author.
5 out of 5 stars
About the Author

Alison Jack has spent much of her adult life working in book distribution – Dory’s Avengers, however, is her first foray into the world of books as an author. She is a keen walker and has a particular love for the Lake District fells – the atmospheric setting for much of her novel.
Aside from writing her own novels and blogging, Alison spends a lot of time editing the work of other authors. When not writing, Alison enjoys reading, playing guitar – with more enthusiasm than skill – and wakeboarding.  She lives near Cambridge with her partner and three cats.
Author Links
 Alison’s Website - http://alisonjack-blog.com/
Amazon purchase links – UK Link

The overall giveaway on this tour is 2 x signed hardback copies of Dory’s Avengers.  UK and IRE only.  
Rafflecopter code:







a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

  1. Wow, what a great review Jo. Fantastic that you enjoyed Dory's Avengers!

    Thank you for taking part in Alison's tour.
    Shaz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for allowing me to be part of the tour x

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