Shadowmancer
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| Shadowmancer | |
| Author | Graham Taylor |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel, Children's novel |
| Publication date | 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) & Comic Book |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-571-22046-0 |
| Followed by | Wormwood |
Shadowmancer is a fantasy novel by Graham Taylor, first published in 2003. It is a Christian allegory in the form of a fantasy adventure, akin to C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Taylor wrote the book to counteract what he saw as a rise in occultism among children through books such as Harry Potter.[1] It is the first of four books generally referred to as The Shadowmancer Quartet and sometimes inaccurately referred to as The Shadowmancer Trilogy.
Two thematic sequels named Wormwood and Tersias were also released soon after. A sequel named The Shadowmancer Returns: The Curse of Salamander Street that follows on where Shadowmancer left off has also recently been released in the United Kingdom versions.
The book has garnered some controversy for it's negative portrayal of Witches and pagans, whom it claims have been tricked by and worship the Devil.[2] Despite this, Taylor claims to be "an authority on Wicca and paganism". [3]
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The story takes place in Whitby and concerns the evil sorcerer the Reverend Obadiah Demurral who is seeking two powerful amulets called the Keruvim which he plans to use to control the elements and dominate the world. At the start of the book he purchases the first Keruvim which takes the form of a golden statuette of a cherub from an Ethiopian named Gebra Nubera. He then uses the Keruvim to destroy a ship upon which the next Keruvim is prophesied to arrive but when he surveys the wreckage he finds nothing.
The next day an Ethiopian boy named Raphah arrives searching for the Keruvim. He befriends the main character, an urchin named Thomas and reveals that he is a messenger from God (called Riathamus here), and that Demurral is a Shadowmancer, a sorcerer who can control the dead. Despite not believing in God, Thomas agrees to assist Raphah in regaining the Keruvim because he wants revenge on Demurral for evicting him and his dying mother.
They pursue Demurral and the Keruvim with the assistance of Thomas's tomboy friend, Kate and the mysterious smuggler, Jacob Crane. During the story, Thomas, Kate and Jacob Crane who all for their own individual reasons didn't believe in God do come to believe in him.
Eventually it is revealed that in using the Keruvim, Demurral has unleashed a demonic race called the Glashan who were imprisoned at the dawn of time for rebelling against God. Led by the evil Pyratheon, also known as the devil, they join forces with Demurral so that they can find the other Keruvim and harness its power to overthrow God and rule the universe.
It is eventually revealed that Raphah is the other Keruvim so Demurral and Pyratheon try to capture him so that they can kill him and turn him into an Azimuth [a slave spirit] in order to activate the Keruvim's full power.
At the climax of the story Thomas, Kate and Raphah meet an angel referred to as Seruvim, a play on the word Seraphim named Raphael who goes by the alias, Abram Rickards and a showdown takes place in Demurral's church during which Raphah is killed and Pyratheon obtains the Keruvim. He recites the incantation to activate its power and the world is temporarily plunged into night. Pyratheon thinks he has succeeded in stealing the power of God and gloats. However Abram then reveals that while Raphah is dead it has no power and all Pyratheon has done is meddle with time. After Abram restores life to Raphah, the sun rises, Abram is revealed in his true form and Pyratheon and Demurral flee.
Abram tells Thomas, Kate and Jacob Crane to take the Keruvim away to another land so they leave aboard Crane's ship, The Magenta. However in the closing page of the book it is revealed that they are being stealthily pursued by sea-demons called Seloth.
[edit] In other Media
[edit] Special edition
A special edition of Shadowmancer was released in 2003 containing an extra chapter that carried on where the book had left off. In the extra chapter Raphah and the Keruvim are snatched by the Seloth. Special editions of Wormwood and Tersias were also released.
[edit] Comic
Tony Lee has adapted Shadowmancer into comic book form for Markosia.
[edit] Film
A movie adaptation of Shadowmancer is currently in preproduction[1]. Rumors of Mel Gibson directing have also spread. G.P Taylor has announced there will be open auditions across the UK in the major cities, some time in 2007. In 2004 the official movie site was launched. Rumors that Johnny Depp and Sean Bean being approached for roles in the movie have also spread. The rumored working date of the film is 2007. Fortitude Films have been announced as the studio directing location.
[edit] Trivia
Reverend Obadiah Demurral’s vicarage is based on the main building of Fyling Hall School.
At the end of Shadowmancer, the effects of Pyratheon's use of the Keruvim to distort time and reality is also the beginning of G.P Taylor's follow-up novel, Wormwood. The book's main protagonist, Dr. Sabian Blake, is studying the comet Wormwood when the sky-quake from the north hits the city of London.
[edit] Other uses
Shadowmancer is also the name of a heavy metal band based in Maryland.
[edit] External links
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