Publisher's Synopsis
Child of The Talisman is a story which takes place in the present day in the world as we think we know it. In this narrative behavior is not decided by nature or nurture, but it is absorbed like vitamin D from a good suntan. The Talisman as the Spear of Destiny (a.k.a Zeus's lightning bolt, Thor's hammer Mjolnir and Arthur's Excalibur to name a few) has found Peter. An adventure story for all ages as long as they have the ability to imagine what maybe - what has been and - what can be . After a series of seemingly random events Peter, a 10-year-old boy, and his family find themselves moving to the small Devon town of Quayhaven. At the same time as the Henderson were establishing themselves in Quayhaven, the entity known as The Duke was taking over the body of George Chiswell (the son of an extremely affluent Quayhaven citizen who was soon to be the employer of Peter's parents). After arriving in Quayhaven, Peter and Charlie were informed by some other, children about a nearby cave, which was worth exploring. On becoming trapped in the cave by the incoming tide, Peter and Charlie were rescued with the help of a group of locals. It was during this rescue that Peter and his family made new friends. Friends with mysterious talents. Christina, a young girl with strong psychic abilities, who had previously, made several attempts to convince the Henderson family that they were in danger soon moved into the cottage with them. It was not long before she started to feel that there was something strange going on in the cottage. Acting on information given by Christina, the family - aided by the small group of friends they had made in the area - searched the cottage and found a mysterious key. Whilst discussing information obtained about the key and the cottage's previous owner, the group were subject to an unexpected and unprovoked attack. Finding the Talisman, in the form of the Spear of Destiny, hidden in the floor of a cave. After which, several failed attempts were made to take the Talisman away from them. The Duke advised Peter that the Talisman had chosen him as its companion. He also informed the group that another sentient species called Homo-fata (who were themselves split between the Elves and the Gæst) were after the Talisman. The Talisman, with its store of magical energy, was created in an attempt to even out the imbalance of power, between the more powerful Elves and the human race. The Elves hoped to get possession of it before Peter could master its power.Following the failed attacks, the Peter and his helper's realised that to do nothing left Peter vulnerable. As a result, a plan was formed, to obtain knowledge of the other parties interested in the Talisman, with one recognisance group being sent to the Scottish Borders, and the other to Kew Gardens on the outskirts of London. Specifically, the groups sought to identify the extent of the threat posed to Peter and the group. With luck on their side, they discovered more information about the Elves and their plans. The Elves at Kew were behind the initial attacks, but the Elves on the Scottish borders were the immediate threat. It was the animosity between the two groups of Elves that allowed Peter and his friends to go to the Scottish Borders and destroy the leader of that faction. On returning to Devon, Peter decided that his conscience would not allow him to sit back and let the faction, located at Kew, carry on ill-treating their captives. The Duke, having accepted that they were going to try and free the prisoners, introduced Peter to the Gæst. The Gæst, a peaceful subspecies of the Homo-fata, assisted Peter's friends to infiltrate the complex. Having, successfully entered the control centre at Kew, the group hit resistance. However, the timely intervention of Christina's ability to remove doors, Peter's strength to control minds and his sister's right hook ensured that the rescue was successful.