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Author Taff Lovesey booklist (click here)

Book Review By Gene Vernon
The Spider Gem - Portal Chronicles 1 by Taff Lovesey

The plot centres around three Earth teenagers, Ashley from Oregon USA and two Welsh boy, Mike and Rhys. The teenagers accidentally trigger a magical force when they find and connect a magical pendant and ring. All three are thrown into the world of Portalia where they arrive in the city of centaurs, Eumor. Here they befriend a young female centaur and the centaurs agree to help the earthlings return home.
To do this they must join forces with the centaurs, together with the friendly Portalia races of humans, elves and dwarves, to fight against an ancient foe, recently reawakened after many generations.
This foe, a warlock, has forged a mighty army of strange rock hewn creature known as the Graav couple with a huge force of spiders, called forth from various worlds by the use of a crystal known as The Spider Gem.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - part earth & part fantasy world
Explore/1st contact/ enviro story Yes
Explore:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20 %
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 30 %

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
If magical mental powers: - teleportation

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being
Profession/status:
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters

Setting
Terrain
Planet outside solar system? Yes

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
scientific jargon? (SF only) - a moderate amount of scientific explanation
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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