The Lore Meister's Reach (Legend of the Crow Prince‪)‬

The Lore Meister’s Reach is the opening volume of The Legend of the Crow Prince, a four-book epic journey through time, space, magic and mystery. In it we meet Zak – short for Balzak Little-time Twitchin – an enigmatic blind stranger who has set up home with two dogs in a shack on an east London common. Zak is befriended by three local 12-year-olds – Joseph Skylark and twins Felicity and Faith Virtuoso. The children are captivated by his tales of a universe full of dark intrigue, secret promises, strange characters and extraordinary powers. In Zak’s telling, this ‘Known Universe’ boasts millions of years of recorded history, sophisticated constitutional arrangements and evolved laws. But what at first appears pure fiction becomes steadily more tangible, and the three children find themselves joining forces with Zak to deny the Lore Meister (the legal authority of the Known Universe) what he wants more than anything else: the life of Zak the fugitive, the only ever escapee from the penal planet of Banish.

In a fast paced narrative which carries them from London’s east end to the Island, a world beyond Earth, and back again, the four friends seek to outwit a corrupt institution and its army of ruthless agents – who have at last discovered Zak’s whereabouts. As the hunt closes in, Zak is forced to take desperate steps both to evade the reach of the Lore Meister and to prove his innocence.

The Lore Meister’s Reach will be followed by Secrets of the Almanac, Einstein’s Elementary and The Maps of Motion.

About the Author

J L Jeffries lives in south-west France with his partner, two dogs and eight cats. His books draw on the wisdom and traditions of several Earth-centred cultures, in particular those of the Native Americans and the European Celts. There are also numerous astronomical references, which he has sought to make as accurate as possible – although he says he cannot testify to the existence of white holes or slip space.