Young adult
Find this ebook at your favourite retailer below:
When Alfie’s mother falls gravely ill, doctors say only a miracle can save her.
Having only just moved to the seaside town of Tudllan, Alfie and his dad desperately search to find a cure. Almost at the point of giving up hope, Alfie hears of a local legend about a sacred cup, mentioned in an ancient book, the Book of Tudllan.
Over one and a half thousand years earlier, Cai, a young slave, narrowly escapes with his life from a battle, having sworn to his dying master, one of the last Roman centurions in Britannia, to deliver a mysterious bundle to a man named Gwion, at a remote sanctuary. He later learns that the bundle contains a sacred cup with healing powers, also known as the Holy Grail.
Was that sanctuary Tudllan, and does the ancient Book of Tudllan hold clues to its secret resting place?
Alfie, and his friend Melanie, must race against time to decipher the book’s clues in the hope of finding the cup, before a gang of ruthless treasure hunters do. Alfie believes that it is the only thing that can save his mother. But does the cup really exist, is the legend true and can it be found in time?
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
Best the book
Review from Kristine L. ReedsyDiscovery Review: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/the-book-of-tudllan-tim-hamer Must read Masterful storytelling propels a vibrant and vivacious plot packed with action, adventure and intrigue. I couldn't put it down! “So long a ruin, could the chapel’s silent stones be hiding the greatest lost treasure in Britain, and the world, only remembered by the chance few lines scribbled in the margin of an ancient Welsh book?” Young Alfie Thomas King aims to find out in this delightful and eminently engaging historical fantasy for young adults. Alfie lives with his mum and dad in a small cottage on a remote headland in a Welsh seaside town named Tudllan. Alfie has recently moved to the small cottage with his ailing mother and eccentric father and the desperate hope that the change of climate will restore his mother’s health. Introspective and thoughtful, Alfie soon makes several discoveries. They include a nearby wood. An ancient Abbey in ruins. A white torchlight and a “rough, deep voice shouting commands.” Three tall men “in combat kit.” And a large black truck. It isn’t long before Alfie also learns about an ancient book that’s been stolen from the British Library. Chapter 3 whisks us back over a thousand years to a centurion’s slave, Cai. The boy has been entrusted with a priceless artifact by his late master. His master’s dying wish was that Cai deliver “a worthless, wooden cup” to someone called Gwion. Meanwhile, Alfie’s dad begins to decline as his mum gets weaker and weaker. Could the key to past and present and treasure untold reside in an ancient book dating back to old Britannia? What’s up with a large white hare? And who’s shooting at Alfie – and why? Top-notch writing glides and guides readers into a rich and multi-textured world packed with action and adventure, mystery, history, and intrigue. The author’s world-building skills are impressive. Masterful storytelling propels a vibrant and vivacious plot rich with historical settings, credible dialogue, three-dimensional characters, and pitch-perfect pacing. It’s like dipping an oar into history, myth, and legend and rowing into intrigue, mystery, and suspense as the author skillfully interweaves past and present into a tightly written historical fantasy. There's also hope. Family. And home. Finally, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a young adult fantasy as much as I did The Book of Tudllan. I couldn’t put it down! We’re talking majorly awesome here. I loved it! You will, too! Note: The door is left open for a sequel. I can’t wait!
