Review: Black Tattoo

Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven is in the style of Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, although less whimsical. Set in London, Jack's life is absolutely normal. Everything that happens to him is typical, it just figured that it is his cool friend Charlie that gets the magic powers and is going to save the world. The Scourge is coming and he wants to wake the dragon and send the world back into the void from whence it came.

Although it is a thick book, it is a quick read. The story moves along nicely and while you don't get a good feel for the characters, you get just enough to keep things real. As real as they can be when Hell is a mole on a dragon's back and the devil's favorite passtime is watching demons play gladiator games. Don't worry, God will put them all back together again.

Sam Enthoven has done a good job creating this mythical world and making the fantasy realistic enough to hold your attention. The sheer girth of the book would tend to make me recommend it to older readers, but the story line, language and content lend it to being a good read for all teens. My 12 year old son loved it.