Breathless cliff hangers at the end of nearly every chapter make The Blood Guard an exhausting, compulsive read tantamount to Bond action movie sequences and ideal for the silver screen treatment.

Thrust into inexplicably perilous situations, Ronan discovers hidden prowess which surprises him when he is forced to act on the spur of the moment. During his travels he meets up with Greta who is irritating, overbearing possesses a special talent for escapology, and Artful Dodger style character Jack Dawkins who is an unrepentant thief and a rapacious eater. We meet the main protagonist Ronan (don't call him Evelyn) Truelove when he is attempting to scale a burning building but what is it and why is it burning? This is the prelude to an exhilarating chase scene where the reader is kept in as much suspense as Ronan. To this mix he added some sarcastic humour, magic and the mythology of the terrifying Golem to propel the story along. This gave him the idea of a gallant band of knights (inspired by King Arthur's Round Table?) named The Blood Guard opposing a menacing and sinister force solely to protect innocents. Also, what if some more or less functionally insane people wanted to kill the 36, to bring about the end of the world. This tome states that the existence of these 'pure' people are the reason the Earth does not perish in fire ignited by the hand of God.Ĭarter explains how he decided to elaborate upon this concept:Ĭlearly I thought these special folks would need protection… and these protectors would have to be anonymous because part of what makes these 36 people holy is that they are oblivious to their 'pure' status.

It is based on the legend of tzadikim nistarim (the 36 hidden righteous ones) which can be found in the sacred text of Judaism, The Talmud. This fantasy extravaganza, aimed at readers aged 10 and up (that includes enthusiastic adults), starts with an unusual premise. From its killer opening line to the dazzling denouement Carter Roy's debut novel The Blood Guard, a popular nominee for the 2015 Northern Ireland Book Award, delivers.

It's a skilful author who grips the reader from the first word.

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