The Brightstorm Twins are back for the final time, in another thrilling adventure. Book Three wastes no time before plunging the reader straight into the latest exploration undertaken by the Sky Ship Aurora and her undaunted crew. This time, the ship is travelling north to the volcanic islands and the site of the first adventure for Ernest Brightstorm, the twins’ father.
This time the crew have two new members – Gan a princess who just wants to be an explorer and Hugo, a vulcanologist from the North. Also back is their old adversary, Eudora Vane, her mind completely wiped after the last adventure…. or is it?
In this book we are also introduced to new sapients, some of which, like the terrier, seem to deserve entire books of their own. At the centre of the story is a huge bear and there was definitely a Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe moment in the latter half of the story.
There is something about reading the next novel in a series you have particularly enjoyed – is it going to live up to expectations? This one certainly does, raising the high-octane adventure to a new level, with plenty of cliff hangers and new places to discover. Arthur and Maudie, the twins, also find out more about their own family history and of course there are more maps to pore over. I have a love of maps and the maps by Jamie Gregory satisfy nicely, in lovely fold out panels front and back.
The story raises issues over how we treat the Earth (even an imaginary one) and how we view animals. It also looks at growing up and changing and physically moving away from the people we love, a particularly difficult issue for twins. This may be the end of the books about the Brightstorm twins, but it didn’t feel like an absolutely closing and perhaps Vashti Hardy has left it open to return to one day. I hope so.
Review: Jacqueline Harris
