On a rocky Scottish coast lies Castle Drumhallurick, ruinous home of a long-lost laird. But who is the reclusive millionaire who has taken over the castle? And what is it that links him to a fantastical alien world, circling the faraway star system of Antares? It is 1926, and a horrifying scientific experiment is about to unfold, altering forever the life of a boy called Bastian Test. For all his life, Bastian has been kept in seclusion, shut away from the world by his eccentric artist mother. Now, after her sudden death, Bastian learns that he has a guardian he has never heard of before, and a mysterious destiny that lies in wait for him on the rocky shores of Drumhallurick.
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About the Author
Tom Arden worked on his new novel The Translation of Bastian Test for twelve years. "I put it aside many times to write other things, but the characters kept drawing me back. I loved the mystery and the weird comedy, and I had to discover how it would end. It was a book that seemed to be written already, waiting for me to uncover it. I had to be patient, but I think it's been worth it."
Tom is best-known for The Orokon, his offbeat five-volume fantasy series comprising The Harlequin's Dance (1997), The King and Queen of Swords (1998), Sultan of the Moon and Stars (1999), Sisterhood of the Blue Storm (2000), and Empress of the Endless Dream (2001). Set in an imaginary eighteenth-century world, this darkly comic epic tells the story of the crippled boy Jem Vexing who overcomes impossible odds to seek out the five sacred crystals of the ancient gods before the evil Toth-Vexrah seizes them first, and brings destruction to the world.
Tom's other publications include the gothic novel Shadow Black (2002) and the Doctor Who novella, Nightdreamers (2002). Born in Australia, he was educated at the University of Adelaide. Formerly a lecturer in English literature, he now teaches creative writing. Tom Arden lives in Brighton, England. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A true gem,
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This review is from: The Translation of Bastian Test (Paperback)
It's hard to categorize The Translation of Bastian Test. Black-comedy Gothic? A Robert Louis Stevenson adventure taken way over the top?
At any rate, this book cheerfully mixes a multitude of literary and cinematic clichés--a mad scientist, a nerdy assistant, a hunchback, a dissolute artist, a depraved lord, a prissy family lawyer, several faithful retainers, theatrical wanna-bes and has-beens, a crumbling Scottish family castle, hidden passages, expeditions to the Dark Continent, a mysterious fortune, hair-raising escapes, villagers with torches, space aliens, and several unconventional sexual relationships, past and present, some of which result in the discovery of entirely new parentages. It's very funny, almost self-satirical, but you never know what will happen next. A gem that deserves to become a classic.
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