Sacrifice - Sarah Singleton

[Mark Robson]

I've made a couple of interesting discoveries amongst YA authors this year, but perhaps the most interesting so far is the writing of Sarah Singleton. Her book, Sacrifice, is wonderful. It ties the best bits of fantasy together with well developed characters and a true sense of setting.

The year is 1890 and the hunt for a legendary artifact - the Lily, said to have been gifted to a dozen knights during the crusades by an angel - has been resumed by some of the direct descendents of the original recipients. The powers supposedly gifted by this artifact had allowed the Knights of the Lily to accumulate great power and wealth during the years following the crusades, but its power was steadily darkening and cursing more and more of the knights' descendents.

The Church had broken the Council of twelve, or so they thought. In truth they had continued to meet in secret, one generation after another holding the tradition until it was decided the Lily's powers needed to be hidden forever. Some now seek to find the Lily to once again wield its full power. Others seek to destroy it. Three teenagers and an old man hold the key to finding it and events look set to sweep them together in a dark adventure.

Sarah weaves a truly marvelous tale with this book. Her depictions of characters in the 12th, 15th and 19th centuries are most convincing and there is a sense of place about her story that reminded me a lot of the books I've read by Celia Rees. However, while the setting and historical feel is reminiscent, that is where the comparison ends, for what Sarah Singleton has done is to take this great sense of place and setting, and weave a true fantasy story within it. Here we see dark magical powers and a twisted legend blended with an elegance I've rarely seen in YA fiction before. If you like quality, rather than quantity, look no further - this is a book you should not miss out on.

Sarah has written 3 other books that I'm aware of: Century, Heretic and Amethyst Child (new release). I will be sure to get hold of these very soon.