Product Description

Imagine if you were able to change history. By altering one tiny thing you could start a chain of catastrophic events. Ethan is one of the Named, fated to stop this ever happening, although the forces of chaos have other ideas and Ethan is finding it more and more difficult to stay one step ahead. He is also a normal schoolboy, whose life is rapidly becoming far too confusing. So when Isabel arrives on the scene she is only going to make matters worse or is she? This is history in the making - literally.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9660 in Books
• Published on: 2005-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
Another gripping teenage novel from the author of Old Magic. Once more Marianne Curley pulls off a thrilling, complicated and magical story while keeping a firm grip on the reality of present day life. Irish Independent Marianne Curley's second novel, The Named, succeeds in combining the contemporary with the historical in this lively, eventful adventure. The Bookseller This pacey, contemporary mix of action, suspense and fiery relationships is cleverly calvulated to appeal to both boys and girls. Books Magazine

About the Author
Marianne Curley's debut novel Old Magic established her place as an exciting and original voice in the world of children's literature and has sold in 11 countries. Marianne lives in New South Wales, Australia. .

Customer Reviews

Finished it in a day!
I couldn't stop reading this book once I picked it up. The cover may look a bit tacky and 'wannabe' magic; but as they say "Don't judge a book by it's cover" and that's completely correct. Because the story-line was mesmerizing and i'm now reading the 2nd one (The Dark) which is as good! For all fantasy lovers - READ THE NAMED NOW! :)

unparalleled
This book is truly unparalleled - unique. The plot is enthralling and wonderfully magical, yet also totally believable. The characters are well rounded and 'real', and the writing is fluent and easy to read. Its a great start to a delightful trilogy, with many twists and turns. The characters develop throughout; most people I ask tend to take to different characters - their affection formed entirely on their own opinions and preferences, which is only possible because of the writing style. Marianne Curley has managed to enter knew waters - she has chosen to write in the present tense *gasp*. This daring act, I feel, has been carried off flawlessly along with her idea to alternate her characters' point of view every chapter. Curley is therefore able to let her reader's imagination spiral wherever it chooses, without any bias or favouritism. This book is most certainly in my top ten, and I have recently started to obtain rather high standards. If you are a fan of a fairly easy, gripping read, then give it a go. If you are fan of historical/ fantastical/ romantic/ action packed books then don't hesitate. I assure you, you won't be disappointed.

A big disappointment
From reading the blurb on the back, I thought this book sounded excellent; I could hardly wait to read it. Unfortunately, it proved to be a crashing disappointment. It's clumsily written - especially the dialogue, which is wooden and unrealistic - and the plot disintegrated as it went along. I ended up skipping to the end - while the basic idea was still exciting enough for me to want to see how it all turned out, I just couldn't face ploughing through all the pages of poor writing that would have been needed to get there. It's a real shame that such potentially good ideas were so poorly written.