Welcome to the world of Bodrach Nuwl ...
"Far off at the western edge of the world, where the green land meets the grey ocean and the wind never falters, Bodrach Nuwl, the Old Man of the Mist, rises a thousand feet above the sea. At his head the wind perpetually thunders, whipping the thin grasses and stunting the trees that lean and cling grimly with their ancient roots. He is so gigantic that each ledge and crinkle in his face is a little world in itself. On green, wind-blasted lawns the size of football pitches, whole populations of rabbits and foxes lead their lives perched in the air with no inkling of the outside world. Small crevices become great chasms, lined with trees growing from the rock itself, fed by ferny waterfalls and inhabited by finches and great dragonflies. Habitats here have no connection with the world at large. There are species of insect that exist nowhere else, and unknown pale orchids that thrive in cracks and crannies. Great caves loom open that from the sea must seem like the holes of sand-martins but in reality could swallow a small village and are inhabited by bats and blind snakes.
Behind the cliffs huddles a dismal little town. In the town is a church, and in the church are some pews. And under one of the pews is a boy, hiding from the Vicar."
David Bramhall's work is always hard to define, defying pigeonholes. If these novels are for young readers, the writing is surprisingly beautiful, often deep and contemplative. If they are for adults they have a high proportion of characters who are children, and highly original children at that. For serious books they are often very funny, and for comic books they are amazingly sinister. The Black Joke and its four sequels have been described as "a cross between Treasure Island, The Railway Children and Deliverance, by turns exciting, amusing, charming, alarming, winsome, violent and strange - a rollicking read for adults with a childish love of adventure, and for children who aren't afraid of a few long words.
Click here to read more about The Black Joke ...
and the other novels in the series ...
Volume 2, "The Bernadette"
Volume 3, "Rio Sagrado"
Volume 4, "Turnstone"
Volume 5, "Patience and the Pyrate"
"A good book, for me, requires a few simple necessities. It must be interesting. It must hold one's attention. The characters must be so real one can become part of their world whilst reading. Feel with them. Hope with them. Sympathise with them. Be elated, worried and crushed with them. Fervently wish all will be right in the end and must at all costs carry on reading in the hope the characters will live to see a sequel! The Black Joke has all these qualities. I loved it!
From the moment reading commenced I needed to know the next twist. I lived with the characters, craved to know what was going to happen next. Would all be right in the end?
This is not a short book and not one which can be seen off in a couple of hours but it absolutely demands once you have put it down one must get back to it as soon as humanly possible. The setting is dramatic. The characters are alive and their names wonderfully descriptive. The story is exciting and moves well. The complete book was absolutely captivating.
One thing I've just got to say though. For heaven's sake David Bramhall, please have a sequel out soon, there are loose ends to clear up ... can't wait ... must know what happened next ..." - Myles Bevis
You can buy all of David Bramhall's books from Amazon.co.uk in the UK, or on Amazon.com in the US, or on any other European version of Amazon. If you prefer to use a digital reader, go to Smashwords where you will find a variety of formats - EPUB, MOBI for Kindle, LRF for Sony e-readers, PDB for Palm readers, as well as TXT, RTF, PDF and HTML for laptop or PC.