A chance discovery on the beach starts an adventure of epic proportions for Sam Donnelly in Carolyn Enting’s debut novel, The Medallion of Auratus.
Described as “gloriously fantastical” and a “riveting mythological adventure”, The Medallion of Auratus is a high-action read that sees main character Sam and his best friend Jackson Brown swept up in an adventure after discovering a magical gold medallion on the beach.
The children’s fantasy fiction novel is part of an Ocean Quest series that Enting has written in her annual leave breaks while working as a full-time journalist over the past decade.
In this first novel of the series, Sam and Jackson must return the medallion to its rightful place in the Golden Tower in Auratus or the world will fall into darkness.
Award-winning writer Enting, 43, penned the first draft of the story at age 19. Back then it was a mere one-and-a-half page short story. Ten years later she decided to turn it into a novel. Today’s publication as an e-book on Amazon.com takes the reader on a rollicking 65,000-word adventure through imaginary worlds that traverse ocean and sky.
“As a child, books were my happy place and an escape. I was a dreamer and spent a lot of time living in my imagination,” Enting says. “I confess I still enjoy reading children¹s fantasy fiction today so while this book is aimed at the seven to 11-year-old age group, it’s an enjoyable read for any age.”
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK
Life has just gone from bad to worse for Sam Donnelly. School has broken up for the summer holidays, which is a good thing, but his mum is sick with a mystery illness and he¹s been sent to The Bay to stay with his bullying twin cousins indefinitely.
What Sam doesn’t know is that his life is about to change, forever. His discovery of a gold medallion at the beach sees him plunge into an adventure, and into another realm that he had only imagined existed in legends.
His loyal friend Jackson unwittingly comes along for the ride, and grudgingly accepts his fate when the boys realise that there’s no turning back even if they wanted to. Their destination is Auratus, the golden city, and Sam’s task is to return the medallion to the Solarium in the Golden Tower. If they fail, the world will fall into darkness to be ruled by Sceleratus, the evil Sea Lord, who will stop at nothing to get the Sun Medallion.
Can Sam save Auratus and his mum? And will he and Jackson ever find their way home?
The Medallion of Auratus is available now as an e-book through Amazon – click here to download.
REVIEWS
“Enting takes us on a riveting journey that’s a mixture of Jules Verne and a Greek hero myth. It’s an intelligent read loaded with classical references that come to life for young readers. It’s also full of humour, danger, mystery and action.” Patrick Rose
“A fantastic adventure for young boys Sam and Jackson … meeting such magical creatures and characters along the way the author captivates you in a fun journey of imagination and discovery. Beautifully written and gloriously descriptive.” Meg Matthews
“The Medallion of Auratus takes the reader to a richly imagined, highly creative watery world filled with twists and turns that move the action along at a page-turning pace.” Nikki Birrell
