13 year old twins Matt and Emily Calder are in the National Gallery in London and they are bored, it's summer, it's hot, their mother is talking to someone and they just want to go swimming. Seurat's Bathers at Asnieres is tormenting with them with it's vision of people dozing in the sun on the banks of the Seine. They take out a drawing pad to entertain themselves, but these children are extraordinary. As they draw their picture it comes to life and they get the swim they wanted, and a world of grief from their mother.
The incident sets in motion a series of consequences and before long the family are fleeing for Scotland and the home of their grandfather, their father's father: the ancient Monastery of Era Mina on a tiny island off the coast at Largs. Here they meet others who can do what they do and the people who guard them, a new friend Zach and find out more about the mysterious disappearance of their father and the Hollow Earth and the history of Era Mina.
Brilliantly paced and written, the Barrowmans' book carried me through and left me eager for the next instalment. The characters are well delineated and vibrant, setting and descriptions so clear that the magic could really be real.
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