Reviews: (by author)

Aaron, Moses. Doom Child. Random House, 1999, ISBN 0-09-183476-7

Tom Malory is an ordinary boy leading an ordinary life until everything is thrown into confusion just before his fourteenth birthday. It is then that he learns from his parents that he is actually adopted; he is saved from expulsion from school by a prefect, only to discover that the prefect has in mind a different punishment, one which Tom thinks he will never finish; and he finds a black stone which transports him far from home.
The punishment Tom is given is top write out the whole of the medieval story Le Morte d'Arthur with its difficult words and unfamiliar rhythms. He is startled to find it is written by his namesake, but even more startled when is transported by the black stone to the time of King Arthur's court. It is there he discovers his birth parents and is faced with a difficult choice - should he stay or should return to what he has always known as home?
This is a skillfully written time-slip novel, which blends the past in an intriguing way with the present. It also gives a rather different perspective on King Arthur's court, as the place Tom finds is not the romantic one it is usually shown to be, but is much more violent and down-to-earth. In addition, there are issues about belonging, feeling secure, parenting and justice. Although the ending may strike some readers as a little weak on first reading, it could not in fact be any other way, and Tom's decision actually requires some courage.

Recommended reading level: 13 upwards.

Reviewed by Margot Hillel

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