Quotations from the Industry
Jeremy Neate - Nielsen BookScan International
I was extremely impressed by The Key to Chintak. A great read with tremendous international appeal.
Note: Jeremy set-up Bookscan for Nielsen and has never given a quote in 30 years.
Rob Sanderson - School's Library Service Officer (Wigan)
Over Christmas (2006) I had the pleasure to read The Key to Chintak, which had found its way to the top of my 'books to read pile'. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and wanted to thank you for introducing me to Millie and her grandfather. It's so refreshing to find a children's book with such a positive male role figure, and an engaging plot. I'll ensure that we include the book in our 'Recommended Reads' section when our new look website goes live!
Mick Desmond - (2002 - 2005) CEO of ITV Broadcasting
I thought the book was stunning!!! A pacy plot and great characters that would make for great TV or a movie. Can't wait for the next book.
Jo Williams - Red House Children's Book Award Co-ordinator
I just wanted to say that I have read your book and was thoroughly captivated!
Aylie, aged 13 - Children's reviewer for the Church Times (published Dec 2006)
Lots of tension; sometimes the main characters are trapped and this is quite frightening. Couldn’t put it down from the first page. Lots of weird facts subtly educational . . . I suppose this is a good thing. No obvious religious connections, but Millie does save a race — as Christ does. Overall, a really good book with an original story line. Impossible to stop reading: human contact and intelligent conversation become exceedingly difficult as the book progresses. There are characters you can identify with as well as people that seem to be completely alien. Surprised it isn’t a best-seller already.
Marmaduke Children’s Bookshop, Battle
MARMADUKE recommends ‘The Key to Chintak' - our bestseller this year, not one unsatisfied customer. Great adventure, packed with fascinating facts, an all round good read!!
Richard @ C Books (Review)
The Key to Chintak must stand alongside The Amber spyglass as a classic fantasy children’s book. The pace and writing of Harry Potter pales in the shade compared to this new force in writing.
Chris Soden - Deputy Sales Director @ Carlton Television (94 - 04)
The Key to Chintak has the potential to become an on-screen phenomena. In my opinion it delivers all the necessary ingredients for both a feature length movie and a multi-episode TV animation series. Millie and the other characters provide a host of merchandising opportunities.
Lisa Parkes (Review) - Teacher / Archeologist / Book reviewer!
It is true that Millie Jarman had suffered hardships in her short twelve years. She had already known unthinkable pain. But she bounced back. Maybe it was the Zamorian in her. As Mille started on an incredible journey - that would lead her zigzagging around the world - she was about to suffer further hardships; the type that come with adventure, mystery and being the only translator of a very ancient book. Millie does her best to unravel the clues in The Key to Chintak by John Howard. She strives to answer the ancient mysteries of the world and at the same time unlock the gateway to Chintak. In this book the real remains of our human past are linked to the mind boggling questions of how they got there. This is examined through Millie’s eyes and her clever mind – but then she is part Zamorian!
Writing in the adventure genre, Howard has developed a strong – and very likeable – character in Millie. She definitely works outside the law, stealing and breaking and entering wherever necessary – but then there is the little problem of an entire ‘race’ of children who need saving. There is no moral dilemma for Millie – she makes up her own moral code and uses it at every turn, trap and sticky situation to escape from the evil forces that follow her on her quest. The continents that she visits create added danger as she quickly has to acclimatise to their customs in order to avoid further peril.
As an archaeologist I was immediately interested in this book. It is just the type of book that is needed to tell children about some of the greatest wonders of our ancient world. It makes the mysteries even more mysterious and their presence worth thinking about and questioning. I did not know that the sun dancing over Ayer’s rock ( Australia) could make the people near it disappear. And how were those Nazca lines imprinted on the desert in South America – so long ago. Equally impressively how have they stood the test of time and lasted so long? Are they really a secret code that unveil the entrance to another world – or were they left by aliens as a key to important information about our world or theirs? These are only two of many mysteries that Howard examines in this first book of the three part Zamorian Chronicles.
The pace of The Key to Chintak is fast and racy. The end of chapter cliff hangers led me to continue reading it until I was finished. I just could not put it down – partly through the excitement of the events and partly through my wish to begin reading it to my class of Year 6 students. Indeed I started that very week. Their excitement has grown about the book and several students have purchased their own copies. Apparently they can not wait to find out what will happen next. The text is easy to read and the content is more than appropriate for children from seven to seventy. Millie is certainly a character that can be associated with easily even if she is no average twelve year old and no angel. All you need is a love of mysteries, adventure and the heart of a true explorer in order to dive into this quest to save the world. If you fit this description then you too will be enraptured with The Key to Chintak.
One last point to make – Year 6 wanted to know if Millie was successful in finding the key to Chintak – now that would be telling – happy reading!!