The Sorcerer's Letterbox
Simon Rose

Simon Rose has managed to deliver another satisfying read with The Sorcerer's Letterbox.

Jack dreams of a dark sorcerer eluding the sheriff's men in 1470 England. Upon waking, Jack expects the day to be like any other with helping his father at his antiques shop, but his world is turned upside-down when he opens a small drawer in a hand-me-down letterbox. He finds a parchment on which is written medieval English - undecipherable to Jack.

Then a stranger approaches him in his father's shop, giving him the means to travel back in time with the help of the letterbox. He must save an imprisoned Edward V and his brother, Richard, from the London Tower.

A rocky adventure ensues, featuring run-ins with thieves and Kind Richard III, who imprisoned the royal brothers. Author Rose tackles language well, but his characters seem to be lacking dynamic foundations. Most are relatively stock to time-travelling children's novels, but he did manage to find a piece of history that had yet to be tackled in this genre. -- Calgary Herald, May 15th 2004 by Kate Larking