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''Shadowmancer'' is a
fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. magic (paranormal), Magic, the supernatural and Legendary creature, magical creatures are common i ...
by G. P. Taylor, first published privately in 2002. It is a Christian allegory in the form of a fantasy adventure, akin to
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
's ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
''. Taylor wrote the book to counteract what he saw as a rise in
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
in children's books such as ''
His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...
''. It is the first of four books generally referred to as The Shadowmancer Quartet. The book was a number one best seller in the UK and the US. Two thematic sequels named '' Wormwood'' and '' Tersias'' were also released soon after. A direct sequel named '' The Shadowmancer Returns: The Curse of Salamander Street'' that follows on where ''Shadowmancer'' left off was released in 2006. The book has garnered some controversy for its negative portrayal of
witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
es and pagans, whom it claims have been tricked by and worship
the Devil Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or 'e ...
. Despite this, Taylor claims to be "an authority on Wicca and paganism".


Plot summary

The fantasy story takes place in
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
and concerns the evil
sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...
Reverend Obadiah Demurral who is seeking two powerful
amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...
s, called the Keruvim, which he plans to use to control the elements and dominate the world. At the start of the book he purchases the first Keruvim (which takes the form of a golden statuette of a
cherub A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...
) from an Ethiopian
mercenary A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather t ...
named Gebra Nubera. He then uses the Keruvim to destroy a ship upon which the next Keruvim is prophesied to arrive, but when he surveys the wreckage he finds nothing. The next day an Ethiopian boy named Raphah arrives searching for the Keruvim. He befriends the main character, an urchin named Thomas and reveals that he is a messenger from God (referred to as Riathamus here), and that Demurral is a Shadowmancer, a sorcerer who can control the dead. Despite not believing in God, Thomas agrees to assist Raphah in regaining the Keruvim because he wants revenge on Demurral for evicting him and his dying mother from their home. They pursue Demurral and the Keruvim with the assistance of Thomas's
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
friend Kate and the mysterious smuggler, Jacob Crane. During the story, Raphah, Kate and Jacob Crane, who all for their own individual reasons did not believe in God, do come to believe in him. Eventually it is revealed that, in using the Keruvim, Demurral has unleashed a
demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...
ic race called the Glashan who were imprisoned at the dawn of time for rebelling against God. Led by the evil Pyratheon (the
Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...
), they join forces with Demurral so that they can find the other Keruvim and harness its power to overthrow God and rule the universe. It is eventually revealed that Raphah is the other Keruvim, so Demurral and Pyratheon try to capture him, so that they can kill him and turn him into an Azimuth (a slave spirit) to activate the Keruvim's full power. At the climax of the story Thomas, Kate and Raphah meet an angel referred to as a Seruvim (a play on the word
Seraphim A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a Angelic being, celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and ...
) named
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, who goes by the alias Abram Rickards. A showdown takes place in Demurral's church during which Raphah is killed and Pyratheon obtains the Keruvim. He recites the incantation to activate its power and the world is temporarily plunged into night. Pyratheon thinks he has succeeded in stealing the power of God and gloats. However Abram then reveals that while Raphah is dead it has no power and all Pyratheon has done is meddle with time. After Abram restores life to Raphah, the sun rises, Abram is revealed in his true form and Pyratheon and Demurral flee. Abram tells Thomas, Kate and Jacob Crane to take the Keruvim away to another land so they leave aboard Crane's ship, ''The Magenta''. However, in the closing page of the book it is revealed that they are being stealthily pursued by sea-demons known as Seloth.


Characters

* Thomas Barrick: A rebellious but
nihilistic Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that life is meaningless, that moral values are baseless, and that knowledge is impossible. Thes ...
street-urchin who harbours great resentment towards Obadiah Demurral for evicting himself and his sick mother from their home. He is the main character as most of the story is told from his point of view. His tough exterior masks a more vulnerable side. Ultimately he comes to accept God from his time spent with Raphah. * Kate Coglan: Tom's
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
best friend who has always played the role of a big sister to him. It is stated that she "never cries" but soon after her introduction, when she encounters the demons at Demurral's command, her strong exterior disintegrates and she is revealed to be weak and ineffective when faced with true adversity. Throughout the book, she is shown to initially be cowardly, useless and dependent on others, until her resolve strengthens through her friendship with Thomas Raphah. * Raphah: A young holy man from Ethiopia with divine powers from God. A healer with a gentle, humorous disposition, he reveals a fiery side to his personality whenever confronted with evil or injustice. He is searching for the Keruvim, unaware that he himself is its twin. * Jacob Crane: A
charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of magnetic charm, persuasion, or appeal. In the fields of sociology and political science, psychology, and management, the term ''charismatic'' describes a type of leadership. In Christian theology, the term ...
and sardonic smuggler who dresses in an elegant, dandified manner, Crane is strong, independent and opportunistic. Despite his veneer of selfishness and cynicism, he is an honourable man and genuinely cares about saving the world. * Obadiah Demurral: The books main antagonist, an evil sorcerer with an embittered, abrasive personality. While he was once a devout man of God, self-loathing and hardship drove him into evil. Demurral is shown to possess a deeply sadistic nature but is given to surprising moments of empathy. It is implied that he is not quite as powerful as he pretends to be. * Pyratheon: The
satan Satan, also known as the Devil, is a devilish entity in Abrahamic religions who seduces humans into sin (or falsehood). In Judaism, Satan is seen as an agent subservient to God, typically regarded as a metaphor for the '' yetzer hara'', or ' ...
ic figure in the story, described as a tall, "beautiful" man with red hair and blue eyes. He is the leader of the Glashan, a demonic race who were imprisoned for trying to steal the power of God and is worshipped as a deity by witches and sorcerers. He has power over all dark creatures on earth and is described by Demurral as "the dark god of the universe." A Machiavellian figure, he is shown to be charming, witty, cold, calculating but with occasional fits of rage that cause him to act impulsively. In ''Wormwood'', it is revealed that he is the younger brother of
Lilith Lilith (; ), also spelled Lilit, Lilitu, or Lilis, is a feminine figure in Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, theorized to be the first wife of Adam and a primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Eden ...
. * Abram Rickards/Raphael: A sharp-tongued angel with an eye for fashion, Raphael joins Thomas, Kate, Raphah and Jacob Crane during the latter part of their journey and wields a potent weapon known as the Sword of Mayence. He is a formidable fighter with
misanthropic Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. A misanthrope or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings. Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude tow ...
tendencies and an acerbic sense of humour.


Other media


Special edition

A special edition of ''Shadowmancer'' was released in 2003 containing an extra chapter that carried on where the book had left off. In the extra chapter Raphah and the Keruvim are snatched by the Seloth. Special editions of ''Wormwood'' and ''Tersias'' were also released.


Film rights

In 2004, a $4 million deal with Taylor was announced for the making of a $100 million film version by Fortitude Films, backed by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. Fortitude made it known that they wanted
Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
to direct, with
Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...
playing Demurral and
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...
as Jacob Crane. Fortitude paid Taylor $1 million for ''Shadowmancer'' and $1.8 million for ''Wormwood''.New empire for Roman, Fortitude
''Variety'', 11 October 2004. Retrieved 12 April 2011.


Locations

Reverend Obadiah Demurral's vicarage is based on the main building of Fyling Hall School.


Sequel

At the end of ''Shadowmancer'', the effects of Pyratheon's use of the Keruvim to distort time and reality is also the beginning of G. P. Taylor's follow-up novel, '' Wormwood''. The book's main protagonist, Dr. Sabian Blake, is studying the comet Wormwood when the sky-quake from the north hits the city of London.


Other uses

Shadowmancer was the name of a heavy metal band based in Maryland.


References


External links


Shadowmancer web site
(Archived) {{Graham Taylor Children's fantasy novels 2002 British novels Christian novels British children's novels Self-published books Novels set in Whitby Christian children's books 2002 children's books Christian allegory Children's books set in Yorkshire