The Dog Hunters — David Bell

While Welshmen die fighting English invaders, their young Prince, Llewelyn is made to study Plato. But then a mighty Chinese war fleet arrives, offering to annihilate the old enemy.Their price? Llewelyn's oldest friend, Gelert, the legendary (if phenomenally flatulent) wolfhound.Boy and dog are kidnapped and dragged across stormy oceans and scorpion-infested deserts in a nightmare journey involving flying dogs, berserk baboons, and thousand-year-old sailors.Thoughts of escape dissolve when the young prince meets Feiyan, a bewitching, angry girl with a secret agenda of her own. But just as he takes up the cause of the Jiang freedom fighters against the remorseless forces of the Emperor, Llewelyn discovers the horrifying truth behind their plans for Gelert...5-STAR REVIEWS FROM AMAZON (Kindle version)"I loved it. Brilliant for young adults and their grown ups!, - I am a teacher so I read this book originally thinking of it as a book for teenage boys. However, I quickly got sucked into it, and loved it as an adult. It is beautifully written with both good language and great colloquialisms which make it fun, and personalize the characters. It is an adventure of boy and his dog , with elements of medieval history, loads of geographical references and just enough science to keep us curious. Can't wait for the sequel!"Katrina Nicosia August 8, 2013 "My 11 year old couldn't put it down!, This book is great for a wide range of ages. Lots of twists and turns and completely unpredictable. I downloaded it on a recommendation but didn't get to read it first as my 11 year old boy had his ‘head in the book' until he had finished it! He loved it, as did I and can't wait for the next one from this author!"Emma Gardiner July 25, 2013"A Rip Snorting Read. - I'm not keen on dogs - they smell and they slobber all over you - but I loved this! It's unlike anything else I've ever read before. For sure it's a familiar genre of action adventure with a couple of teenagers as the heroes but the characters are fresh and exciting and the plot revolves around believable exotic breeds of dogs rather than easy magic worlds and hobgoblins. It's very visceral; there's plenty of gore, vomit and other bodily mess to satisfy the most ghoulish young reader and set in the 1200's it's brings to life a period of time which rarely appears in fiction - let alone childrens' fiction. 10/10 for originality and well crafted imagination."Kelvin Johnston 4 July 2013"A cracking good read. This isn't really the kind of book I'd normally go for, like Harry Potter wasn't, but I found this as addictive. It rattles along and I like the juxtaposition between traditional telling of the tale and the use of ‘today talk'. The author uses it brilliantly to lighten the tone and introduce humour. And I love the first sentence of Chapter Two, no twelve-year-old would be able to resist reading on... All the time I was reading, I was running the film in my mind. In colour. The only other writer to do that to me is Nicholas Evans (The Horse Whisperer). A cracking good read.Redacteur 31 July 20134 STARS:"Great book for young adults-, or even younger! I'm not in this category, [more into the Jane Austin genre] but downloaded it on my Kindle out of curiosity, and loved it. It's just great fun, with medieval history given a new slant, and enough gruesome stuff to appeal to those who like this sort of thing. I was so happy for Gelert - I always hated the thought of him being undeservedly slain, and have been known to sob at his grave... this lovely wolf hound certainly had a very complicated later life!"Willia 27 July 2013