An Indie Cambridge article 14 January 2025
Cambridge Gothic Series by Mark Wells
Published by Cambridge Tales Ltd.
t’s Cambridge – but not as you know it! As one reviewer suggested, Mark should work for the Cambridge Tourist Board, as the descriptions of the city in his books are instantly familiar to residents and also seductively inviting to visitors. But there’s a twist! The three books in the series – College of Shadows, Gate of Shadows and Legacy of Shadows – are YA (Young Adult) Urban Fantasy literature, which gives a clue to a more mysterious story unfolding. In the first book, as well as navigating new lives as freshers, the main protagonists Nick and Annabell find themselves dealing with a lot more in the form of a strange disappearance, a terrifying beast and the mind-blowing legacy of one of their professor’s other-worldly research project. And although this isn’t a genre we would usually read (we definitely are not in the young adult category), we were hooked! The detail Mark uses to describe Cambridge and college life makes everything feel very real, so the fantasy elements somehow become strangely believable too. The plot unfolds like a thriller which makes for an enjoyably fast-paced read, while you also relish savouring the wonderful descriptions of Cambridge.