For centuries, a mysterious bell has tolled at the precise moment when the sun drops below the horizon at Sealey Head. The residents have never located the bell, and no one seems to know when it first started tolling, but they accept it as just another part of Sealey Head, like the crying of the gulls and the roar of the waves. Then a stranger, Ridley Dow, arrives in town and begins asking questions about the origin of the bell. His questions lead him to Aislinn House, where the great but ancient Lady Eglantyne lies in her bed, slowly but steadily slipping toward death, yet clinging to each day as though she's waiting for something to happen. The heir to the house, Miss Miranda Beryl, is summoned from the city so that she can take her place as the new mistress of Aislinn House once her great aunt passes on, and her arrival throws Sealey Head into an uproar as a flood of city aristocrats descend on the quiet fishing village.

But both Ridley and Miranda know that Aislinn House holds a great secret, a magical link between the present Aislinn House and a second Aislinn House which exists in the same space but a different time and dimension. The other house can only be accessed when doors in the first house are opened by those with the sensitivity to detect the magic. Ridley knows that this second Aislinn House is tied to the mysterious bell because his ancestor, Nemos Moore, a centuries-old sorcerer of great power, cast a powerful spell over the magical realm which turned the once pure and loving kingdom into a place of fear and mindless ritual.

Ridley is determined to undo the damage Nemos has caused with his greed for power, and free the lonely Princess Ysabo, the brave knights, and the rest of the kingdom from the spell which has trapped them within Nemos's control, but he also must keep his ancestor, who has also returned to Aislinn House, from realizing his plans and using magic to destroy him and those he's sworn to help.

THE BELL AT SEALEY HEAD is an entertaining adventure into magical fantasy. I enjoyed the contrast between the very pastoral life in Sealey Head and the rigid and inexplicable ritual of the magical kingdom. Much like The Chronicles of Narnia, it delves into the "what ifs" of opening an average door and discovering a completely different world within, and how the actions of beings from one world can impact the lives of those on the other side. A fun read for those who enjoy mythical fantasy. This review is from a previous edition.

Book Summary

Brand new from the World Fantasy Award-winning author of Solstice Wood.

Sealey Head is a small town on the edge of the ocean, a sleepy place where everyone hears the ringing of a bell no one can see. On the outskirts of town is an impressive estate, Aislinn House, where the aged Lady Eglantyne lies dying, and where the doors sometimes open not to its own dusty rooms, but to the wild majesty of a castle full of knights and princesses…