Book review: James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra by Colm McElwain

Alongside his friends Ben and Mary Forester, James Clyde must protect a powerful diamond from falling into the wrong hands. A strange and sinister man dressed in black is also pursuing the diamond and will stop at nothing to obtain it. James and his friends set off on a perilous journey to return the diamond to its rightful place. But they are being hunted every step of the way by the relentless man in black and his blood-thirsty army. Outnumbered, James finds he must use the power of the diamond to escape their clutches - or become another victim of their murderous quest. So begins a journey that will transport them to an alternative world where they must confront the mysterious man in black for a final, winner-takes-all battle.

This book was provided to me free in exchange for a review.

James Clyde and the Diamonds of Orchestra seems to have everything its genre needs: it's part modern middle-grade novel, part high-fantasy.  The world of Orchestra is vast, and it’s obvious that McElwain put thought into it rather than going with the standard creatures of myth; rather than having them hunted down by werewolves or some other malevolent creature, James and his friends are chased relentlessly by creatures known as Dakotas, for instance.  It also has magical artifacts, and the whole “chosen one” angle that is par for the course in any fantasy, not just middle-grade.

I will also give it credit for having a very clever ending, which of course I won’t reveal in this review as that would be spoiling, and I try to avoid spoilers unless it’s something I have a problem with and need to discuss in order to give context for my opinion.

I did have a few problems with it, though.  Some small details were wrong, such as saying Porky Pig is a Disney character when he is, in fact, an Acme character.  My biggest problem with this, though, is that I don’t think the voice really fits that of a middle-grade novel.  While I’m aware that fantasy would probably sound different from a completely modern book, it just seemed too… I guess high-brow for the target age group.  I don’t think it would necessarily throw off someone in the age group who wanted to read it, but even I found myself having to pause and take a breather after so many pages, which isn’t generally a good sign.

Still, it’s certainly worth a read if you’re a fan of the genre, or even if you aren’t; it provides interesting characters and plot points that help set it aside from stock middle-grade fantasy these days.