A darkly quirky and action packed fantasy adventure that proclaims it’s not only ok to be different, it can at times, actually be an advantage. 15 year old Napoleon, also known as Zam, lives in Newcastle, he has a walking disability, he’s best friends with a polecat called Rat and a girl called Ezzy, and he lives with his inventor grandfather Eli. When the dangerously frightening wyte Ackx threatens his whole existence, Zam travels beneath his city and finds a world he knew nothing about. It took a little while to get used to the style and creatures of this underworld, once I’d settled in, I rather enjoyed the chills and terrors that awaited. Zam is a boy of grit and determination, and his heart is full of love for his friends and family. Frank Lambert has created a new champion, and he's someone I’d want by my side if I ever ventured into the intimidating and creepy underworld that can be found inside ‘Napoleon Xylophone’.
A changeling padded out from the shadows at the far end of the cavern. It had taken on the form of a lioness, with fur as black as a starless night. It walked towards Ackx and began to lick its master's face. Ackx opened his eyes and something like a smile crossed his face. Something like the smile a crocodile makes while eating its lunch... Napoleon Xylophone hates his name; that's why his friends call him Zam. He doesn't know it yet, but he is set to become a hero - a hero with a walking disability. When adventure comes knocking, Zam doesn't let his disability get in the way of fighting the changelings, wytes and gargoyles that come to life in the underworld beneath Newcastle. Not when he has a wheelchair that can fly, a ghost for a best friend and a grandfather who has created a new life form that allows whoever wears it to speak to Time... Napoleon Xylophone is an inspirational work of fantasy fiction that will appeal to 12-16 year old children. The main aim of the book is to give disabled children a voice to help them express how they fit into society. As Zam, one of the few disabled superheroes in fiction, travels through the pages of his story, he shows the difficulties disabled children encounter every day. Zam is more than a teenager in a wheelchair with an amazing story to tell; he is a hero anyone can look up to.
