Forgot to say:

Obviously I am more than happy to return the favour.

perry@hexult.com -

Hexult
Snowball Earth. The Earth is in another ice age and civilisation is restarting in a future so distant that the only traces left of our time are shards of glass.

Hexult is a group of troubled islands in the vast ice ocean, separated by the treacherous Vajra Crevasse. Aulf is the young mail man, (Oddly specific. Would 'a young mail man' be better?) sailing his skiff around the islands, delivering the mail, (I think this comma is unecessary) with Ingar, a half wild orphan girl, his crew. (I would get rid of 'his crew'. I see your meaning, but I think it makes the sentence a little long and unwieldy) The story begins as they discover a wrecked boat on the open ice and rescue and befriend a mysterious pair of fifteen year old twins, Jacob and Elya.

The strangers’ superior knowledge of science and technology means Elya and Jacob are soon regarded by the people of Hexult as magicians. This annoys the islands’ resident wizard, Gabriel, who pursues devious ways to undermine the twins’ credibility. Jacob and Elya suggest building signal towers to improve communication and help mend the troubled relationships between the islands – wizard towers as they soon become known. To fund the project, the twins recruit Jeremiah Grimwold, a blacksmith, to produce ‘magical’ firelighters from a metal they call steel, which subsequently take the islands by storm. (Not sure about this last figure of speech. It doesn't seem to fit with the tone of the rest)

Problems arise for the twins in the form of a prophecy which supposedly foretells of the twins’ coming, (better as 'their coming' to avoid repetition?) and links Jacob with hope and Elya with treachery. Elya soon finds herself rejected by the islanders, and relationships with her brother and her new friends are strained.

Pursued by pirates, the four friends have a close encounter with the Vajra which leaves them marooned on a tiny island, and they are rescued by a young girl and a pack of sled dogs. While Jacob makes a success of the towers, Elya becomes the target of the islanders’ superstitious prejudice and she is forced to run from a vengeful mob, mown down by pirates, (is 'mown down' right? I have an odd image in my head) and eventually rescued by Isambard, the enigmatic chieftain of the remote and wild island of Thorland, a place regarded with hostile suspicion by the rest of Hexult.

Jacob, Aulf and Ingar, unaware of Elya’s fate, grieve her loss, but, as time passes, continue building wizard towers on the other islands, and Jacob proposes the islands hold a joint ice fair. An ice tower is constructed on the open ice in preparation and great excitement surrounds the fair. Then Jacob receives an unexpected message via the tower – from Elya, who has secretly built a tower on Thorland. They arrange to reunite at the fair.

The ice fair gets off to a good start, but disaster strikes as the event is sabotaged by a pirate attack, set up by Gabriel. All seems lost until a fleet of Thorland boats unexpectedly appears on the horizon. Elya has persuaded the maligned Thorlanders to make peace with the other islands and brought them to the fair, just in time to save the day.

Elya’s return is met with hostility from the other islanders and she is put on trial for using dark magic to the detriment of the islands. Only Isambard’s intervention saves her, and she is finally reunited with Jacob, Aulf and Ingar.

I've been particularly pedantic in my comments, in the hope that there will be something you can use. In terms of its content, I think this is a very good synopsis. It did engage my interest and it sells the story very well. I just think you could make it a bit snappier by breaking down some of those long sentences. Also, you might consider adding to the first paragraph to give a stronger 'hook' right at the beginning.

Hope something here is useful and good luck with the book. The Tower of Clavius Boon

Hexult
Snowball Earth. The Earth is in another ice age and civilisation is restarting in a future so distant that the only traces left of our time are shards of glass. A time where a little science goes a long way.

Hexult is a group of troubled islands in the vast ice ocean, separated by the treacherous Vajra Crevasse. Aulf is the young mail man, sailing his skiff around the islands, delivering the mail with Ingar, a half wild orphan girl. The story begins as they discover a wrecked boat on the open ice and rescue and befriend a mysterious pair of fifteen year old twins, Jacob and Elya.

The strangers’ superior knowledge of science and technology means Elya and Jacob are soon regarded by the people of Hexult as magicians. This annoys the islands’ resident wizard, Gabriel, who pursues devious ways to undermine the twins’ credibility. Jacob and Elya suggest building signal towers to improve communication and help mend the troubled relationships between the islands – wizard towers as they soon become known. To fund the project, the twins recruit Jeremiah Grimwold, a blacksmith, to produce ‘magical’ firelighters from a metal they call steel, which revolutionise the islanders lives.

Problems arise for the twins in the form of a prophecy which supposedly foretells of their coming, and links Jacob with hope and Elya with treachery. Elya soon finds herself rejected by the islanders, and relationships with her brother and her new friends are strained.

Pursued by pirates, the four friends have a close encounter with the Vajra which leaves them marooned on a tiny island, and they are rescued by a young girl and a pack of sled dogs. While Jacob makes a success of the towers, Elya becomes the target of the islanders’ superstitious prejudice and she is forced to run from a vengeful mob, captured by raiders, and eventually rescued by Isambard, the enigmatic chieftain of the remote and wild island of Thorland, a place regarded with hostile suspicion by the rest of Hexult.

Jacob, Aulf and Ingar, unaware of Elya’s fate, grieve her loss, but, as time passes, continue building wizard towers on the other islands, and Jacob proposes the islands hold a joint ice fair. An ice tower is constructed on the open ice in preparation and great excitement surrounds the fair. Then Jacob receives an unexpected message via the tower – from Elya, who has secretly built a tower on Thorland. They arrange to reunite at the fair.

The ice fair gets off to a good start, but disaster strikes as the event is sabotaged by a pirate attack, set up by Gabriel. All seems lost until a fleet of Thorland boats unexpectedly appears on the horizon. Elya has persuaded the maligned Thorlanders to make peace with the other islands and brought them to the fair, just in time to save the day.

Elya’s return is met with hostility from the other islanders and she is put on trial for using dark magic to the detriment of the islands. Only Isambard’s intervention saves her, and she is finally reunited with Jacob, Aulf and Ingar. -

Hi Perry!

I don't want to rain on your parade, but the rules specify a novel aimed at adult readers, and if I'm not mistaken yours is a children's novel!? Tim

I'd go ahead and submit - just don't call it a children's book!
Ann