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Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by Alan Early
Published by Mercier Press, 2011

Alan Early’s Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent taps into our vast bank of Irish mythology to create a spell-binding series that is hugely in demand among older children.

In this, Book 1 of The Father of Lies Chronicles, hailed by reviewers as the “Irish Percy Jackson” Arthur has no choice but to move to Dublin when his dad is offered a job as an engineer on the Metro tunnel. But making new friends like Will and Ash is a huge help and when they find a mysterious glowing pendant in a river under the city while exploring a dangerous tunnel, life takes a strange twist.

Dublin, rich in Viking heritage must be teeming with relics like this but the pendant is no ordinary artifact. In the shape of a giant snake strangling a tree trunk this will be Arthur’s weapon with which he will command a long deceased Viking Army through Dublin in an effort to save the world from the dreaded World Serpent. Only Arthur and his friends can save the city and the world from the evil force that has lain dormant under Ireland’s Capital for hundreds of years.
But first Arthur must find out who is the dark man spying on him and he has more than enough to do to contend with his evil plan.

Reviewing the book recently in Inis : The Children’s Books Magazine Bob Burke author of The Third Pig Detective Agency books had the following to say about Early’s debut novel:

“What sets Early’s book apart is the way he seamlessly meshes ancient mythology and Dublin’s Viking heritage with a modern Irish setting to present a gripping yarn that races along towards its epic finale on the streets of the capital.”