Castle Lark: And The Tale that Stopped Time

By Zelda Leah Gatuskin

Two teens from the twenty-second century discover and reactivate an ancient spell. Time stops. Earth's fate hangs in the balance. Adventure, romance, magic and mystery -- times two

In the not-so-distance-future the Earth is dead. Humans have destroyed it, and Earth has been evacuated for half a century. Now, people live in domes on Luna and Mars where everything is in harmonious unison. Except for the last few survivors who remember Earth, people have never been outdoors. Climate in the domes is artificial, and the chance to experience real rain is a rare treat. Since the evacuation, humanity has let Earth rest.

Insert Alex and Fasha, two teenagers who were born and grew up in the domes of Luna and Mars. When Alex Huntly is stranded on Luna because of a misunderstanding between his divorced parents, he is rescued by their family friend Walsh. Alex joins Walsh, his wife Cammie, and their daughter Fasha on a vacation trip to Earth.

On their trip they see artificial Paris, recreated under a dome, and then get to be outside for the first time in their lives during their time in Africa. Strangely, Africa has been the first continent to recover from Earth's devastation by war and ecological disasters. It's a little too tame for Alex and Fasha, who were hoping for a chance to see "the vine."

The vine, a gigantic and mysterious ivy-like plant that appeared after a catastrophic underground oil spill, is the target of two global companies who are competing for the right to resurrect Earth. It covers much of the United Kingdom, including a place with a familiar name: Huntly Castle. Alex and Fasha's curiosity in humanity's home planet peaks when they realize Alex has an ancestral connection to ancient Scotland.

Walsh arranges for the teens to visit the area on their own while the adults relax. While exploring the vast "ocean"of green vine with Amy, a ClimaTech biologist, they discover a hidden vine-covered castle. Inside they encounter The Tale That Stopped Time.

The tale concerns a young storyteller named Aziza from the beleaguered town of Pyrandora, and Rider, a boy given in service to his King. When Alex and Fasha read the charmed narrative, they reactivate an ancient spell.

Romance prospers and the two teens realize their magical connection with the vine, the tale, and the past. But can they reach the end of the story before competing researchers find the castle and attempt to destroy the vine? It seems that Fasha and Alex have a very real role to play in the future of Earth as well.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0938513311
• ISBN13: 9780938513315
• Release Date: July 2020
• Publisher: Amador Publishers, LLC
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.04 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher

Customer Reviews

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Two years ago, I tried to write this book. Yes, I really did mean to say "write" instead of "read." I was determined to write a book set in a future where misuse of Earth's resources along with escalating international tensions had resulted in making the planet uninhabitable, forcing humanity outwards to the moon and Mars. I wanted to write a book about what it might be like for teenagers who had never lived on Earth to understand their heritage. What would the first generation to live without Earth look like, and what would they feel about the planet their parents had left? By examining the main characters of this novel, Gatuskin has achieved what I sought out to do and more. Her story begins with Fasha, a teenage girl who's grown up on Mars and has never stepped foot outside of a climate-controlled dome in her life. When her parents decide to take a vacation to Earth, she's excited about the prospect, but also uncertain about what to expect. She and her family are joined at the last minute by the son of a family friend, Alex, and he and Fasha immediately hit it off. As part of Alex's quest to reconnect with his Scottish heritage, he and Fasha convince her parents to allow them to visit Scotland while on Earth, despite the fact that all of Great Britain is covered by a mysterious mutated vine, akin to rock ivy, that spread as a result of a fuel spill before Earth was evacuated. However, there's more to this vine than anyone suspects, and more to Earth's history than the textbooks have passed on. Alex and Fasha quickly get pulled into an adventure that's more magical than scientific, so although the story begins in a sci-fi setting, it eventually transitions into a mode of storytelling more common in fantasy. I enjoy both genres thoroughly, and Gatuskin's unique blend of the two makes for a highly engaging read. I found myself savoring the first hundred pages, in which Gatuskin's portrayal of Fasha and Alex's first visit to Earth is nostalgic and contemplative without being overly sentimental. The overarching plot was rather complex, so that the middle felt slow, and the end was confusing because so many loose ends were tied up by the introduction of new points of view. Readers should not expect to understand even the book's title for some time. However, the story's real power comes from the author's inspired understanding of different characters' relationships with humanity's first home, and the meaning of Earth when man can live amongst the stars. Reviewed by: Candace Cunard