When fifteen year old Joel Penberthy sees a white hare being pursued by a black dog, he knows exactly what it means. Every Cornishman knows that the white hare, pursued by a black dog, portends disaster. For Joel it means a catastrophe threatens the eighteenth century mine where he works. But he can never imagine how this will turn his own life upside down, threatening his very existence in his own time. Nor does he guess how it will find him new, amazing friends in today’s world, and a future that he could never have dreamt of.
In this gripping time travel novel set in the depths of the Cornish tin mines, Joel—a
young miner from the 18th century—finds himself hurled into the bewildering
present day, only to return and face accusations of sorcery. Rich in atmosphere and
tension, the novel cleverly blends historical drama with an impending modern-day
accident, making Joel’s journey both heart-pounding and unforgettable.
Stephanie Hale
John Kitchen was born and grew up in Cornwall. He returns to these roots in Mine-Shift, which is his fourth book to explore less familiar aspects of the supernatural. His first novel, Nicola’s Ghost, won the Writer’ Digest Award for best Young Adult Novel in 2011. Mine-Shift is his second ‘timeshift’ novel to be set in Cornwall. John writes his stories in a bright yellow studio in his four-hundred-year-old cottage in Oxfordshire. His wife died in 1995, but he has a daughter and a son, and four amazing grandchildren.
Moira Proudfoot –
Mine-Shaft is an excellent story about a Cornish Miners Son, Joel, being transported from his victorian life to the present day .John uses the supernatural of Cornwall and in particular the tale of a coming disaster when a black dog is seen chasing a white hare in a mine. The explosion occurs in the mine and Joels father is severely hurt but has the local services of a healer who is no help. However, one day Joel goes back to the mine and finds a new passage which he follows hoping to lead him outside. The passage takes him out where he meets children of the present day. His new friends introduce him to a Doctor who gives him a new medication for his father.With great difficulty he managed to give his father the new medication which helps him recover.This story is so well written that the transition from Victorian times to the present day appear as a natural development. A most enjoyable and very interesting book by John Kitchen.
Daniel Drury –
This is a great story, and those who aren’t big fans of science fiction need not be put off as the time-travel element is mostly simply a clever device to weave together two intimately-connected narratives separated by several centuries. The eighteenth-century and present-day passages are deftly interwoven with sometimes comic and at other times highly suspenseful results. A keen understanding of human psychology and relationships is in abundant evidence. Overall this is a hugely enjoyable read and one which I can imagine being adapted into a gripping TV series.
Adrian Rosser –
What a gripping read. One really gets involved with the characters and their lives. It makes one realise the myth of the good old days in Cornish tin mines. I would recommend this for any child between 8 and 80.
Naomi Pitt-Francis –
Once I’d started reading, I couldn’t put ‘Mine-Shift’ down – I really wanted to find out what would happen to Joel.. I remembered reading ‘The Naming of William Rutherford’ by Linda Kempton because modern medicine is taken back into the past in that book too – but ‘Mine-Shift’ takes this idea to another level!
Barbara Lorna Hudson –
Both gripping and amusing. And some very touching (not not soppy) depictions of friendship and young love.
I particularly loved the humorous and imaginative descriptions of modern things seen through the eyes of an eighteenth century boy when he finds himself in the twenty-first century: cars, caravans, bicycles, a liquidiser.
And it was fun to learn a few specialist terms from Cornish mining: croust bag, bal maiden, stope and many others.
Joe Pitt-Francis –
Took this away for reading on holiday. It’s very engaging, so I read it quickly,
This book has the same sort of time-shifting vibe as John Kitchen’s previous novel “Jax’ House”. The twist here is that the main character, Joel experiences forward time-shifts from his time into our present day. Not only do we get a cracking story, but we also get to learn a lot about Cornish mining and about how much life has improved since the industrial revolution. I was able to picture just how awestruck Joel might have been by the phones, cars, fast food and clothes of his future—but I would still very much like to see it all televised!