Monuments is a new action-adventure series about gods, guardians and the struggle for world order. ‘Monument’ is the title given to each of the many gods credited with creating life as we know it. The gods maintain the status quo, and guardians protect the gods from the hounds that hunt them. Since time immemorial, the guardians orchestrated movements, relocating the gods to new hiding places whenever threats arise from the hounds. The last known movement saw the gods relocated to secret chambers hidden beneath select schools across Sydney. There, the gods remained in a state of rest until a major security breach sent everything into chaos.

When Connor Giannopoulos – that’s two Ns in both names, as he likes to make clear in case you need to find him online – first uncovers a secret chamber in which one of the gods is hiding, he finds himself an unwitting pawn on a protection detail with a god and a reckless girl who claims to be a guardian, in the midst of an impromptu movement. As the hounds encroach and the threat to the god’s safety grows, Connor must assess the risks and challenge assumptions about who the enemy is. But nothing is as it seems.

The first book in this new series is as notable and ambitious as its title implies. It is a fast-moving drama, with a cast of capable, yet unintentional hero(ine)s compelled to step beyond the limitations of their humanity and fight for a better world. A drama well-seasoned with a flourish of romantic love, a side of comic relief and a good serving of moral fibre.

Natalie Platten is the assistant manager and children’s book buyer at Readings Doncaster.