Synopses

On this page, you can read a one-page overview of each story in the Charlie Bluster series.

Warning this page contains spoilers!

Synopsis

Cute little orphan boy Charlie Bluster is cursed with glimpses of the future that keep him up far past his bedtime. Charlie knows when something is going to happen before it does like whether two people will fall in love or who will win Strictly. His best friend Katie thinks this is so romantic but Jaden sees it as an opportunity to make a few quid. This could cause a problem for Malcolm who isn’t a normal person either; he is in fact the god of Fate and it’s his job to make sure that things destined to happen actually do happen.

Old Crabbe, the orphanage warden, tries to cure Charlie with foul-tasting medicine but Katie works out his visions are connected with destiny. Charlie predicts the result of an epic football match before it happens, a fact that is not lost on the local bookmaker when the kids try to place a bet. Honest George dreams of winning great bushels of money and retiring to the Caribbean where he will live out his days wearing a grass skirt and drinking Lilt. It doesn’t take much for him to wheedle a few more juicy titbits out of Charlie.

Mr Crabbe meanwhile is fated to die in a freak accident when on holiday. Malcolm has it all arranged and is taking five at the local coffee shop when his boss, Zeus, chief of the gods barges in. It seems that prompted by Charlie, Crabby changed his plans and stayed home cheating Fate. Malcolm needs to sort the mess out stat, or his holiday at the Elysian fields will be cancelled. However, no matter what trick he tries, Crabbe, guided by Charlie, continues to escape his destiny.

Greedy Honest George’s winning streak comes to the attention of the real crooks at the Mafia. Bored with knocking off banks and kicking over sandcastles down at the beach they want in on the action. George spills the beans but the Mafia swipe the wrong children from the orphanage causing Crabbe and Charlie to chase them down while the police struggle to catch up. Malcolm distracts Crabby at a crucial moment causing his timely death at the scene of a high-speed car accident but Charlie blunders on after the bad guys on foot. Guided by Fate he follows them to an old barn outside town.

Either by divine purpose or indeed a massive fluke, Charlie manages to tap fully into the Powers of Fate and uses them to distract the Mafia by magically setting fire to the barn. The police arrive at the scene to rescue the children and apprehend the crooks and although Katie is unharmed, Jaden gets badly burned in the flames. Astonished at what Charlie has been able to do, Malcolm tries to eliminate him but fails miserably as the boy is protected by Fate itself.

As a special treat, Not So Honest George and the Mafia criminals receive twenty years in the presidential suite of the local prison with a constant diet of Brussel Sprouts and poor quality toilet paper thrown in for bad behaviour. A hero's funeral is held for Mr Crabbe but not everyone lives happily ever after as Charlie blames himself for everything that’s gone wrong and runs away from home. Malcolm, who is still in shock and afraid he will be fired by Zeus, runs away too.

What will happen next? Where will Charlie go now and will he and Jaden ever be friends again? Will he learn to control Fate and steal Malcolm’s street cred? Fate’s Apprentice continues the epic story of Charlie Bluster.

Synopsis

Adorable little orphan boy Charlie is adopted by the stuffy Olympian gods who know even less about looking after children than Emperor Palpatine’s granny. In particular, Malcolm, god of Fate, won’t be seen with an upstart kid who might steal his street cred. Besides, he is too busy keeping destiny in order including an important prophecy for which he has carefully groomed Shirley, the world’s most dangerous man, to fulfil. Shirley, totally unaware of Malcolm’s protection, leads a charmed life, always getting picked first for the football team and attracting all the best girls.

At school in Olympus Charlie flunks all his god classes, (such as the ability to see in the dark and how to sleep in way past lunchtime), but is befriended by Mars, formerly god of war and now god of chocolate, who teaches him Kung-Fu. Butt-whooping is the one skill he can cope with as it doesn’t require any magical powers. Back home Charlie’s chums Jaden and Katie are faced with the grim hardship of everyday life without their best mate around. Worse, the new orphanage warden is a champion of green vegetables and their days are filled with a distinctly cabbagy hum and having to do double shifts cleaning out the bathroom. Despite the occasional visit they really miss their friend.

Meanwhile, Shirley completes the prophecy and of course is double, triple and even quadruple crossed by Malcolm and then discarded like a cheap Tesco paper hanky after too many blows. While on a sugar high at one of his wild parties, Mars drops his guard and tells Charlie about the dread secret of the gods, a mystical power practised by their enemies, the Titans, and banned to all gods. Charlie wants to learn more but continues to struggle at his regular training.

On one of his rare visits home, Charlie interrupts a gang of muggers who have grabbed Katie. With only a shaky mastery of his new abilities Charlie successfully defends her but doesn’t escape unharmed. Hera, queen of gods and the true boss at Olympus, puts her foot down and gives her husband Zeus a really good talking too. In a bad mood, Zeus orders Malcolm to train Charlie properly in the Powers of Fate and despite a rocky relationship, Charlie’s magical skills finally start to improve. Charlie, however, is only interested in learning the mysterious forbidden powers spoken of by Mars.

The paths of Charlie and Shirley finally cross, comparing notes they find themselves victimized by the indifferent gods whose only concern is who will have final control of the TV remote. The relationship between Malcolm and Charlie deteriorates even further and Charlie walks out. Having a failure god running around making a mess will increase his workload so Malcolm resorts to force hoping to rid himself of the annoying pest once and for all. With Shirley’s help and the magical Powers of Fate finally at his command, Charlie holds his ground until Zeus arrives to break up the fight.

Armed with his new abilities Charlie returns home to his friends but not before a terrifying prophecy against him is revealed. Charlie is fed up with gods and their stupid prophecies and wants nothing more to do with them, he will do everything he can to keep himself and his friends safe.

What will happen next when Charlie returns home armed with his new abilities? Find out in the third book in the Charlie Bluster series: Charlie Bluster becomes Prime Minister.