Dark Portal

The Deptford Mice live a comfortable life in the skirting boards of an abandoned London house, with no humans or cats to disturb them. But something is lurking deep beneath the city. Something that threatens to destroy their cosy existence for good. In the dank sewers under the house lives a mysterious being, worshipped by a horde of bloodthirsty rats who cower in its presence...When a mouse called Albert Brown unwisely ventures down into the sewers one day, he uncovers a terrifying plot to awaken an ancient evil. Soon Albert's family and friends find themselves in a desperate struggle for their lives. Summoning all their courage, they must confront treacherous enemies and foul sorcery in a battle to save London and the world from eternal darkness.

So wonderfully dark and magical. An absolute classic, Spooky and enthralling animal fantasy just right for Redwall fans... [Jarvis] provides counterpoint to the heart-racing adventure with scenes of haunting beauty, A tale of horror and valor, good and evil, leavened with humor, Entertaining and genuinely frightening, A grand-scale epic... Filled with high drama, suspense, and some genuine terror

Robin Jarvis is a British children's author who has entertained (and pleasantly terrified) generations of children with his brilliantly imagined dark fantasy stories, including the Deptford Mice and Whitby Witches series. He studied graphic design in Newcastle and then worked in television and advertising making model monsters and puppets before writing The Dark Portal, the first book on the Deptford Mice series, which was the runner up for the Smarties book prize in 1989.