Miguel Hernandez

By Sanjay Shivaganesh

The destruction of the world is imminent. Miguel is the chosen one to protect the human race from the cruel elimination. He faces a hard quest of finding and collecting five magical artifacts and defeating the evil wizard, Tomultus. The hero faces daunting challenges in the form of evil sorcerers, giant snakes, golems, and blood-hungry werewolves. Luckily, Miguel has a loyal retinue to fight alongside – Jack, an archer as quick as a blink, and Regulus, a sorcerer full of incredible magic. Grab the book to be a witness to Miguel’s heroic efforts. Will the hero survive the onslaught and rid the earth of this curse? Will he continue to be the eternal guardian of this beautifulcreation!

• Language: English
• Publisher: 16Leaves
• Release date: Oct 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9789395515887

Sanjay Shivaganesh

Sanjay is imaginative and witty. He is an incredible mix of five spices – charm, intelligence, creativity, language, and energy. This perfect blend of right qualities gives rise to his perfect story. His narrative has the power to transport young minds to a bewitching world of sheer awe. Sanjay has a way with words and is a remarkable raconteur. His debut book Miguel Hernandez fits perfectly in the imaginary realm of today’s youth.

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Sanjay Shivaganesh

First Edition, 2022

Copyright © Sanjay Shivaganesh, 2022

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying,

recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the

prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations

embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted

by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

This book can be exported from India only by the publishers or by

the authorized suppliers. Infringement of this condition of sale will lead

to Civil and Criminal prosecution.

Paperback ISBN: 978-93-95515-44-3

eBook ISBN: 978-93-95515-88-7

Note: Due care and diligence has been taken while editing and printing the book;

neither the author nor the publishers of the book hold any responsibility for any

mistake that may have inadvertently crept in.

The publishers shall not be liable for any direct, consequential, or incidental

damages arising out of the use of the book. In case of binding mistakes,

misprints, missing pages, etc., the publishers’ entire liability, and your

exclusive remedy, is replacement of the book within one month of purchase

by similar edition/reprint of the book.

Printed and bound in India by

16Leaves

2/579, Singaravelan Street

Chinna Neelankarai

Chennai – 600 041

India

[e-mail]

www.16Leaves.com

Call: 91-9940638999

Itake pride in dedicating my first ever book to my grandfather, Mr. G. K. Ramakrishnan. He was one person who had always been there for me since my childhood. Whenever I needed his guidance and support, he was there with his benevolent smile and his heart full of love and blessings. He instilled in me a thousand precious values of life. My grandfather patiently taught the nuances of an entire new language to me, Tamil. I learned to play chess like a pro and to handle my card games like an ace from him. I used to look forward to the days of joy when he would come to our house. I lovingly addressed him as Thatha, which means grandfather in Tamil. The reason I fell in love with churning fanciful stories is because of him. He and I would exchange stories about all our adventures and experimental feats. He had a kind heart and was empathetic by nature. I dare say he had spoiled me utterly with his never-ending pampering. He was extremely fit for his age even in his last days, and we enjoyed playing various sports together such as badminton, football, and cricket. Truly he was a great person and will forever be the guiding angel of my life. I really miss him now that he is no more.

Here’s to you Thatha!

Talent is nothing more than a pursued interest. And this little author, who has written an aesthetically beautiful book, has done it only because of his persistent hard work and commitment to excellence. Writing a book is not a cakewalk. This tiny fictioner of ours is an extraordinary writer who can play with words — spinning unbelievable tales and creating riveting descriptions; this book is just an evidence for what I just said.

When I finished the book, with a fond smile on my face, it never really felt like I had read a book written by a kid who is in Middle School. I, for a second, even felt sheepish for not having written such an enthralling novel like him. It took some time for me to completely come out of the world of wizards, spells and magic.

The strong characters embedded in the novel can never be forgotten easily. The protagonist of the novel, cool at the same time valiant, brims with determination and resilience; the fear of failure never puts him out. The protagonist reminds me of Master Sanjay himself who is just a mirror of Miguel. After seeing the skeleton hiss, Miguel is only ‘taken aback’; Miguel squared his shoulders, cleared his throat at the skeleton — is my favorite line from the novel. The adept choice of vocabulary vividly etches the striking characters in the reader’s mind making them unforgettable, from the three daring tough little trio to the friendly Shelly.

The author’s use of language and techniques are noteworthy. There is a beautiful seamless transition from narration to dialogues and the vivid descriptions trigger all the senses instantly conjuring an image in the minds of the reader.

Not everyone can be altruistic and would want to disenthrall the world from wicked existence. The selfless pack of characters doing incredible brave acts is impressive and inspiring. A stunning work of fiction for one to escape into a new realm of fantasy filled with hope, perseverance and valor.

Sharon Priscilla D.

M.A. English Literature; B.Ed.

IGCSE English Language and Literature Facilitator

Hello, dedicated reader!

Before writing this book, I was good at a lot of things, but not really great at anything. You could have called me a jack of all trades, master of none. That was before I, or rather my mother, identified my writing talent. I might not be a master, but I have a passion and I have dedication. And if you have those, you’re pretty much on your way to be a master, right? Anyway, I used to write small stories for school assignments. Every week, a story. Eventually, my school held a story-writing competition. There were a few topics to choose from, and we had to choose one and write a story on the spot. I wrote, thinking that this was going to be like any other similar competition, and I was confident that I would do good, but not sure if I would get to the top three. A few days later, guess what, I won! The first place had my name on it. From there, I just shrugged and moved on. I guess I should have realized then and there that my strength was writing. This is where your family guidance is important.

That same evening, my mother stepped in and encouraged me to write a book. I thought she was kidding, but when I realized she was serious, I was elated. I started writing a few days after that, and I never stopped. There were very few days when I didn’t write. My other family members helped as well. My father peer reviewed the finished novel and my sister … well, she had the most important job – of being a comic relief. My mom, within a few days of my starting to write, researched and found a publisher:16Leaves. They helped a lot in the editing, structuring, and publishing of this book. Kudos to them! Finally, here you are, about to read this book and join Miguel, the main character, in his journey. I suppose his story is similar to mine. He faces many challenges, and he never knows if he’s going to succeed until he gets to the end. The point I’m trying to make here is no matter how hard or stressful something may seem, if it’s something you want to pursue, go for it. You’ll face challenges, there’s no doubt about that. You have to find your desire, your inner strength, and make it external. In the end, you will succeed. That’s a promise.

This book will take you on an extraordinary journey, through deep, dark caves, through the blackest depths of the sea, through the thickness of the jungle, through light and shadow. This book could be an entertainment when you’re bored, or something to help you sleep at night. Or simply just proof that a twelve-year-old can write a book.

Now, I’ve realized that writing is where my path leads, for the foreseeable future. It may stray somewhere else, but for now my path lies here. And if you’re holding this book right now, it’s where your path lies too. Have fun reading. Ta!

Sanjay Shivaganesh

1.Hello, Demon

2.Pranks on a Tuesday

3.Guys from the Matrix

4.A Bunch of Snails almost Kill Us

5.Quest Time!

6.Hello, Skelet-AAAAAAHHHH

7.That Is the Coolest Thing Ever

8.Just Keep Swimming

9.Griefers? Really?

10.When All Hope Seems Lost

11.The Tortillas … YUM!

12.Defense Is the Best Offense

13.Shield Up!

14.Ow

15.Why Fuzball, Why?

16.Smoke and Lies

17.The Truth

18.Say What!

19.I’m Afraid of Heights

20.I … Expected a Parade

He had lived in a lame excuse for a house for three years now.

And he hated every moment of it.

Miguel opened the front door. It creaked open, just about ready to fall off its hinges. The brown paint that used to shine on the door was half gone. He slammed the door shut, set down his backpack on the hole-riddled couch, and belly-flopped onto his bed. If you could even call it a bed. It was more like a stick with pegs to hold it up. Moths flew around him. Dust clouded the air. The fan above him did barely anything to cool him.

He was happily sulking in his own misery when he heard a voice.

A very loud voice.

BOY! Yelled a voice further down the hall. Miguel groaned and decided to stay in bed. He put his pillow over