Beast Quest 12 – Trillion the Three-Headed Lion

Adam Blade's Trillion The Three-Headed Lion is a Beast Quest adventure for 7 year olds in which the fiercest Beast of Tom's golden armour quest has been saved till last.

What happens

Tom has already won back five pieces of the enchanted golden armour, which the Dark Wizard Malvel scattered across the kingdom of Avantia. Only the golden boots are left. They're guarded by Trillion, a lion with three heads, six glowing green eyes and paw prints as big as Tom's shield.

The book opens with Trillion almost killing Tagus, one of the good Beasts of Avantia. Tom and his friend Elenna arrive just in time. They spend the night healing his wounds with a magic phoenix feather, one cut at a time.

Then come the hyenas. Then two more packs of hyenas. Then Trillion himself.

It's non-stop. Nearly every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, and there's barely a page without a charge, a roar or a very narrow escape.

Part of the fun is keeping track of what each bit of armour does. The helmet lets Tom see for miles. The chain mail gives him courage and the breastplate gives him strength. Readers who've followed the whole quest will love seeing all of it come together.

The friendships are lovely too. Tom's horse Storm is brave even when he's terrified. Elenna is quick-thinking and handy with fire arrows. And who wouldn't want a wolf like Silver, who can sniff out a three-headed lion when the magic map can't?

There's more blood than you might expect, so be ready for that. Tagus's wounds are deep and bleeding, a hyena gets its jaws round Silver's neck, and Trillion sinks his teeth into Tom's ankle and shakes him. If your reader loves a fierce fight, that's the whole appeal. If they get upset when animals are hurt, you might like to read the first couple of chapters together.

What to read next

This is the last book of the golden armour quest, so it makes most sense once they've met Tom and Elenna. If they've taken a shine to the good Beast here, go back to Tagus the Night Horse, where Tom first rides out across the plains to find him.