The Sentinel Trilogy

The Sentinel Trilogy is a dark fantasy series for young adults written by Joshua Winning. The first book in the series, Sentinel, was published on 1 May 2013 and quickly became a #1 Amazon bestseller.
The series is set predominantly in the city of Cambridge, England and follows fifteen-year-old Nicholas Hallow, whose life is turned upside down when he loses his parents. The second book in the series, Ruins, is currently being written.
Plot
The Sentinel Trilogy is set in contemporary Cambridge. It follows fifteen-year-old Nicholas Hallow and seventy-one-year-old family friend Samuel Wilkins. When Nicholas' parents die in a terrible accident, Nicholas discovers the world of the Sentinels, mysterious figures who protect the world from evil forces attempting to take over.
"The world of Sentinel looks just like the world you see every day - except there are things lurking in the darkness, just out of sight," Winning told Kyra Halland. "It's a world you, hopefully, believe really could exist. I know I do."
Sentinel
Sentinel is the first book in The Sentinel Trilogy. It’s August and, for some unknown reason, snow is falling. England is gripped in an unseasonably icy embrace, but that’s the least of fifteen-year-old Nicholas Hallow's worries. His parents have just died in a tragic accident.
As he's looked after by neighbour Tabatha Blittmore, he starts to hear strange whispers. Meanwhile, seventy-one-year-old Samuel Wilkins - a family friend - receives a letter from Nicholas's father, sent before his death, which is the catalyst for a series of dangerous events that put both Nicholas and Samuel in terrible danger.
Elsewhere in Cambridge, dark deeds are taking place. There's a break-in at the Fitzwilliam Museum, children are going missing, and beneath the city, a red-haired woman conspires with an ancient deity.
As Sam embarks on a treacherous journey to deliver Nicholas to his mysterious godmother - and safety - something is already seeking them out in the night.
Characters
Nicholas Hallow
Nicholas is the hero of The Sentinel Trilogy. Winning describes him as "young and naive (on the cusp of 16), and totally unprepared for the adventure he's about to go on". Winning notes that he was concerned about creating a hero who is just a normal boy, but now feels that is one of Sentinels main strengths. "And, of course, there's more to him than meets the eye," Winning adds.
Samuel Wilkins
Samuel, or just Sam, is a seventy-one-year-old Sentinel and a bit of an enigma. He was friends with Nicholas's parents. When they died, he took it upon himself to look after Nicholas. "He’s seen it all but he’s not jaded and bitter. He still has hope that everything will come out right in the end, and I love that," says Winning.
Reception
The first book in The Sentinel Trilogy, Sentinel, has received generally favourable reviews. Cambridge News praised it as "charming and addictive", while A Daily Dose Of R&R described it as "filled to the brim with excitement". They also noted that it was refreshing for a young adult fantasy novel not to revolve around a romance: "There was no boy-meets-girl or girl-meets-vampire, or even teen-meets-alien."

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