0 of 2 copies available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
'Rundell's first foray into fantasy is both a deft, rich homage to the greats of children's literature and an absorbing, profoundly poignant quest story for those aged 9+ – quite possibly her best yet' – The Guardian
'A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight, and a world of richly imagined wonder' – Cressida Cowell
* WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER * BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD WINNER * FOYLES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR * SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON KIDS AND YA BOOK OF THE YEAR
* THE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN SEPTEMBER 2023
There's a place where all the wildest stories began ... From Katherine Rundell, winner of the Costa Children's Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize comes the first novel in a landmark trilogy for 9+ fans of His Dark Materials
Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it's too late.
'Full of adventures, wonderful side characters, new lands and so many fantastic creatures. I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages' – Rick Riordan
'A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle – a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime' – Jacqueline Wilson
'The world of this new book is so intriguing and so well put together that I couldn't resist it. Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once' – Philip Pullman
'A masterpiece to rival Tolkien and Pullman' – The Daily Telegraph
'Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell's best, which is something to be marvelled at' – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
'An exhilarating, many-hued adventure, heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking' – Frances Hardinge
'Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth' – Frank Cottrell-Boyce
'Rundell's book packs a punch with imagination and creativity in its purest form. She has created a story with potential to be adored by fantasy lovers for years to come' – The Independent
'With a delightful cast of characters, breathless adventure, and an abundance of myth and magic, Impossible Creatures offers the very best of fantasy' – Aisha...
-
Creators
-
Series
-
Publisher
-
Awards
-
Release date
September 14, 2023 -
Formats
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781408897423
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781408897423
- File size: 32961 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
Starred review from June 3, 2024
A boy with an affinity for animals, a girl who can fly when the wind blows, and a secreted-away world in need of saving propel this realms-roving dazzler, a trilogy opener from Rundell (The Good Thieves). When Christopher Forrester is sent to Scotland to stay with his maternal grandfather, he quickly makes for the only area forbidden to him: the top of a nearby hill. Meanwhile, in the Archipelago—“the last surviving magic place”—Mal Arvorian works to understand why marvelous creatures have begun dying and the soil is turning gray. Following a terrifying encounter and a near escape for Mal, the children meet, kicking off a valorous, island-hopping quest to uncover why the Archipelago’s magic is fading—a journey that has far-reaching implications. Along the way, Christopher and Mal engage with sympathetic adult secondaries and a cast of wittily rendered mythological beasts, including a cherished griffin and a watchful ratatoska. Employing plotting reminiscent of works by Ursula Le Guin and Philip Pullman, Rundell deploys fresh language, epic stakes, bonds both tender and devastating, and fierce kid characters. It’s a thoughtfully lore-informed narrative about the kinship of living things and the marvels of being alive—a story that, above all, takes children seriously. Light-tinged illustrations from Mackenzie (The 66th Rebirth of Frankie Caridi) include a map and bestiary. Cover art portrays the child protagonists with pale skin. Ages 10–up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park & Fine Literary.
-