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Synopsis

Book of Dead Days by Marcus Sedgwick

Set in dark threatening cities and the frozen countryside in a distant time and place of the author's making, 'The Book of Dead Days' conjures a spell-binding story of sorcery and desperate magic as Valerian, Boy and Willow Smallbone battle to stop time and cling to life.

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Reviews

In a wonderfully dark, atmospheric tale of power, corruption and betrayal, Marcus Sedgwick manages to keep the reader guessing until the very end. A real page-turner with a truly chilling twist. Booktrusted News (Booktrust), Issue 6 Set long ago in dark times and brought to life through evocative, strongly visual writing, this novel is packed with drama, mystery and intrigue. -- Wendy Cooling The Bookseller, 18 April 2003 Against the stinking, freezing background of an underworld set in a timeless past, this is a dark melodrama kept sharp by surprise. -- Julia Eccleshare
Guardian
, 5 July 2003 An exquisitely dark Faustian drama set among the shadows of an old European city. The finely drawn characters and enthralling story-telling make this Sedgwick's greatest work to date. -- Joanne Owen, Borders Bookshop Bookseller Buyer's Guide Highlights, 11 June 2003 ...has a very real sense of place. ...The hero of this beautifully paced and sometimes blood-soaked adventure is Boy...and there's a very tangible sense of evil in Sedgwick's tale too, along with the careful blending of real magic with the seemingly magical effects of encroaching technology...After just a few pages, you know you're in safe hands with Sedgwick.Here is a macabre melodrama inventively told . -- Philip Ardargh
Guardian
, 19 July 2003 Sedgwick has created a world as dark and compelling as the story he tells.
Mail on Sunday
, 20 July 2003 The Book of Dead Days marks a shift to fuller, more descriptive writing than that in Sedgwick's earlier books, but there is no loss of subtle menace and power.
Independent
, 28 July 2003 You'll just have to read it for the twist. Times Educational Supplement, 1 August 2003 Sedgwick has created a wonderfully tight novel which understands its own boundaries and is able to utilise them to its advantage. ...Sedgwick's plotting is tight and ingenious... Sedgwick too has a wonderful way of revitalizing the myth and making it more accessible, bringing the essentials to the fore but having it remain almost Dickensian in the telling. Rather than merely retelling, the essentials are represented and told in an engaging fashion. The Book of Dead Days is a gripping read... SFRevu The Book of Dead Days is to be commended for the beauty of Sedgwick's turn of phrase. Dreamwatch The Book of Dead Days is to be commended for the beauty of Sedgwick's turn of phrase. Dreamwatch
Marcus Sedgwick, author of the highly acclaimed The Dark Horse, returns on stupendous form with the first book of what promises to be a darkly terrifying trilogy. The Book of Dead Days is set in a nameless city where evil, cold and putrefaction are the norm. The wretched populace struggle to survive as the cold bites into their bones and hunger gnaws at their vitals. Wandering through this bleak landscape is Valerian - mystic and prestidigitator with strangely magical powers, he is himself at the mercy of even darker forces, forces which he conjured up 15 years before the story began. Valerian is the victim of his own conceit - he summoned the spirits of the dead and signed a deadly pact with them, and now the time has come to fulfil his dreadful obligation. But Valerian is determined to live - whatever the cost. Accompanying the fearsome figure of Valerian through the streets and sewers of the city, as he searches for the means to escape from his destiny, are two children. His constant companion is the unnamed Boy, his assistant for years who follows him with an unquestioning loyalty, desperate to known his roots yet frightened to provoke the volatile magician by too much questioning. Willow, Valerian's new acquisition, has no such inhibitions; having literally stumbled upon a dead body, she has fled the theatre where Valerian has been performing his nightly routine, and flung herself on the mercy of the magician and his servant. Fearless and utterly devoted to Boy, Willow is determined to protect her new charge whatever the cost, risking her own life to save that of her new-found friend. The unlikely trio wander the streets of this unholy city, searching for the Book which will release Valerian from his pact. As the days between Christmas and New Year - the Dead Days - tick remorselessly by, time is running out; the spirits will demand their due and Valerian is only too willing to offer up another victim to be the sacrifice. This darkly disturbing book is mesmerising and compulsive; unsettling, yet totally riveting. There are many unanswered questions as the last pages are turned - who is Boy? What happens to Valerian? and above all, what does the future hold for Willow and Boy? Eager readers of The Book of Dead Days will have to contain their impatience, and trust that the second part of Sedgwick's fascinating trilogy will shed some light on at least a few of these questions. Ages 10+ (Kirkus UK)

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About The Author

Marcus was our Guest Editor in July 2010. Click here to see all his selections.

Marcus began to write seriously in 1994, and his first book, Floodland, was published by Orion in 2000, and won the Branford-Boase award for best debut children's novel. Witch Hill followed in 2001, and was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award.

The Kiss of Death is published in paperback in April 2009, and picks up a thread from his highly acclaimed My Swordhand is Singing (winner of the 2007 Booktrust Teenage Book Award). In between came what Marcus calls “my big one - a project I've been working on for so long my head hurts.” – Blood Red Snow White, which was first published to considerable acclaim in 2007.

2009 saw Marcus turn his attention to books for younger readers with the launch of a humorous new series: The Raven Mysteries, narrated by a grumpy raven, Edgar. Titles are Flood and Fang, Ghosts and Gadgets and Lunatics and Luck.

In his spare time, he is also a stone carver and wood engraver and illustrates all his novels! Marcus lives in Sussex with his wife and his daughter, Alice. Finally Marcus is also a drummer, and at the moment he plays in two bands: visit www.garrett-music.tv, and www.internationalbandofmystery.com to find out more.

Q&A with Marcus Sedgwick

Many of your novels are inspired by history and by myth and legend - have these areas always been a fascination of yours since childhood and if so how did this passion come about?
Yes, I always loved myths and legends - I used to read and re-read two books from the library - one a big illustrated edition of Greek Myths and the other Old Peter's Russian Tales. I don't know why I was fascinated by these stories, but maybe simply because I find them to be more glamorous than contemporary stories...
 
Apart from writing what are your passions?
I love music, both listening to it and playing it (I'm a drummer). A day without music is not a proper day... I also love travel and try to travel as much as I can manage.

Where did the idea come from for The Raven Mysteries?
It was a single line, the first line in the book in fact. I'd had it for ages but didn't know where I was going to use it until the character of Edgar came along: "I suspect I may have fleas again".

The Raven Mysteries are full of humour and mad-cap action, which is quite different from your novels for older readers.  Was this a conscious decision of yours when setting out to write this series?
Absolutely, and it was great fun. After writing a few hardcore goth books, it was great to let my hair down with these stories. And it gave me fresh impetus to go back to the next YA novel, Revolver, with renewed determination to be gloomy!
 
Where and when do you write?
I write at the weekends, and mostly in the study in my loft, but also sometimes I travel to write - eg much of Revolver was written on trips to Sweden.
 
What age did you first start writing and when did you think that one day you'd write a novel that would actually be published?
I started to write as a teenager a bit, but properly when I was in my mid-twenties. It took a few years to think it might actually happen!
 
With both your publisher and author hat on, what advice can you give would-be children's authors in getting published?
The most important thing is to know your market! Who do you think your book is going to be read by? What else is out there that's like it? Are you writing something that will sell?
 
The historical context of most of your novels must mean a huge amount of research prior to writing each book.  What does this involve and how long does it take?
It varies from book to book but it's not a chore as I love to do research. It's easier than actually writing the things! For Revolver, the research spanned about 16 months, of little trips here and there and lots and lots of reading!

What was your inspiration for Revolver ?

Finding an empty shell casing on the pavement in St Petersburg. It was a long way from there to the finished book but that was the start of it.

What was your favourite book as a teenager?

Without question, the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake.

If you got into Doctor Who’s tardis, where (or when) would you go?
Great question, impossible to answer. So many amazing things to go and see – the building of the pyramids, a Viking boat putting out to sea, Man Utd winning the European Championship in 1968…

Who would you choose to be if you could be a celebrity for the day?

Matt Bellamy on any day with a gig.

If you were invisible for a day what would you do?

I’m invisible most days, so nothing much would change.
 
 10 things you didn't know about Marcus Sedgwick
 
1 - I have an embarrassing middle name, but I'm not going to tell you what it is
2 - I am learning Swedish
3 - As well as playing the drums, I play bass guitar
4 - My grandfather invented the hydraulic tipper truck
5 - I have a pet raven called Edgar, though he doesn’t say much, eat much, or indeed, move much. There’s a possibility that he’s stuffed, I guess.
6 - I’m extraordinarily sleepy right now.
7 - I represented England (Juniors) at Fencing.
8 - I totally love football.
9 - I'm allergic to red peppers
10 - I believe there is only one radio or TV station worth listening to: Radio 3.

Author photo © Kate Christer

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