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A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month September 2021 | September 2021 Book of the Month
Award-winning author Philip Reeve is gifted at creating alternative worlds which feel both comfortingly familiar and thrillingly new and original. The watery landscape of the Autumn Isles does just that providing the backdrop for a gutsy and gusty story of powerful old magic, new-fangled science and the perennial battle for the critical balance of power between land and the sea. It is the setting for a roller coaster of a story with the survival of orphaned Utterly Dark, one of the most charming and feisty young heroines, at its heart. Washed up on the shore of the Autumn Isles, Utterly is rescued and adopted by Andrew Dark, the Watcher of Wildsea, whose job it is to keep the islands safe from the many dangers forces that threaten the land, in particular, the terrifying Gorm, a fearful sea dwelling creature who threatens the life of the Islanders. When her guardian drowns in curious circumstances, Utterly must maintain the watch until a new Watcher arrives. But the new Watcher is sceptical of the old magic until his rash actions reveal the full power of the Gorm with almost fatal results. Can Utterly set the watery world of her home to rights?
Julia Eccleshare M.B.E
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Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep Synopsis
It was always at sundown they were seen. In that twilight hour, when the walls between the worlds grew thin, strange things might slip through the cracks. Sometimes then, so the stories went, enchanted islands would appear in the empty ocean to the west of Wildsea.
When Utterly Dark was a baby, she was washed up on the shores of the Autumn Isles and taken in by the Watcher of Wildsea. But everything changes when her guardian suddenly drowns. Now who will keep the Watch, and make sure Wildsea stays safe from the strange forces teeming in the deep ocean around them?
A magical new story from the bestselling and prize-winning author of Mortal Engines.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781788452373 |
| Publication date: |
2nd September 2021 |
| Author: |
Philip Reeve |
| Publisher: |
David Fickling Books |
| Format: |
Paperback |
| Pagination: |
278 pages |
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Philip Reeve Press Reviews
'Absolutely extraordinary writing, like Charles Dickens writing Ursula K Le Guin... I can't think of anyone who does worldbuilding the way Philip Reeve does.' Ross Montgomery, author of The Midnight Guardians
'An absorbing, brilliant book. A glorious read. I loved my journey to Wildsea.' Lisa Thompson, author of The Goldfish Boy
About Philip Reeve
Philip Reeve was our Guest Editor for June 2012. Click here to see his books and some that inspired him.
Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for years while also producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects. Philip then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons and jokes for around forty books, including the best-selling Scholastic series Horrible Histories, as well as Murderous Maths and Dead Famous. He's been writing stories since he was five, but Mortal Engines was the first to be published.
Mortal Engines defies easy categorisation. It is a gripping adventure story set in an inspired fantasy world, where moving cities trawl the globe. A magical and unique read, it immediately caught the attention of readers and reviewers and won several major awards. Three more Predator Cities novels followed, and Philip's latest project are the Fever Crumb books, prequels set centuries before the events of Mortal Engines. Philip has also written Buster Bayliss, a series for younger readers, and stand alone novels including Here Lies Arthur, which won the Carnegie Medal. Philip lives in Devon with his wife and son and his interests are walking, drawing, writing and reading. You can keep up with Philip here on Instagram @thesolitarybee
Photo © Sarah Reeve
Click here to see a Philip talking about his new adventure book, Oliver and the Seawigs, a collaboration with Sarah McIntyre.
Philip Reeve's fiction publisher, Marion Lloyd, describes his Predator Cities series:
“..inspiring adventure stories, in whose futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting, moving cities trawl the Earth. They attack and consume each other in wastelands where natural resources are scarce, and Ancient technology is fought for. Fast-paced, sometimes violent, always surprising and original, Reeve’s epic sequence of love, war and adventure are richly rewarding for both adults and children.”
Praise for Philip Reeve:
‘Conveys big truths while being witty and playful...clever and moving’ - The Sunday Times on Fever Crumb
‘Intelligent, funny and wise’ - Literary Review on Fever Crumb
‘I felt as if the pages themselves were charged with electricity... Fever Crumb is a terrific read, a sci-fi Dickens, full of orphans, villains, chases and mysteries’ - Frank Cottrell Boyce in The Guardian on Fever Crumb
‘Reeve drives his juggernaut of a talent through the streets of a mob-crazed futuristic London with Cecil B DeMille grandeur. Resent being suckered into sequels? Fever Crumb is a complete story – but it may prove addictive’ - Geraldine McCaughrean, Daily Telegraph on Fever Crumb
‘A bold, brightly honed narrative that grabs and holds the attention from the start’ -
Interzone on Fever Crumb
‘A masterpiece’ - Sunday Telegraph
‘Big, brave, brilliant’ - Guardian
‘A majestic achievement’ - Sunday Times
‘Mind bogglingly well-imagined’ - Independent
‘Marvellous… utterly captivating in its imaginative scope and energy’ - Daily Telegraph
‘Brilliant… an absorbing and emotionally engaging work’ - Amanda Craig, The Times
More About Philip Reeve
