Geraldine McCaughrean is a genius in her ability to draw the reader in to a part of history that might not immediately spring to mind as being of interest and yet she makes you hungry for more. Here, she draws upon a violent period of India’s history and inter plays that history with a wonderful friendship that develops despite horrific dangers. The characters are brilliantly drawn and the sights and smells of time and place are so well described you feel you are there, on the battlefield, on the plains and in the cities. It’s something entirely different from McCaughrean’s most recent novel, the sequel to Peter Pan but it is equally compelling.
Rusti is a Mongol warrior, fighting for the bloodthirsty Tamburlaine, Conqueror of the World. He intends to show the enemy neither fear nor mercy... until he comes face-to-face with his first elephant. Kavi is the elephant's rider. Captured by the terrifying Mongol Horde, he fears for his life. But the boy who takes him prisoner does not kill him. And soon it seems they might almost become friends. Then Rusti uncovers a terrible secret, and the unlikeliest of friendships is put to the ultimate test. A breathtaking tale of friendship, destiny and revenge set in the war-ravaged lands of fourteenth-century India. "e;Geraldine McCaughrean is an awe-inspiring writer with a miraculous talent for bringing to life past times and faraway lands."e; - The Sunday Telegraph Nominated - CILIP Carnegie MedalShortlisted - UK Literary Association Children's Book Award
‘Her artistry with language is remarkable, her descriptions so immediate they occasionally leave one gasping’. The Guardian
‘One of the greatest living children’s authors’. The Bookseller
‘One of our most versatile and contemporary children’s writers’ Times Educational Supplement
‘She has the gift of making remote times and places unfold before the reader’s very eyes…what a novelist’ The Independent
Author
About Geraldine McCaughrean
Geraldine McCaughrean is one of today's most successful and highly regarded children's authors. She has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Book Award (three times), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Smarties Bronze Award (four times) and the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award. Geraldine lives in Berkshire with her husband, daughter and golden retriever, Daisy.Read more about the author here.
'I reckon Geraldine McCaughrean knocks the socks off every other children's writer today. Everything she does is different and everything works – look at her list of prizes. She must write in tremendous bursts. Some years, she's so prolific the rest of us start joking that the fairies come in at night to do her work for her. Then she'll go quiet, so unlike all those writers who are persuaded by their publishers to come up with something every year, no matter how tired or drab. If Geraldine has nothing fresh to write, she doesn't write it.' (The Guardian)
