Impossible Creatures: The Neverfear

LoveReading4Kids Says

September 2026 Book of the Month

The highly anticipated, triumphant third instalment of the incredible magical fantasy series, which has justifiably been compared with Pullman, C. S. Lewis, Tolkien and J K Rowling, gives readers both a breathtaking adventure and a deeper and highly satisfying insight into the enthralling world of the Glimouria Archipelago and the characters and creatures we meet there.

While, inevitably, if you have read the previous two books you will get a deeper and richer reading experience, it is still perfectly possible to read The Neverfear as a stand-alone adventure and to be entirely gripped from the first page. It is becoming clear that each volume will be a self-contained episode rather than a plot driven continuation of a series where it is essential to know what has gone before. We can have the delight of observing the growth and development of the characters and learning more about the world of the Archipelago each time. I have no doubt at all that there is an overarching narrative progression, and we will come to understand the full significance of events and story elements as it all skilfully comes together. We are safely in the hands of a masterful storyteller!

Christopher, who discovered the Archipelago and his role as a Guardian in book one and Anya, the princess we met in book two, have been living with Nighthand the Berserker and Irian the Naiad on the island of Glimt, looking after magical creatures too young or too old to care for themselves. He has always had an affinity for animals, but we have an exciting and significant development revealed as the story opens with the dramatic birth of a unicorn. This triggers an intense mental bond manifesting as a green and golden light enabling him to communicate with the creatures he touches. Initially overwhelming, painful and literally sickening to Christopher, this ability will prove invaluable in meeting the challenges ahead. The Midsummer feasting on Glimt is disturbed by news of a terrible events across the Archipelago and the infant Immortal, on whom the safety of the Archipelago will depend, is entrusted to Nighthand’s guardianship on Glimt, while Irian sets out to join a Senate meeting to discuss the attacks. Christopher, Anya and their loyal companions Ratwin, the ratatoska, and Jacques, the Jaculus dragon accompany her on Nighthand’s ship The Neverfear. Tragedy strikes when their beloved Irian is kidnapped and the ransom note issues them with a seemingly impossible mission and a dire threat: they must complete three Herculean tasks and tell no-one of their mission, or the one they love will die. So begins the most perilous and nail bitingly tense race against time for the courageous quartet, unknowingly manipulated by a deeply ruthless villain, where their resilience, courage and loyalty will be severely tested, but where the power of selfless love and sacrifice can triumph.

Yet again Katherine Rundell has gifted us a story which you race through, absolutely desperate to know what happens next, but also one where you can be stopped in your tracks by the sheer beauty of the language, thought-provoking themes and choice nuggets of wit and wisdom. This is what lifts these hugely enjoyable novels into the realms of classic status and head and shoulders above standard fantasy fare. Writing of this quality is an absolute joy to read aloud in classrooms or at bedtime and will keep both adults and children equally enthralled. This powerfully imagined and vividly created world is one that I and countless others will be impatiently waiting to visit again.

Joy Court

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