Impossible Creatures

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell is a spellbinding work of fantasy that transports readers to the magical Archipelago, a cluster of islands where mythical creatures freely roam. Christopher, a young boy living an ordinary life, stumbles upon a hidden passage to this enchanted realm. His world turns upside down as he becomes intertwined with the inhabitants of the Archipelago, particularly with a feisty island girl named Mal. Mal, who carries a flying coat and a baby griffin, is cornered by danger as she and Christopher team up on a quest across the islands. They must unravel the mystery behind the imminent threat causing magical creatures to perish, venturing through landscapes where sphinxes conceal secrets and centaurs pose a deadly menace. Their mission is urgent: they must save the Archipelago and, potentially, the entire world from a rising threat before it is too late.

"There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing." – Michael Morpurgo

"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 *

From Katherine Rundell, the celebrated author and winner of awards including the Costa Children's Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award, and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, Impossible Creatures is the first novel in a landmark trilogy for fans of His Dark Materials aged 9 and above.

"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 Bushby

"A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon" – Sam Sedgman

"A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller" – Catherine Doyle

"The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent" – The Times

"Surely the next classic" – The I

"My Book of the Year" – Lauren St. John