The Shadow of Malabron: The Perilous Realm: Book One - Hardcover

Wharton, Thomas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763639117 ISBN 13: 9780763639112

Publisher: Candlewick, 2009

Synopsis

A rich, absorbing fantasy follows a rebellious teen on his journey through the Perilous Realm, where dreams, fairy tales, and reality intersect.

When Will crashes his father’s motorcycle and stumbles into the Perilous Realm, all he wants is to find his way back to the world he knows. But he cannot get back the way he came, and as he soon discovers, his story is bound up with this mysterious land and with the very fabric of Story itself. Will is befriended by many strange people and creatures — including Rowen, a girl with a special destiny of her own, and Shade, an unusual wolf — but he is also pursued by dark forces under the control of Malabron, otherwise known as the Night King, the Master of Fetches, and the Storyeater. As Will’s path crosses those of the inhabitants — both innocent and malevolent — of this strange new world, his choices will determine not only his own fate, but that of his new friends in the Perilous Realm.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas Wharton is an award-winning writer whose work for adults has been translated into several languages. An assistant professor of English at the University of Alberta, he lives in Edmonton, Canada.

From Booklist:

While on the way to a new home with his sister and father, teenager Will spots a roadside advertisement for an amusement park called the Perilous Realm. His father refuses to stop, so at the first opportunity, Will takes off on his dad’s motorbike, only to wreck it fleeing from the police. He finds himself in the actual Perilous Realm—not a park but a “shifting place that endlessly reshapes itself, like stories in the retelling.” Will’s search for the park exit leads him to warm traveling companions (including the forest- and lore-savvy girl, Rowen) but also into greater danger and adventure than he could ever imagine. Wharton’s created world has plentiful references to classic fairy tales alongside his own imaginative touches, which draw readers in from the first encounter between good and evil. In addition, he has created a heroine whose story is every bit as rich as the hero’s. This first book in the projected Perilous Realm trilogy is satisfying high fantasy—a well-constructed quest in the style of Tolkien and Pullman, but also accessible to younger readers. Grades 5-8. --Cindy Welch

About this edition

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0763639117
• ISBN 13: 9780763639112
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400