The Fall

First of a thrilling fantasy adventure series set on the Dark World, where society is ranked according to its colour clan and the most precious commodity is light. In all the world there is only one place that ever sees the sun. A seven-towered castle built upon a mountain high above the desolate ice lands below. Tal is getting ready for the Day of Ascension -- a day when all the 13-year-old Chosen from the Castle of Seven Towers enter the spirit world of Aenir. Then his father disappears with the family's Primary Sunstone. Without it, Tal cannot enter Aenir and bind himself to a Spiritshadow -- a guardian being, both protector and friend. Tal tries to steal a Sunstone, but during his act of thievery is thrown off the Castle of Seven Towers by a powerful Spiritshadow Keeper. He falls down to the iceworld below, where he is captured by Icecarls. To save his life, he must team up with Milla -- a Shield-Maiden-in-training -- and offer his aid to the nomads. Which complicates his task immeasurably!

Tal, a Chosen of the Orange Order, is having the worst luck lately. Just when he is getting ready for the Day of Ascension--a day when all the 13-year-old Chosen from the Castle of Seven Towers enter the spirit world of Aenir--his father disappears with the family's only primary Sunstone, which Tal needs for the ascension. Without it, he cannot enter Aenir and bind himself to a Shadowspirit--a kind of guardian being that serves as a friend and protector to the person it is bound to. And without a Shadowspirit, Tal will lose both his Chosen status and any hope of finding a cure for his mother's mysterious wasting illness, a cure that can only come from Aenir. Tal tries to beg, borrow, and even steal a Sunstone. But his attempts fail, and in his final act of thievery, Tal is thrown off the Castle of Seven Towers by a powerful Shadowspirit Keeper and into an adventure beyond his imagining.

Australian fantasy author Garth Nix (well known for his novels Sabriel and Shade's Children, both ALA list picks) has joined with Lucasfilm to launch a six-book fantasy series about Tal's world, of which The Fall is the first installment. Packed with excitement and wonderfully weird creatures like the living sea of Selski and the hungry, one-horned Merwin, Nix's latest tale will enchant readers. Containing elements of The Golden Compass and the Harry Potter books, The Seventh Tower is an epic fantasy not to be missed. (Ages 11 to 14) --Jennifer Hubert