gr8 txts: fantasy

Here are our librarians' picks:

Time Quake

Linda Buckley-Archer

Peter and Kate have been mistakenly transported to the 18th century by a time machine which is then stolen from them.  When Lord Luxton discovers that he can move back and forth in history with it he loses no time in turning such travel to his advantage in amassing a fortune but in the process sets off a ‘Time Quake’. When he arrives in America in time to change the outcome of the War of Independence it seems that the entire course of world history is at his mercy unless Peter and Kate can do something quickly. Final title in the trilogy.

9781416917120 Simon & Schuster, 2009

The Demon’s Lexicon

Sarah Brennan

Nick and Alan are two teenage boys who are on the run. Many years ago their mother stole a powerful amulet from a magician, and since then the magician and his demons have been pursuing them. One of the demons manages to give Alan a death mark. To save him, Nick is forced to turn and confront his enemies and in doing so discovers that all he believed about his past may not actually be true. This is a big fantasy novel which is strong on character and relationships and promises to be the first in a trilogy

9781847382894 Simon & Schuster, 2009

Devil’s Kiss

Sarwat Chadda

Billi is the only female Knights Templar as her father is their leader. He was wrongly accused of murdering her mother. When the real murderer plots to murder all firstborn children, what can Billi do against the Angel of Death? A thrilling page turner.

9780141325873 Puffin, 2009

Flood Child

Emily Diamond

Lilly is a feisty girl living in 23rd^rd century Britain, a land that is mostly underwater. When marauding reavers kidnap the Prime Minister’s daughter and Lilly’s village is blamed she sets off to get the girl back, taking with her a talking jewel that is the reavers’ ransom. This prizewinning story was originally published as The reavers’ ransom.

9781906427429 Chicken House, 2009

The Set-Up

Sophie McKenzie

Teenager Nico is shocked to realise he has psychic abilities but when he discovers that he is part of a group of young people who were implanted with the Medusa gene as babies he is compelled to discover by whom and to what purpose. Can he turn this astonishing ability to his own advantage? The first book in ‘The Medusa Project’ series.

9781847385253 Simon & Schuster, 2009

Fever Crumb

Philip Reeve

Set centuries before the events of the Mortal Engines’ books but the latest in the series. The huge armoured fortresses are a new enemy and an orphan called Fever Crumb has the secret to save London from a terrible destruction. A spellbinding adventure

9781407102429 Scholastic, 2009

Lockdown

Alexander Gordon Smith

Framed for a murder he did not commit, Alex is sent to Furnace, a truly terrifying prison for young offenders where the inmates are as dangerous as the guards, where devil dogs stalk the corridors and where children are randomly selected to become one of the warden’s horrific experiments. Alex is determined to escape, but can he do so before he falls foul of the regime? And can he discover why he was framed? An exciting, gritty story and the first in a series.

9780571240807 Faber and Faber, 2009

Numbers

Rachel Ward

Jem has a secret. When her eyes meet someone else’s, she can foresee the date on which that person will die. Troubled Jem is friends with fellow outsider Spider, the only other person who really understands her. Something terrible happens on a fateful day trip to London and they find themselves fleeing for their lives, two of the most wanted people in the country. Unexpected, original and life affirming.

9781905294930 Chicken House, 2009

Malice

Chris Wooding

Malice is a comic that swallows its readers, who then become part of the story about the nightmare world within ruled over by Tall Jake. To Seth and Kady this sounds ridiculous, but then their friend Seth disappears, leaving only an inky handprint behind him. Seth and Kady realise that the only way to get him back will be to enter Malice themselves and confront Tall Jake. This is told partly as a novel and partly as a comic.

9781407103945 Scholastic, 2009