Stormchaser (Edge Chronicles) - Hardcover

Stewart, Paul; Riddell, Chris

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385750706 ISBN 13: 9780385750707

Publisher: David Fickling Books, 2004

Synopsis

Twig, now a crew member on his father's sky pirate ship, must fly into the heart of a Great Storm to save the floating city of Sanctaphrax from disaster.

About this title

Review:

This second book of The Edge Chronicles tells a new, self-contained story independent of, although rooted in, the exuberant fantasy bestiary and travelogue of Beyond the Deepwoods.

Young hero Twig is now reunited with his sky-pirate father as the lowliest crew-member of the flying sailship Stormchaser. In the fanciful physics operating at the edge of the world some stones can defy gravity, like the flight-rock that lifts Stormchaser. Thus the academic community of Sanctaphrax is built on a floating mountain chained to the ground of Undertown below.

Thanks to a tortuous history of corruption in high places the demand for chain-manufacture is forever increasing, leading to massive industrial pollution--because Sanctaphrax's precious, magically superheavy "stormphrax" ballast is gradually being stolen for alchemical use, and Stormchaser undertakes the dangerous mission to find new supplies at the deadly core of a Great Storm. But nothing, absolutely nothing, works out as expected in this madly twisting plot.

Twig's companions are beset by spies, traitors, memorable villains and the living dead and there are perhaps more deaths than might be expected in a "children's" novel, but Stewart's compulsive storytelling, perfectly complemented by Riddell's fine-lined illustrations, makes it all goodstuff. --David Langford

Review:

"Chris Riddell's superb illustrations are part and parcel of Paul Stewart's excellent fantasy series, The Edge Chronicles. The second, Stormchaser, is as action-packed as its predecessor" (Guardian)

"For children who've read the Harry Potter books and want another world to explore . . . Fantasy and adventure and wonderful line drawings" (Mail on Sunday)

"The structure of the plot is as delicately poised as a sky-floating rock and the exuberant detail gives constant delight. This is more than a read; it kidnaps and transports the reader" (The School Librarian)

About this edition

• Publisher: David Fickling Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0385750706
• ISBN 13: 9780385750707
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384