Riverkeep

Author: Stewart, Martin

Number Of Pages: 416

Details:

A stunning debut perfect for fans of Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman! The Danék is a wild, treacherous river, and the Fobisher family has tended it for generations—clearing it of ice and weed, making sure boats can get through, and fishing corpses from its bleak depths. Wulliam’s father, the current Riverkeep, is proud of this work. Wull dreads it. And in one week, when he comes of age, he will have to take over.             Then the unthinkable happens. While recovering a drowned man, Wull’s father is pulled under—and when he emerges, he is no longer himself. A dark spirit possesses him, devouring him from the inside. In an instant, Wull is Riverkeep. And he must care for his father, too.             When he hears that a cure for his father lurks in the belly of a great sea-dwelling beast known as the mormorach, he embarks on an epic journey down the river that his family has so long protected—but never explored. Along the way, he faces death in any number of ways, meets people and creatures touched by magic and madness and alchemy, and finds courage he never knew he possessed.             Martin Stewart's debut novel is an astonishing blend of the literary, the comedic, and the emotionally resonant. In a sentence, it's The Wizard of Oz as told by Patrick Ness. It marks the beginning of a remarkable career. From School Library Journal Gr 6–10—Wull is approaching his 16th birthday, the date on which he will take over the grim, hereditary position of Riverkeep from his father. When Wull's father is possessed by a demon that will consume him from the inside out, the only way to save him is to journey to the mouth of the river to slay the Mormorach, a sea monster with healing properties. Along the way, Wull collects a motley assortment of traveling companions: Homunculus Tillinghast, stowaway Mix, Remedie Cantrell and her resurrected wooden baby, and Rushworth the Bootmunch. Some very bad men are chasing Tillinghast, who has stolen a valuable mandrake for reasons of his own, and everyone is trying to slay the Mormorach while Capt. Gilt Murdagh looks on, learning from every failed attempt. With a humorous, light touch and an excellent feel for dialogue, Stewart has created a first-rate fantasy. Unfortunately, in order for the plot to work, the river has to flow both ways, an impossible feat in a world where magic doesn't govern river current. While casual readers won't notice, fantasy lovers, the title's target audience, will. Tillinghast's ribald wit will go over the heads of younger readers and guarantees the comedic elements of the book will be best appreciated in the teen section. VERDICT Otherwise excellently written quest fantasy, marred by a significant world-building error. In spite of this, an author to watch.—Kristin Anderson, Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH

Reviews:

- A  Kirkus 

Reviews:

s Best Book of the Year 2016 - A  Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Flying Start - A BCCB 2016 Blue Ribbons pick

“[Stewart’s] descriptions of Wull’s world gripped in winter are brutal and beautiful, his monsters are terrifyingly plausible, and there are striking moments.” 

— The New York Times Book Review

★ 

"Stewart shows a dab hand at crafting memorable characters and thoroughly frightening opponents for them to face . . . A rich debut: Huck Finn meets Moby-Dick." 

— Kirkus Reviews,

starred review ★ 

"Filled with wild adventure and hilarious dialogue . . . this vivid, engrossing fantasy will delight readers." 

— Publishers Weekly,

starred review ★ 

"There isn’t a single forgettable person, monster, or creature in the whole adventure; it’s impossible to not be deeply invested in all of their successes. This is a rare work that feels like a sophisticated, gritty folktale, full of impossibilities and dramatic tension, and it is both hilarious and tragic in equal measure." 

— BCCB, 

starred review

"A unique and distinctive fantasy world, ably conveyed through very readable dialect and buoyed by near-constant act...

EAN: 9781101998298

Release Date: 26-07-2016

Languages: English

Item Condition: New

Binding: Hardcover