Being a slightly different, forty-year-old version of my novel’s narrator – Zoofall – I've spent a large part of my life exploring other worlds. Accepted, grown-up methods such as reading, imagination, and research have naturally been used to reach these lesser-seen places, together with daydreaming, Lucid Dreaming, astral clairvoyance, and other ways of which I must not speak. With a keen interest in mythology, folklore, urban legends, and all things mystical, I've come to believe that there exists a grey area between fantasy and reality that, when properly and honestly tapped, embodies a familiar and long-forgotten essence of truth. In the end, our perspective is nothing more than the mirror and melting candles we hold.
Such a wonderful and endearing story, with so much wisdom embodied beneath its deceptively simple surface. It offers memorably sublime perspectives on love, loss, friendship, hope, and the human condition—to name just a few.
I reconnected with this beautiful classic after receiving it on my 18th birthday from my mother, who had read it to me when I was a young child. I climbed a tree and read the whole book in that one (elevated) sitting, returning to earth several hours later with the special kind of uplifting sadness which the book evokes. Aware that some people will never be scared of hats, nor hear the tinkling laughter of the stars. As Kahlil Gibran once wrote: "Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children."
Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as 'The Little Prince'. Richard Howard's new translation of the beloved classic-published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's birth-beautifully reflects Saint-Exupery's unique and gifted style. Howard, an acclaimed poet and one of the preeminent translators of our time, has excelled in bringing the English text as close as possible to the French, in language, style, and most important, spirit. The artwork in this new edition has been restored to match in detail and in colour Saint-Exupery's original artwork. By combining the new…
One of my favourite coming-of-age fantasy novels which, even many years later, remains so firmly imprinted in my mind. I remember having a bit of difficulty at the start (perhaps I was a little too young) but soon became utterly immersed in the magical world that Le Guin created, devouring the series with an ever-increasing wonder and obsession. There was a spiritual essence to Ged’s journey which I found incredibly powerful and moving, with mature ideas so elegantly and poetically expressed. A heartwarming tale, perfect for both children and adult readers alike.
The first book of Earthsea in a beautiful hardback edition. Complete the collection with The Tombs of Atuan, The Furthest Shore and Tehanu
With illustrations from Charles Vess
'[This] trilogy made me look at the world in a new way, imbued everything with a magic that was so much deeper than the magic I'd encountered before then. This was a magic of words, a magic of true speaking' Neil Gaiman
'Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it' David Mitchell
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.
So many reasons why this book made the list. The enchanting concept of a world where humans have their own personal daemons, souls that take on the form of an animal and accompany the person through their life, is just brilliant. Pullman’s epic trilogy is full of weird and wonderful creatures and characters, from warrior bears, to angels and witches. Aside from the grand adventures and mysteries, there are deeper philosophical, religious, and transformative ideas, which examine the relationship of the inner self to the outer world in an almost Jungian way. I absolutely loved the vast amount of mythology that is cleverly woven throughout the story. It pulls the reader into a fantastical yet realistically familiar realm from which—if they are anything like me—there seems neither a choice, nor wish, to turn away.
This special collection features all three titles in the award-winning trilogy: Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.
Northern Lights Lyra Belacqua lives half-wild and carefree among the scholars of Jordan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle - a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armoured bears.
The Subtle Knife Lyra finds herself in a shimmering, haunted otherworld - Cittagazze, where soul-eating Spectres stalk the streets…
Another great coming-of-age fantasy series which I could not put down as a young reader. The sequence has five books in total and completely swept me away. Well-paced and gripping, the stories focus heavily on a variety of Celtic and British myths and legends. This series has a timeless and classical feel, and Cooper’s storytelling is fantastic. I have a particular fondness for these stories as—shortly after finishing them—I was inspired to recreate my own story, along a similar vein. The only problem was I failed to explain to the other children that this was all just make-believe. One of the children was so terrified that, once their parents discovered what was going on, I ended up getting in quite a lot of trouble. Perhaps witnessing this powerful effect was partly responsible for fuelling my passion for storytelling.
On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift-- that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.
On the surface, Wyndham’s post-apocalyptic dystopian novel, might seem an odd choice for this list, but what it lacks in pure fantasy it more than makes up for with heart. The reader is lured into a strange and wild world in which even bizarre concepts appear both credible and familiar. In the wake of a devastating war from long ago, any mutation or deviation from the norm is feared as a sign of God’s wrath. Within this strictly religious community, where even the slightest physical deformity will lead to banishment or eradication, a small group of children are hiding a dangerous secret. The Chrysalids is a poignant and pertinent tale of friendship, courage, and the strength of unity through adversity. A beautiful reminder that although a difference can be targeted and seen as a dangerous ‘unknown’, sometimes it might be the very thing that provides hope and even saves us.
In the community of Waknut it is believed mutants are the products of the Devil and must be stamped out. When David befriends a girl with a slight abnormality, he begins to understand the nature of fear and oppression. When he develops his own deviation, he must learn to conceal his secret.
“What if our understanding of dreams is just a poor reflection of another place… a real place?” During a storm, a man who calls himself Zoofall has barricaded himself inside an attic. He has only seven candles worth of time to reveal his extraordinary secrets. How, when he was a boy, he discovered a wild other world, where Reality and Mythology meet, beyond the limits of Lucid Dreaming.
There he found a group of other young dreamers, and together they tried to unravel the terrifying mysteries of this dream world. He must finish his story before the candles run out, then face the nightmarish demons of his past, and the question which has haunted him for most of his life: “What really happened to Steggie Belle?”
I always want to be where I am not. This was why I read sci-fi and fantasy as a child. This was why I left the country of my birth and became a professional nomad. This is why I am spellbound by mountains I will never climb and oceans I will never dive into. Imagination can take you everywhere. It took me to the academy, where speculative literature became my scholarly field, and to the publishing world, where I am now getting ready for the launch of my eighth novel. When you are at home nowhere, you are at home everywhere–including on the summits of impossible mountains.
In Svetlana's country, it’s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invading army of wolf-headed men on their borders and the infectious, ever-evolving, zombie-like Enemy that plagues them at home. When Svetlana meets Andrei, a traumatized and amnesiac soldier from another war, she embarks on a harrowing journey of adventure and self-discovery that leads her to question everything she was taught to…
A voice through Svetlana's mirror guides her beloved MotherLand from behind its' electric tower. The war with Wulfstan is not going as well as Sveta and her parents hope, but Sveta trusts the Voice. When her best friend Tattie goes missing, and Sveta saves Andrei, a soldier in summer uniform in the dead of winter, it takes Sveta through a crucible of Light, doubt, and back to the altar of true belief. Girl of Light unravels Sveta's beloved MotherLand in a war-torn adventure through monsters, missing eyes and broken mirrors.
