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The dragons call out, and the ratatoskas tell of murder. Come with us now. There is justice to be done.
Return to the magic of the Archipelago... The Poisoned King is the dazzling second book in Katherine Rundell's epic and bestselling Impossible Creatures series.
When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon's lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice...
The unmissable sequel to Impossible Creatures, WINNER of the Waterstones Book of the Year, British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, Foyles Children's Book of the Year and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award
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The dragons call out, and the ratatoskas tell of murder. Come with us now. There is justice to be done.
Return to the magic of the Archipelago... The Poisoned King is the dazzling second book in Katherine Rundell's epic and bestselling Impossible Creatures series.
When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon's lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice...
The unmissable sequel to Impossible Creatures, WINNER of the Waterstones Book of the Year, British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, Foyles Children's Book of the Year and the Books Are My Bag Readers Award
All of Katherine Rundell’s books for young readers are excellent, but she is doing something truly special with Impossible Creatures. The Poisoned King is the second book in what is set to be a five-part series.
In Book 2, Christopher returns to the Archipelago, a hidden place of islands filled with creatures drawn from mythology. The dragons are dying for unknown reasons, and a princess needs help after the suspicious poisoning of her grandfather and threats to her life.
The Poisoned King addresses the hoarding of wealth as a malignant pursuit and extinction is the big theme of the series. Rundell understands that the natural world is at risk, and so too is our great history of ideas and knowledge. The action is immediate, and intrigue stabs each page. Rundell pays great attention to the senses and writes fantasy that feels close enough to taste. With magnificent sophistication she has again packed so much into a slim, graspable book.
I recently read Super-Infinite, Rundell’s Baille-Gifford Prize-winning biography of John Donne. I found in her enthusiasm for the poet a perfect description of something I understood while reading Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King: ‘He remained steadfast in his belief that we humans are at once a catastrophe and a miracle’. For ages 9+.
See what the Readings’ team have to say on the blog, discover related events and podcast episodes.
Katherine Rundell is a bestselling British author whose novels for children have won numerous prizes. Discover her imaginative worlds with the beloved Impossible Creatures series!