Paperback

The Last Ember (The Aerimander Chronicles, Book 1)

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Aerimanders are extinct.

Or so the government would have you think, having centuries earlier destroyed the last of these deadly, dragon-like creatures.

So when wealthy twelve-year-old chemistry student Eva Alexander unwittingly purchases an aerimander egg, she becomes the target of the Thieves’ Union and its newest member, thirteen-year-old orphan Dusty St. Ichabod.

But Eva is no easy mark, and soon she and Dusty are driven into a maze of sinister threats, betrayals and surprises – all while fighting to keep the egg away from power-hungry hands.

As the unlikely duo races against time, their fates – and that of the whole world – are at stake. Because there’s one question no one dares to ask: What happens when the egg hatches?

Impossible Creatures meets The Mysterious Benedict Society in this epic, fast-paced upper-middle grade fantasy full of majestic creatures, heroic hijinks, battle-forged friendships, and sharp humour.

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Format

Paperback

Publisher

Hardie Grant Children's Publishing

Country

Australia

Date

28 October 2025

Pages

352

ISBN

9781761217234

Aerimanders are extinct.

Or so the government would have you think, having centuries earlier destroyed the last of these deadly, dragon-like creatures.

But Eva is no easy mark, and soon she and Dusty are driven into a maze of sinister threats, betrayals and surprises – all while fighting to keep the egg away from power-hungry hands.

As the unlikely duo races against time, their fates – and that of the whole world – are at stake. Because there’s one question no one dares to ask: What happens when the egg hatches?

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Hardie Grant Children's Publishing

Country

Australia

Date

28 October 2025

Pages

352

ISBN

9781761217234

Book Review

The Last Ember (The Aerimander Chronicles, Book 1)
by Lily Berlin Dodd

by Katey Bellew, Nov 2025

Aerimanders are extinct. The dragon-like creatures have been gone so long their existence is almost more myth than memory. That is, until Eva Alexander, a 12-year-old student at the exclusive Young Ladies’ Royal Academy for Science and Mathematics, accidentally walks out of a jewellery shop with a mysterious silver egg.

Suddenly, Eva’s privileged life is turned upside down when everyone from secret government agents to organised crime syndicates discover her secret. The hijinks escalate when Eva and her egg are kidnapped by Dusty, an orphaned milk-boy by day, newly initiated member of the underground Union of Thieves by night. All the while, clever Eva is herself scheming to take advantage of her precarious predicament.

But what does everyone want with this egg? Is the baby aerimander within an endangered creature worthy of protection, or a weapon of war waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting citizens? Murky motivations, class divides and government conspiracies abound in this chaotic cat-and-mouse adventure across the kingdom!

Dark, funny, intricate, and exciting, this fast-paced action fantasy debut will thrill upper-middle grade readers who love their stakes high and their humour sharp. Recommended for readers aged 10+.