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Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

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Impossible Creatures

Impossible Creatures (Related to this series)

Narrator
Samuel West
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date
14 September 2023
Run Time
8 hours 55 minutes
Format
Audiobook
Rating
5.0 (4 reviews)

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, read by Samuel West.

‘There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing.’ – Michael Morpurgo

* BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR * WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER * BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD WINNER * FOYLES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR * SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON KIDS AND YA BOOK OF THE YEAR

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began … The first novel in the award winning and globally best-selling Impossible Creatures series is the story of two children's epic adventure to transform the world.

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a Way-Between from our world to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it's too late.

* THE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN SEPTEMBER 2023

‘Full of adventures, wonderful side characters, new lands and so many fantastic creatures. I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages’ – Rick Riordan

‘A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight, and a world of richly imagined wonder’ – Cressida Cowell

‘Rundell’s first foray into fantasy is both a deft, rich homage to the greats of children’s literature and an absorbing, profoundly poignant quest story for those aged 9+ – quite possibly her best yet’ – The Guardian

‘A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle – a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime’ – Jacqueline Wilson

‘The world of this new book is so intriguing and so well put together that I couldn’t resist it. Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once’ - Philip Pullman

‘A masterpiece to rival Tolkien and Pullman’ – The Daily Telegraph

‘Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell’s best, which is something to be marvelled at’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave

‘Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth’ – Frank Cottrell-Boyce

‘Rundell's book packs a punch with imagination and creativity in its purest form. She has created a story with potential to be adored by fantasy lovers for years to come’ – The Independent

‘With a delightful cast of characters, breathless adventure, and an abundance of myth and magic, Impossible Creatures offers the very best of fantasy’ – Aisha Bushby

‘A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon’ – Sam Sedgman

‘A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller’ – Catherine Doyle

‘The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent’ – The Times

‘Surely the next classic’ – The I

Critics Review

  • There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing. This book is her best yet, and that's saying something. Just riveting, quite extraordinary.

    Michael Morpurgo

  • A marvellous imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle - a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime.

    Jacqueline Wilson

  • Katherine Rundell is a prodigiously gifted storyteller and IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES is wildly good. Spectacularly inventive, it is both a thrilling and page-turning epic and a clarion call to young readers to use the special gifts of childhood- love, courage, imagination and open-heartedness - to fight to save precious creatures of all kinds before they vanish before our eyes. My Book of the Year.

    Lauren St. John

  • Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell’s best, which is something to be marvelled at. It made me want to yell, or laugh, or bite something.

    Kiran Millwood Hargrave

See more reviews
  • A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller.

    Catherine Doyle

  • A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon

    Sam Sedgman

  • One of our most talented writers for children

    Observer

  • A menagerie of delights. So packed with magic you'll want to take notes. Impossible Creatures is a world you'll want to move into.

    Patrick Ness

  • Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth.

    Frank Cottrell-Boyce

  • Flickers with a rare and fierce beauty – unputdownable.

    Abi Elphinstone

  • Katherine Rundell's books are an automatic purchase in my house. She is a magician, one of the great storytellers of our time.

    Max Porter

  • One of our imaginers-in-chief. I am a Rundell super-fan

    Jeanette Winterson

User Reviews

Book 5.0

Narration 5.0

  • 5.0 5.0

    Beyond compare..
    The best audiobook I have, and I have nearly a thousand (apple+google+audible+xigxag etc). This book has a satisfying array of characters, clearly described & a plot that is well balanced in every aspect. 'Can't wait for the next one.

    jxdavies 2025-01-17
  • 5.0 5.0

    So so very beautiful, heartwarming and heartbreakingly beautiful

    sarahlov@ 2024-02-15

Details

Author
Katherine Rundell
Narrator
Samuel West
Duration
8 hours 55 minutes
Release Date
14 September 2023
ISBN
9781526661593
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre
Children’s / Teenage fiction: Fantasy, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Supernatural and mythological creatures, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Friends and friendships
Rating
5.0(4 reviews)
Narration
5.0(4 reviews)

Synopsis

Bloomsbury presents Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, read by Samuel West.‘There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell. Wondrous invention, marvellous writing.’ – Michael Morpurgo* BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR * WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER * BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS' AWARD WINNER * FOYLES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR * SHORTLISTED FOR AMAZON KIDS AND YA BOOK OF THE YEARThere’s a place where all the wildest stories began … The first novel in the award winning and globally best-selling Impossible Creatures series is the story of two children's epic adventure to transform the world. Christopher is stunned when he discovers a Way-Between from our world to the Archipelago: a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures of myth still live and breed and thrive in their thousands. There he meets Mal: a girl from the islands, who is in possession of a flying coat and a baby griffin, and who is being pursued by a killer. Together they embark on an urgent quest to discover why the creatures are suddenly perishing, voyaging across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, in a bid to save both the islands and the world beyond them from a rising evil – before it's too late.* THE TIMES CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * THE DAILY TELEGRAPH CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE WEEK * SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN SEPTEMBER 2023‘Full of adventures, wonderful side characters, new lands and so many fantastic creatures. I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages’ – Rick Riordan‘A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight, and a world of richly imagined wonder’ – Cressida Cowell‘Rundell’s first foray into fantasy is both a deft, rich homage to the greats of children’s literature and an absorbing, profoundly poignant quest story for those aged 9+ – quite possibly her best yet’ – The Guardian‘A marvellous, imaginative fantasy told with great style and sparkle – a book to race through in a day and keep for a lifetime’ – Jacqueline Wilson ‘The world of this new book is so intriguing and so well put together that I couldn’t resist it. Readers who already know her books will seize this with delight, and new readers will love it and demand all her others at once’ - Philip Pullman‘A masterpiece to rival Tolkien and Pullman’ – The Daily Telegraph ‘Fantastically exuberant, wildly imaginative, impossibly brilliant. Rundell’s best, which is something to be marvelled at’ – Kiran Millwood Hargrave ‘Between the covers of Impossible Creatures is a world as enchanting, as perilous, as richly imagined as Narnia or Middle Earth’ – Frank Cottrell-Boyce ‘Rundell's book packs a punch with imagination and creativity in its purest form. She has created a story with potential to be adored by fantasy lovers for years to come’ – The Independent ‘With a delightful cast of characters, breathless adventure, and an abundance of myth and magic, Impossible Creatures offers the very best of fantasy’ – Aisha Bushby ‘A fierce, fantastic, wild-hearted adventure that roars and bristles with imagination. I devoured it like a hungry dragon’ – Sam Sedgman ‘A rare and remarkable feat of glittering imagination from a truly masterful storyteller’ – Catherine Doyle ‘The action is gripping. Every sentence sparkles. You can feel the flutter of griffin feathers and the menace of strange poisonous shrews. Magnificent’ – The Times ‘Surely the next classic’ – The I

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