Simply Sensational: Read our Review of Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell

It was a very fine day, until something tried to eat him.

A boy called Christopher is visiting his reclusive grandfather when he witnesses an avalanche of mythical creatures come tearing down the hill. This is how Christopher learns that his grandfather is the guardian of one of the ways between the non-magical world and a place called the Archipelago, a cluster of magical islands where all the creatures we tell of in myth live and breed and thrive alongside humans. They have been protected from being discovered for thousands of years; now, terrifyingly, the protection has worn thin, and creatures are breaking through.

Then a girl, Mal, appears in Christopher’s world. She is in possession of a flying coat, is being pursued by a killer and is herself in pursuit of a baby griffin. Mal, Christopher and the griffin embark on an urgent quest across the wild splendour of the Archipelago, where sphinxes hold secrets and centaurs do murder, to find the truth – with unimaginable consequences for both their worlds. Together the two must face the problem of power, and of knowledge, and of what love demands of us.

Katherine Rundell is the author of over a dozen books, including Rooftoppers and The Explorer, and is the winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize.

Impossible Creatures is the first novel in a landmark trilogy for fans of His Dark Materials and the Narnia series. And this comparison is not given lightly – Rundell creates worlds that are right up there alongside the greatest classic fantasy tales, and she’s firmly established herself as this generation’s leading fantasy author.

Christopher and Mal are excellent protagonists, combining human foibles and magical abilities to be one of the most dynamic duos I’ve read for some time. Kind-hearted Christopher was particularly compelling, with his affinity for creatures of our world extending to those from the Archipelago.

I’m reluctant to categorise this mesmerising novel for children, because it really will captivate adults as well. However, there is a darkness to it that, for particularly sensitive kids, might be best shared through an out loud bedtime story.

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began … We can safely say that one of those places is the imagination of Katherine Rundell. She is a masterful storyteller, and Impossible Creatures is simply sensational. Advised for readers aged 9+.

Buy a copy of Impossible Creatures here.