Authors – Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
Pages – 370
Publishing Information – Doubleday Children’s Books, September 2001
Blurb
Fourteen-year-old Quint Verginix is the only remaining son of famous sky-pirate Wind Jackal. He and his father have journeyed to the city of Sanctaphrax – a great floating rock, bound to the ground below by a chain, its inhabitants living with their heads literally in the clouds.
But the city hides a dangerous secret: deep inside the great rock, something horrible lurks. With his father away, Quint may be the only one who can save Sanctaphrax from the dreaded curse of the gloamglozer . . .
Review
A really fun, nostalgic comfort read!
One of my favourite books as a child was Beyond the Deepwoods and I was delighted to find my original copy at my parents house along with some other Edge Chronicles Books. I’ve since found or re-bought the first 8 books of this series and decided to do a re-read, some almost 25 years later (yes I now feel incredibly old!)
The Curse of the Gloamglozer isn’t the first published book in the series, but it is the first chronologically and is now the book the authors recommend starting with, which is what I’ve done.
I couldn’t remember much at all of the story, but I am no less amazed at Chris Riddell’s magical illustrations which I have always adored. In fact he’s probably my favourite ever fantasy artist (probably why I haven’t bought any of the books in physical copies that don’t feature his work on the cover). I was instantly taken back to Paul Stewart’s flowing writing style that sucked me in so much as a kid and provided such a great dose of escapism.
One thing I remember about these books is that they were surprisingly dark and creepy in some ways and I actually still found them the same; the Gloamglozer is a really sinister character! I would actually credit this series for probably starting me off prepared for some darker fantasy.
The story follows Quint, a teenager with a well known sky pirate father, Wind Jackal. Quint has agreed to stay to study at Sanctaphrax, a city on a huge rock, with eerie caverns within its stone belly.
The book is part mystery and part adventure, with some lovely world building which was my favourite aspect. I love that these books don’t feature magic as such, but do feature fantastical creatures and geography and that’s where this series version of magic comes from.
Being an adult reader, I now would look for more in depth world building and was surprised how short I found it, given I remember it being such an epic when I was younger. It’s perfectly enjoyable and brilliant for adult readers though and I had a great time. Partly through nostalgia but I genuinely enjoyed the story and loved the illustrations, fantastic world building and the general vibe of the world and setting. I had a lot of fun and I’m glad I decided to pick this series back up. I partly listened to this on audio which is free on Spotify premium, and I thought the narration was absolutely fantastic.
Read it and see what you think!
Spells and Spaceships 