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Impossible Creatures

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Impossible Creatures

By: Katherine Rundell
Narrated by: Samuel West
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About this listen

 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

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

* 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

* 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

There’s a place where all the wildest stories began … From Katherine Rundell, winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize comes the first novel in a landmark trilogy for 9+ fans of His Dark Materials

Christopher is stunned when he discovers a passage 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.

'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

‘An exhilarating, many-hued adventure, heartfelt and sometimes heartbreaking’ – Frances Hardinge

'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

'My Book of the Year' – Lauren St. John©2023 Katherine Rundell (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Fantasy Fiction Growing Up Growing Up & Facts of Life Science Fiction & Fantasy Mythology Friendship Magic

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All stars
Most relevant  
This is a tender and brilliant book. We (9 yr old son and mum) cried and laughed and felt like we never wanted to leave the Archipelago. We’re about to devour all of Katherine’s other books…what a phenomenal writer! Sam West’s reading gave us chills. It was all so so good. Would heartily recommend.

One of the best books we’ve ever heard

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Holds you from the first page. Incredible story telling, up there with c.s. Lewis and Phillip Pullman.

An instant classic

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voice was a bit grating at times! and lots of Phillip pulling parallels, bit an engaging listen which kept us interested!

magical tales of wonder

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Written similar to Pullman, felt reentering some sort of HDM world. However sometimes it felt the characters where being completely ripped of from Pullman. But definitely worth a read.

Similar to Pullman in both good and bad ways.

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Amazing range of character voices brought the story to life. I simply devoured this audiobook and looking forward to the authors next book.

Superb performance on exciting original story

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It’s very interesting how it’s kind of like a myth fact book and a story

I love all the acting and the story is very very gripping

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I laughed, gasped and cried at the same time. Wow what a book, Definitely recommended

Wow

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I really enjoyed this story. It would be a perfect read for a younger person, a perfect first novel. As an adult I felt the story lacked a little depth and would have loved to explore more themes. Overall, I enjoyed it and will probably continue the series.

A beautiful children's story

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I bought this in a sale because I love Samuel West as an actor and narrator. He didn’t disappoint. I might have missed bits of the story I was so enthralled. Made me wish I was sixty years younger and my son back to childhood as he would’ve loved this. I needed something light and easy after a traumatic book but although this certainly isn’t that it’s a beautiful listen

Pulmanesque

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I originally bought Impossible Creatures for my children, but it’s become one of my favourite books of all time. The writing is exquisite—rich, imaginative, and full of heart—and the narration brings every moment to life with incredible depth. It’s a rare kind of magic that stays with you long after it ends. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel.

Utterly enchanting

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