Product Description

A dramatic and exuberant fantasy adventure filled with colourful and imaginative characters and illustrated with exquisite detail.

Fifty years after the floating city of Sanctaphrax was swept away, the Edgeworld has changed for the worse. Cruel shrykes control the great Mire Road, while slave labour is endemic.

When a young apprentice knight-academic, Rook, sets out on a perilous journey through the Deepwoods, he meets a mysterious stranger living with the banderbears and is propelled right into the middle of a dangerous adventure in which a small group of fighters must challenge the dark might of the Guardians of the Night.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #891993 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-28
• Released on: 2005-06-28
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7–The Edge is filled with icky monsters, profoundly rotten villains, and shiny striving heroes, all with silly names such as muglumps, Orbix Xaxis, and Rook Barkwater. There are dangers behind every tree, mysterious fogs, stones that fly, and trolls and talking bears. In this fifth volume of the "Chronicles," Rook is a young under-librarian who is sent into the creepy Deepwoods to gather knowledge that might help the noble community of Knight-Librarians battle the evil Guardians of Night for control of the Edge. Sometimes Rook and his allies defeat the gluttonous logworms that devour everything in their path; at other times, the Guardians of the Night throw them into chains. Even Twig, hero of Beyond the Deepwoods, the first volume in the series, reappears to join the fray. Who will win? Does it really matter? These adventures pull readers along, and the pages flip by in no time. Riddell's antique-style illustrations add to the fun, depicting the characters' intricate costumes and crazy modes of transport. There's not a lot of substance here, but fans of Lemony Snicket, the "The Spiderwick Chronicles," and "Harry Potter" will devour it.–Walter Minkel, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
“For children who’ve read the Harry Potter books and want another world to explore.” -- Mail on Sunday

“Fabulously illustrated.” -- Sunday Times on The Edge Chronicles

About the Author
Paul Stewart is the author of a number of previous titles for children including The Wakening.

Chris Riddell has illustrated many children’s books and won the Kate Greenaway Award in 2002 for Pirate Diary. He is also the political cartoonist for the Guardian and Observer newspapers.

Customer Reviews

The sequel to Midnight Over Sanctaphrax
When I finished book 4, "The Curse of the Gloamglozer", I realized that the stage had been set for an incredible book 5. Thankfully, the books in this series come out much more quickly than the ones from J. K. Rowling , so I didn't have long to wait for "The Last of the Sky Pirates", the best in the series so far.

Set fifty years after "Midnight Over Sanctaphrax" (book 3), it doesn't continue from book 4, the first chronologically in the series, which sounds awfully confusing, but actually isn't. The Edge is a totally different place, with the mighty sky ships unable to fly, and New Sanctaphrax barely teetering on wooden supports after the dreaded stone sickness destroys the buoyant floating rocks. The Librarian Academics have been driven underground into the sewers, where they have constructed a vast library of scientific studies, and are forced to send worthy young scholars on covert and perilous missions for training, before they complete their life's quest by studying and documenting their chosen field of nature study.

In this book we follow the trail of young Rook Barkwater, a clever young under-librarian who is destined to become a Librarian Knight, doing research on the secret gatherings of banderbears, to whom he feels an unexplainable connection. His mission is dangerous and exciting, filled with wonderfully named, described and illustrated creatures that would otherwise defy the imagination.

During his thrilling adventures, he meets Captain Twig, who was thought to have perished with his crew in book 3, and begins a whole new adventure to rescue Twig's friend Cowlquape from the prisons of the Most High Guardian of Night, the villainous scoundrel of this episode.

Just as dark as the other books, but with a lot more action and adventure, I recommend this one heartily to fans of the series, but would advise newcomers to read at least books 1 to 3 first.


Amanda Richards, August 8, 2005

More than it seems
I have to disagree with the editorial review that "There's not a lot of substance here". While the edge chronicles are full of icky creatures and battles, there is a lot more going on. What I love about these books is how imaginative they are. I love how every culture has a different way of life. In fact, I would say the underlying theme of these books is exploring ways of living..and how those way change with things like environmental destruction.
I would say that these books have as much "substance" as most adult books that I read (I am 24 years old). In fact, my friends and I have been discussing the philosophy of The Edge Chronicles since we started reading them. I have truly enjoy these books and I will be sad when I finish reading them all.

I love this book! But add a caution regarding young readers
This series is amazing-- I love it! The author/illustrator collaboration is really special. I even ordered two books from the United Kingdom Amazon because they won't be published here for a few more months. :)

A caution: some of the Edge Chronicles are very dark/have imagery which may be too disturbing for young readers. (For example, an earlier book features a serial killer who chops off the toes of his victims and keeps them in a massive pile! Yikes! A chilling moment for readers.) This book is the first of 3 volumes which follow the story of Rook Barkwater, a young librarian knight. The Rook Barkwater books seemed less disturbing to me than some of the earlier books. They are really enjoyable, full of endearing characters and heroism. So... if your kids are old enough, you may really enjoy reading the Edge Chonicles together.