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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
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What listeners say about Impossible Creatures

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Similar to Pullman in both good and bad ways.

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.

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2 people found this helpful

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

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

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Superb performance on exciting original story

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

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Wow

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

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One of the best books we’ve ever heard

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.

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1 person found this helpful

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An instant classic

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

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magical tales of wonder

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

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One of the best books I have ever read/listened to

It's hard to put into words how much I loved Impossible Creatures. Katherine Rundell has such an incredible way with words, some of her descriptions just blew me away. I absolutely fell in love with Mal and Christopher, Gelifen and Nighthand too! This may be a children's book but it is honestly just as good as any adult fantasy, it doesn't read as a kids book, I think it would suit anyone from the age of 8 upwards! Sam West's narration was brilliant and really brought the words, characters and their emotions to life. I didn't want it to end, I wish I could experience it for the first time all over again!

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A new classic

Immensely satisfying and beautifully written. A story which like the best of fairy tales teaches us how to live and what’s important. Full of wonderful imaginative beings written with such skill even I as an adult never failed to believe they were real. The narration was good but the little dragon did sound a bit like a Dalek.

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A must read to build compassion and appreciation of our world into it's readers.

This was the most beautiful read; a novel that expertly weaves together the plight facing our world, with the most exquisite fantasy tale.

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