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Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell - The Edge Chronicles


Kell

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The Curse of the Gloamglozer (Quint 1)

Author: Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Publisher: Corgi

ISBN # 0552564251

First Published: 2001

380 pages

Rating: 9

 

In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail - mistsifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone...Quint is the son of a sky pirate captain. He arrives in Sanctaphrax at the request of Linius Pallitax, the Most High Academe, who needs an apprentice he can trust to carry out a series of highly important tasks. Just how important, Quint is about to find out as he and Linius's only daughter, Maris, are plunged into the midst of a terrifying adventure that takes them deep within the rock upon which Sanctaphrax is built.

 

Seldom does one come across an imagined world so fully formed as the one portrayed in The Edge Chronicles! This first book in the Chronicles introduces the reader to the magnificent floating city of Sanctaphrax

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I haven't read all of these books, only two of them -

Beyond the Deepwoods (Twig 1)

Stormchaser (Twig 2)

 

I read them when I was about 10 or 11 years old. I thought BEYOND THE DEEPWOODS was quite good - I read it in a few days and went straight on to the second one. However, from what I can remember, I sort of lost interest in the series after finishing STORMCHASER. I enjoyed reading the first more than the second, so never tried the third Twig book. I'm not sure what age group they're aimed at - maybe I was too young to fully understand the story in STORMCHASER or something. :)

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I think they're aimed at about the 11-14 range, but a younger, strong reader could perhaps get to grips with them. Some of the plots could still be appreciated by mid-teens. I think they'd especially apeal to boys who like reading, as the main character in each is a lad.

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  • 1 year later...

I adore The Edge Chronicles. I'm busy reading The Lost Barkscrolls at the moment.

 

I also wrote a review for Stormchaser, which you can see HERE.

 

I think my favourite Edge Chronicle was The Curse of the Gloamglozer - the very first book in the Quint trilogy. The writers almost rival Terry Pratchett with the completeness of The Edge.

Edited by Michelle
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  • 9 months later...

I was sent The Immortals to review, which is the last in the series - it's being marketed as a good introduction to the series as well. I love the world that has been developed, and the various characters. I'm going to go back and try the earlier books, and I was wondering if anyone else had read them, and what their thoughts were?

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You'e finished it already?! Wow! THat was fast! I'm not even halfway through yet (due to lack of quality reading time - not due to lack of enjoyment, as I'm LOVING this book!). It really is a VERY chunky read, but it's everso worth it, even at only about 1/4 of the way through!

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I've finished The Curse of the Gloamglozer, and have quite a few more in the series. Despite being fantasy, they are easy, relaxing reads. Having read The Immortals, and then going back, I feel that the earlier books are aimed at slightly younger readers, with The Immortals having more to offer. I don't know if that's because the series simply developed like that, or if the author is aware that the original fans are now older.

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My own personal experience is that the older books are a little more obviously children's books - I'm reading Beyond the Deepwoods (book 1) at the moment, and it seems more suited to Beth's age than Curse of the Gloamgozer (book 4). The Immortals had the most 'grown up' developed feel to it.

 

Kell, and anyone else who has read, how did you find the various books?

 

I've just published an interview with the author and illustrator, and it's interesting to see how the series developed. :D

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Michelle, do the books have to be read in a certain order then? Like as you say The Immortals books are more suited to an older age, so would it be possible just to read them?

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The earlier books definitly have a "younger" feel to them (perhaps the 8-12 age group), whereas the later ones feel a little more grown up (perhaps stretching to incorporate up to the 14-y-o market).

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I think older readers (such as members on here) may actually do better by starting with The Immprtals.. it's enjoyable in it's own right, and you really don't have to know the history. I'm very much enjoying the earlier books, but if I'd started there, I may have felt them a little young.

 

The other alternative is to read them in the 'chronological order' (rather than publication order) which is what Kell suggested to me, and start with The Curse of the Gloamgloazer, which is the Quint trilogy. For me, it had an 'older' feel than In the Deepwoods does.

 

Does that make sense?!

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  • 2 months later...

I bought a few Edge Chronicles books today:

 

Stormchaser (second in the Twig Saga)

Vox (second in the Rook Saga)

The Lost Barkscrolls (a standalone with short stories)

 

I just went back and re-read this thread, and it looks like I'll have to track down The Curse of the Gloamglozer first.

 

Can I read The Lost Barkscrolls without reading any of the others first, or will I get lost?

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The Lost Barkscrolls tells stories in between various books. You won't get lost, but if you read them after the other books, you'll see where it fills the gaps far more easily and you won't risk any spoilers for the other books either.

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