Christopher Fallow lives a quiet life until a baby griffin appears in a Scottish forest, revealing a hidden truth: his grandfather guards a gateway to the Archipelago. This secret chain of islands serves as a sanctuary for unicorns, sphinxes, and every legendary beast known to human myth. When Christopher meets Mal, a girl fleeing a murderer across these islands, they realize the Glimmer—the magical force sustaining these creatures—is fading. Together, they navigate a world of sirens and ratatosks to stop a threat that causes immortal beings to wither and die.
Middle-grade readers who enjoy classical mythology and high-stakes quests will find a detailed bestiary of imagination here. Those interested in environmental collapse will recognize the urgency of the failing Glimmer as a parallel to ecological loss. Readers walk away with a specific understanding of the responsibility humans bear toward nature. The story provides a technical look at how magic functions as a finite resource and what happens to a civilization when its foundational biology begins to fail.
- Published
- 2023
- Language
- EN
