The Doomspell

by Cliff McNish, Geoff Taylor (Illustrator)

Overview

In a blaze of light, rush of wind and scrabble of claws, Rachel and Eric are ripped through a wall onto another world. Like thousands before them, they have been snatched by the Witch!

Rachel discovers that she has extraordinary gifts - magical gifts similar to the Witch's own. The Witch is excited to have found someone she thinks she can use for her own evil purposes. But, for the Witch's victims, Rachel is the only hope...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780995582125
Publisher:	Doomspell Books
Publication date:	03/01/2018
Series:	The Doomspell Trilogy
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.76(w) x 5.16(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Cliff McNish was born in Sunderland, but has spent most of his life in the southeast of England. His first book was THE DOOMSPELL, inspired by a story he told his young daughter. Since then he has published THE SILVER SEQUENCE and the highly acclaimed stand-alone supernatural thrillers, BREATHE (winner of the SALFORD and CALDERDALE BOOK AWARDs), ANGEL, SAVANNAH GREY, THE HUNTING GROUND and 2014's GOING HOME. His books have been translated into 23 languages, and are published to acclaim in the US.

Find out more at http://www.cliffmcnish.com, and follow him on Twitter @cliffmcnish and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cliff.mcnish.

Editorial Reviews

A monumental battle of good versus evil pits children against an ancient witch outcast from earth. Rachel and her brother Eric are literally pulled amid wind and darkness into this world by the monstrous claws of a black creature. The evil witch, Dragwena, recognizes Rachel's unusual power, begins her tutelage, and attempts to make Rachel her accomplice in revenge for her expulsion from earth centuries ago. All the inhabitants on the planet are in the thrall of Dragwena, yet some have gathered together to be ready for the child-hope prophesied. The evil is the stuff of nightmares; red-eyed wolves, worms that cling, crows with baby heads, and especially Dragwena, who has a snake for a necklace, tattooed green eyes that can meet at the back of her head, and four jaws of teeth that produce spiders instead of spit. McNish creates a surprisingly coherent fantasy world that still has multiple magical transformations on practically every page. Not for the fainthearted: heads are chopped off, spiders are eaten, blood turns yellow, ears are torn, and there is no attempt to soften or keep the battle offstage. The magic here is vivid and the underlying themes sufficiently subtle, yet curiously, it is hard to be truly engaged. The world of Ithrea is splashy and busy like a movie full of special effects that forgets the humanity of its characters. The nonstop action is a big asset for this, but it allows no time to become attached to the characters or empathize with the downtrodden. An opportunity for a sequel is provided at the end-an attractive option for those who care more for pyrotechnics than characters. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews

High fantasy, richly imagined and refreshingly well-written - an excellent novel.—THE SUNDAY TIMES

Brilliant, breathless and filled with action from page one.—KIDS OUT

An incredible world in which the reader will become totally absorbed.—THE BOOKSELLER

Gripping, racy, children have been fighting to borrow it.—THE GUARDIAN

A vivid world of magical possibilities.—THE TIMES

A thrilling and magical read - there is a real build up of suspense with plenty of twists and turns. It is full of brilliant descriptions of events, characters and places.—LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICE FOR SCHOOLS

Places him firmly among much more well-known names such as Philip Pullman and C.S.Lewis - Ithrea is a truly complete world, and the characters are beautifully conceived to obtain an emotional response from the reader.—BOOKMONSTER

From the Publisher