The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures #2)

by Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The Archipelago awaits Christopher in his return to the world of magical creatures. And this time, there’s a new evil afoot…

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Return to the magic of the Archipelago in the dazzling sequel to the runaway, smash hit Impossible Creatures, hailed as “an instant classic” (Katherine Applegate, Newbery Medal Winner for The One and Only Ivan)!

*This spectacular book features foil and embossing on the jacket, full-color designed endpapers, and brilliant stained edges*

Christopher Forrester woke to find a dragon chewing on his face—and his heart leapt for joy! He’d been dreaming of going back to the Archipelago, the secret cluster of islands where all the creatures of myth still live, and here was his summons.

But there is a poison spreading in the Archipelago. Rooting it out will involve a daring rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, a stealthy entrance to a dragon’s lair, and a death-defying plan to save a prisoner held in the heart of a castle. At the center of this storm is Anya: a small girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket, and a ravenous hunger for justice.

Katherine Rundell’s second thrilling installment in the Impossible Creatures series involves castles, dragons, and revenge—the things of which great stories are made. The splendors within are brought to life with fifty illustrations, including a map and a bestiary of magical creatures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593809907
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	09/11/2025
Series:	Impossible Creatures , #2
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

About the Author

Katherine Rundell is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Impossible Creatures and The Poisoned King. Her other books for children include Rooftoppers, Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, The Wolf Wilder, The Explorer, and The Good Thieves. For adult readers, Rundell has written Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures and Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. She was the recipient of the British Book Award for Book of the Year and Author of the Year. She grew up in Zimbabwe, Brussels, and London, and is currently a Fellow of St. Catherine’s College, Oxford.

Ashley Mackenzie is a Canadian artist and illustrator with a special affinity for dragons, dryads, and all magical creatures.

Editorial Reviews

"Rundell is back with a sequel....which offers magical thrills for young readers and adults alike." —The New York Times

★ "A spectacular return to a magical world." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

From the Publisher

★ 2025-05-30
Following the events ofImpossible Creatures (2024), a devoted Guardian teams up with a brave princess to fight her power-hungry uncle and save the Archipelago’s dragons from a strange new threat.

Jacques the dragon summons Christopher Forrester back to the Archipelago from the human world: Dragons are dying, and no one knows why. Meanwhile, on the island of Dousha, Princess Anya’s grandfather, King Halam, has been murdered, and her father accused—though she knows he’s innocent. When Christopher and Anya take refuge on the islet of Glimt, the Berserker Nighthand helps them see how their twin missions to save the dragons and free Anya’s father are connected. They work together to create an antidote for the poison that’s killing the dragons and to keep Anya and her father safe from her murderous uncle. Meanwhile, Nighthand and Irian, the part-nereid ocean scholar, pursue their own important secret mission. Divided into three parts—“Castle,” “Dragons,” and “Revenge”—and containing elements of fairy tales, fantasy, and Shakespeare, this story continues the storyline established in the series opener, yet because it introduces new characters and obstacles, it could also stand alone. Dark-blond Anya (“five feet tall and all of it claws”) is a match for white-presenting Christopher, who, though he still misses Mal, finds that “it made a difference to have someone to move through the world with again. A friend changed the feel of the universe.” Mackenzie’s delicate, otherworldly art adorns the text.

A spectacular return to a magical world. (map, bestiary)(Fantasy. 10-15)

Kirkus Reviews