The Poisoned King

Katherine Rundell returns with a perfect fantasy * Telegraph *
Rundell is back with a sequel to her runaway middle-grade fantasy hit “Impossible Creatures,” which offers magical thrills for young readers and adults alike. * New York Times *
I love Katherine Rundell and everything she writes. Her books are treasure troves of glittering wisdom and breath-taking plots; her characters leap off the page, singular, passionate, and satisfyingly complex. I defy anyone to not lose their heart to her stories. * Maggie O’Farrel, Author of Hamnet *
An exquisitely written, expertly plotted, emotionally affecting and totally immersive triumph! * LoveReading4Kids *
A mythical and magical world, the Archipelago is full of colour and opportunity for children to lose themselves in their imaginations. Katherine Rundell delights with this sequel: Exceptional * Children’s Books Ireland *
Few writers today channel the wild heart of children’s literature quite like Katherine Rundell. The award-winning author of Rooftoppers, The Explorer and Impossible Creatures, Rundell has a rare gift: she writes with both intellectual muscle and reckless wonder. * iNews *
The fantasy world is richly imagined, the dialogue sharp and witty and short chapters drive the pace. This series is pure class. * Daily Mail *
Dazzling … the imaginative scope of this series remains colossal * The Times *
Katherine Rundell’s books are an automatic purchase in my house. She is a magician, one of the great storytellers of our time. * Max Porter, author of Grief is the Thing With Feathers *
A treasure chest of myths * Spectator *
One of our finest authors * Observer *
Enthralling adventures – a sphinx-back rescue, a harpy-guarded library, a glimpse of a terrifying future – ensue, while characteristically humorous, elegant prose exhorts the reader to defend the frail and precious, remembering that “love is the greatest weapon against the world’s cruelties”. – Imogen Russell Williams * The Guardian *
The second book in the Impossible Creatures series is spectacular. These stories are about so much more than dragons, unicorns and gaganas. They’re about how to live within the chaos and beauty of our miraculous world, and Katherine Rundell is a writer at the top of her game. * Abi Elphinstone *

Katherine Rundell is a multi-million-bestselling author whose novels for children have won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Costa Children’s Book Award, among many others. Impossible Creatures was Waterstones Book of the Year 2023, and in 2024 Katherine was named the British Book Awards Author of the Year and Impossible Creatures won the Children’s Fiction Book of the Year. She is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College, Oxford, where she works on Renaissance literature. Her books for adults include Super-Infinite, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize. Very occasionally she goes climbing across the rooftops of Oxford, late at night.

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