Books published by publisher David Fickling Books

DIGGING FOR PEAT in the mountain with his Uncle Tally, Fergus finds the body of a child, and it looks like she’s been murdered. As Fergus tries to make sense of the mad world around him—his brother on hunger-strike in prison, his growing feelings for Cora, his parents arguing over the Troubles, and him in it up to the neck, blackmailed into acting as courier to God knows what—a little voice comes to him in his dreams, and the mystery of the bog child unfurls.Bog Child is an astonishing novel exploring the sacrifices made in the name of peace, and the unflinching strength of the human spirit.

Bryn is the daughter of a humble stone-cutter. So no one is more surprised than she when the Master Priest seeks her out to become a student at the famous Temple of the Oracle; a training school for future priests and priestesses. But her innately gifted nature proves a threat to the evil embedded within the Temple, and Bryn encounters unimaginable danger. Is she able to struggle with the unknown and to save the whole world from untold misery? Or will the powers of darkness succeed?

Greg’s casual interest in the history of a ruined mansion becomes more personal as he slowly discovers the tragic events that overwhelmed its last inhabitants. Set against a background of the modern day and the First World War, Greg’s contemporary beliefs become intertwined with those of Edmund, a foot soldier whose confusion about his sexuality and identity mirrors Greg’s own feelings of insecurity.This is a complex and thought-provoking book, written with elegance and subtlety. It will change the way you think.

Since his childhood in the DeepWoods, young Twig has always longed to soar above the forest canopy and explore the sky. Now a crew member on his father’s sky pirate ship, the Stormchaser, his dream seems fulfilled. But a much higher destiny awaits Twig. The lofty city of Sanctaphrax—built on a giant rock, floating high in the sky—is at the point of disaster. The city’s future is dependent on stormphrax—a valuable substance available only from the heart of a Great Storm. And only the Stormchaser, with Twig onboard, could risk entering a storm. . . .

It is twenty years since the events of La Belle Sauvage: The Book of Dust Volume One unfolded and saw the baby Lyra Belacqua begin her life-changing journey. It is almost ten years since readers left Lyra and the love of her young life, Will Parry, on a park bench in Oxford's Botanic Gardens at the end of the ground-breaking, bestselling His Dark Materials sequence. Now, in The Secret Commonwealth, we meet Lyra Silvertongue. And she is no longer a child . . .The second volume of Philip Pullman's The Book of Dust sees Lyra, now twenty years old, and her daemon Pantalaimon, forced to navigate their relationship in a way they could never have imagined, and drawn into the complex and dangerous factions of a world that they had no idea existed. Pulled along on his own journey too is Malcolm; once a boy with a boat and a mission to save a baby from the flood, now a man with a strong sense of duty and a desire to do what is right.Theirs is a world at once familiar and extraordinary, and they must travel far beyond the edges of Oxford, across Europe and into Asia, in search for what is lost - a city haunted by daemons, a secret at the heart of a desert, and the mystery of the elusive Dust.The Secret Commonwealth is truly a book for our times; a powerful adventure and a thought-provoking look at what it is to understand yourself, to grow up and make sense of the world around you. This is storytelling at its very best from one of our greatest writers.*The first book in The Book of Dust trilogy, La Belle Sauvage, is coming to the stage in the summer of this year. Performed at The Bridge Theatre from July 2020, it will be a theatrical spectacle not to be missed*_____Reviews for The Secret Commonwealth: The Book of Dust Volume Two:"[Pullman] has created a fantasy world, made yet more satisfying in rigour and stylistic elegance. This is a book for getting older with" Guardian, Book of the Week"The Secret Commonwealth is ablaze with light and life. The writing is exquisite; every sentence sings ... To read Pullman is to experience the world refreshed, aglow, in Technicolour" i"Pullman's story is still thought-provoking ... This book elegantly weaves in live issues, from Europe's refugee crisis to facts in the post-truth era. And Pullman's prose is rewarding as ever" The Times"A long, taxing, complex journey, laced with beauty, terror and philosophy" Metro"As ever, Pullman's story is complex and vast but home to some of the finest storytelling in the 21st century. Revel in whole new worlds and enjoy one of literature's most wonderful heroines before she comes to HBO and the BBC" Stylist"Pullman is confronting readers with the horrors of our own world reflected back at us. In The Secret Commonwealth he creates a fearful symmetry" The Herald

A timeless and uplifting book about friendship, filled with humor and heart.When Jessica sits next to Francis on a bench during recess, he's surprised to learn that she isn't actually alive--she's a ghost. And she's surprised, too, because Francis is the first person who has been able to see her since she died.Before long, Francis and Jessica are best friends, enjoying life more than they ever have. When they meet two more friends who can also see Jessica, the question arises: What is it that they have in common? And does it have something to do with Jessica being a ghost?

Continue the laugh-out-loud humor, the thrilling adventure, the just plain awesome.The second epic compendium in The Phoenix Colossal Comics Collection will have you traveling from the sewers of London, to Daniel Crisp's crazy imagination, into the forest with giant mechanical insects, to cat starships in outerspace and back again. From humor, to adventure, to non-fiction, to puzzles, this bind-up is a smorgasbord for everyone.

On the island of Arcosi, dragons and their riders used to rule the skies. But now they are only legends, found in bedtime stories, and on beautiful murals and ancient jewelry. When servant girl Milla witnesses a murder and finds herself caring for the last four dragon eggs, she is forced to keep them secret amidst the growing tensions in the city. But how can Milla and her friends keep the eggs safe when it means endangering everything she's ever loved? Fiery friendships, forgotten family, and the struggle for power collide as Milla's fight to save the dragons leads her to discover her own hidden past.Perfect for fans of Cornelia Funke or Rick Riordan, Legends of the Sky is a rich and magical fantasy that touches on the questions of politics, war, and immigration.

Nate Quarter is a lowly lamplighter in the phraxmines of the Eastern Woods, until treachery forces him to flee for his life to the mighty city of Great Glade.But these are turbulent times. In far-off Hive, the spectacular city founded by the goblin tribes, the clan leaders are preparing for war. And out beyond the dread Nightwoods, in the fabled gardens of Riverrise, a one-eyed waif jealously guards the life-giving waters of the mystical Riverrise spring. . . . Swept up in the maelstrom that follows, Nate and a small band of intrepid friends must set off on an epic journey that is to lead them into terrible peril. All the while, from over the Edge cliff itself, a storm unlike any ever seen before, is building. A storm that is to roll across the land, bringing both echoes of the past and promises of a new beginning. . . . This is the final tale in the Edge Chronicles sequence and it’s a fabulous climax to one of the most original and dramatic fantasy series being written today. Set years in the future, this book is ideal for new readers to discover the series before going back to read the history of Twig, Rook, and Quint. Illustrated throughout with outstanding inventiveness by Chris Riddell, it will not only enthrall existing fans of the Edge Chronicles but also grip readers new to the series.

THE ROOK TRILOGY, Book IIHigh in the crumbling Palace of Statues, oily Vox Verlix—the Most High Academe in name, but really no more than a lowly prisoner—is brewing a terrible plot to take over power in Edgeworld once again. Rook stumbles upon the truth when he is taken captive and forced to work for Vox. Can Rook foil Vox's plan and save the lives of his librarian colleagues?