Other editions of book The Mistmantle Chronicles, Book One: The Urchin of the Riding Stars

On a night of riding stars, a tiny squirrel is found abandoned and close to death on a distant beach. Adopted and raised by a kindly squirrel, Urchin has no idea of his powerful destiny or of the way he will influence the island of Mistmantle. The rule of the good King Brushen and Queen Spindle is threatened by an evil plot from within the court. When their young son is found murdered, the isle is thrown into turmoil. Behind the scenes, the wicked Lord Husk and Lady Aspen are determined to take control. But to underestimate the power of the islanders and the ancient prophecies is a big mistake….Triumphant heroes and brilliantly wicked villains do battle in this heart-stopping adventure in the great tradition of Watership Down and The Wind in the Willows.

On a night of riding stars, a tiny squirrel is found abandoned and close to death on a distant beach. Adopted and raised by a kindly squirrel, Urchin has no idea of his powerful destiny or of the way he will influence the island of Mistmantle. The rule of the good King Brushen and Queen Spindle is threatened by an evil plot from within the court. When their young son is found murdered, the isle is thrown into turmoil. Behind the scenes, the wicked Lord Husk and Lady Aspen are determined to take control. But to underestimate the power of the islanders and the ancient prophecies is a big mistake….Triumphant heroes and brilliantly wicked villains do battle in this heart-stopping adventure in the great tradition of Watership Down and The Wind in the Willows.

On a cold night, a night of riding stars, a newborn squirrel is found all by his lonesome on a distant beach, shivering, and close to death. His mother is nowhere to be found, so he is adopted and raised by a kind squirrel, in the land of Mistmantle. The young squirrel is given the name Urchin. And, given the mysterious story of his life, young Urchin is unaware of the powerful destiny that awaits him, and will influence the entire island of Mistmantle. When Urchin is old enough, he takes on a position in the Castle, where the good King Brushen and Queen Spindle are having their positions threatened by an evil plot that has already taken the life of their son, Prince Tumble. Captain Crispin, a good friend of Urchin, is blamed for the death, and sent off to a faraway land, while the real culprits, Lord Husk and Lady Aspen, work to take control of the Castle, and disgrace King Brushen. Little do they know, the islanders and ancient prophecies are watching over Mistmantle, and with the help of Urchin of the Riding Stars, victory may not truly be theirs.

The island of Mistmantle is in turmoil. The king and queen are loosing authority over their people and behind the scenes a wicked pair are determined to take control. With a cruel regime of culling the weak and depriving the whole population of basic necessities, this scheming husband and wife team look set to realise their awful ambitions. But to ignore the power of the people is a big mistake. Ancient prophecies combine with radical action to ensure that Lord Husk and Lady Aspen do not achieve their wicked goals.

The island of Mistmantle is inhabited by red squirrels, otters, hedgehogs, and moles and ruled from Mistmantle tower by a hedgehog king. Urchin is an orphan squirrel who was found abandoned soon after birth on one of the island's beaches and was raised by other animals. On leaving school, he is employed at court as a page by the dashing Captain Crispin. Mistmantle has always been a free society, but under the influences of a squirrel Captain called Husk, the King is enforcing harsh new laws and the animals are becoming enslaved. Using the traditional system of drawing tokens to establish a person's guilt, Crispin is accused of a terrible murder and is banished from the island. Urchin becomes caught up in the struggle to restore justice and freedom to Mistmantle, to overthrow Husk, and return Crispin to the island.