Podkin and the Tentacled Terror

By Author / Illustrator

Kieran Larwood, David Wyatt

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

Publisher

Faber Children's Books

ISBN

9780571369546

Format

Hardback

Published

12-09-2024

Synopsis

After claiming the Singing Spear, Podkin heads to the sea to search out the last gift of all - the anvil of Magmarok - which is hidden inside a mysterious labyrinth. He must brave Ancient sea monsters and pirates to arrive at the city that houses the anvil before Scramashank and his Gorm. But what will it take to defeat the labyrinth and win the anvil? And what will happen when the Gifts finally gather in one place?

Another rip-roaring adventure, exquisitely illustrated with full page artwork from the leading fantasy illustrator of our age, David Wyatt.

Praise for the series: 'Larwood is forging a new path in classic tales.' Kiran Millwood Hargrave. 'Spellbinding.' Guardian. 'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson. 'Pure magic.' Abi Elphinstone

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Reviews

Jenny

A return to the World of Podkin One-Ear is always an absolute joy and offers a totally immersive reading experience, taking you into an amazing fantasy world. Podkin and the Tentacled Terror is the eighth in this thrilling, adventurous and heart warming quest by Podkin to defeat the cruel, insidious Gorm that threatens the whole of this wonderous rabbit world. This latest book is epically entertaining and yet again, Larwood adds more layers, more history and more dramatic and daring escapades.

The later books return to the captivating dual time line, as elderly Bard, Pook, recounts the infamous tales of his youth alongside brother, Podkin, as well as being part of the present action in the race to the Thornwood burrows where enemy rabbits, the Endwatch, are burning rabbits from their homes. The world of Podkin is both intricate and minutely detailed while depicting epic, sweepingly cinematic scenes.

As Podkin and his band of loyal, fiercely determined family, friends and followers search for the last of the magical gifts that they need to save rabbitkind, they embark on perilous journeys. The 'tentacled terror' of book eight is a carnivorous Kracken beast that rises from the depths to consume them all. Larwood builds and builds the tension and drama over and over with vivid imagery and evocative, powerful vocabulary, then releases the reader form holding their breath by returning to the present and the pausing of the story that the Bard is recounting.

This roller coaster of events keeps the reader guessing; eager to read on and often left on agonising cliffhangers (the end of this book is the most agonising 'to be continued'-style ending that Podkin fans have come to expect!)

Illustrations by David Wyatt and Fernando Lopez Juarez are stunningly atmospheric and evoke the uniqueness of this fantasy world wonderfully. A heart stopping, heart-warming, action and emotion-packed adventure quest, Podkin and the Tentacled Terror is yet another spectacular classic of children's literature.

400 pages / Reviewed by Jenny Caddick, teacher