Endymion Spring
Skelton, Matthew
Hardcover
List Price: $17.95
booksXYZ price: $12.39
VIEW MORE BOOKS LIKE THIS ONE
We're sorry, but we do not currently have this book in stock.
BOOK EXCERPTS
Blake checked his watchthirty-six minutesand sighed.
He tried walking backwards now, tapping the books in reverse order, to see if this would help pass the time.
A series of stern-looking portraits glared down at him from the walls. Like magicians, they were dressed in dark capes and had sharp, pointy beards. Elaborate ruffs, like squashed chrysanthemums, burst from their collars. The older men had jaded eyes and tortoise-like skin, but there were also a few pale-faced boys like himself. He glanced at their nameplates: Thomas Sternhold (15871608); Jeremiah Wood (15341609); Isaac Wilkes (161637); Lucius St. Boniface de la Croix (15991666). Each man was holding a small book and pointing to a relevant passage with a forefinger, as though reminding future generations to remain studious and well-behaved.
Blake disregarded their frowns of disapproval and continued running his fingers along the books, rapping the spines with the back of his knuckles.
All of a sudden, he stopped.
One of the volumes had struck him back! Like a cat, it had taken a playful swipe at his fingers and ducked back into hiding. He whisked his hand away, as though stung.
He looked at his fingers, but couldnt see anything unusual. They were smeared with dust, but there was no obvious mark or injury on his skin. Then he looked at the books to see which one had leaped out at him, but they all seemed pretty ordinary, too. Just row upon row of crumbly old volumes, like toy soldiers in leather uniforms standing to attentionexcept that one of them had tried to force its way into his hand.
He sucked on his finger thoughtfully. A thin trail of blood, like a paper cut, was forming where the book had nicked his knuckle.
All around him the library was sleeping in the hot, still afternoon. Shafts of sunlight hung in the air like dusty curtains and a clock ticked somewhere in the distance, a ponderous sound that seemed to slow down time. Small footsteps crept along the floorboards above. That was probably his sister, Duck, investigating upstairs. But no one else was around.
Only Mephistopheles, the college cat, a sinewy black shadow with claws as sharp as pins, was sunbathing on a strip of carpet near the window and he only cared about one thing: himself.
As far as Blake could tell, he was entirely alone. Apart, that is, from whatever was lurking on the shelf.
AUTHOR BIO
Matthew Skelton was born in England and grew up in Canada. He has a Ph.D. in English Literature from Oxford University. Endymion Spring is his debut novel. The author lives in UK and Canada.
BOOK REVIEWS
[Endymion Spring] may give Dan Browns Da Vinci Code a run for its money. . . .
It is unputdownable.The Irish Independent
FOR RELATED BOOKS
Juvenile Fiction Books :: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic Books
Juvenile Fiction Books :: Fantasy & Magic Books
MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 0385733801
ISBN(13-digit): 9780385733809
Dewey Decimal: [Fic]
Library of Congress: 2006046259
Book Publisher: Random House Childrens Books
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 400
Paper Weight (lb): 1.55 lb
If you like this book, you may also enjoy:
