The Mistmantle Chronicles
Book Four
First published 2010
Available from Purple House Press
Paperback: ISBN 9781948959261
Hardcover: ISBN 9798888182109
284 pages, 6 x 9 inch paperback.
After his last adventure, Urchin of the Riding Stars has taken his place as a trusted member of the Circle in King Crispin’s court. Life on the island is back to normal, with little Princess Catkin growing up and testing everyone’s patience in the process.
But daily life is disrupted when Lord Arcneck and other inhabitants of Swan Isle come to Mistmantle asking for help. Their home has been taken over by bloodthirsty ravens that are attacking them and ravaging everything in sight.
The brave animals of Mistmantle rush to the aid of their friends, but in doing so, incur the wrath of the invaders. The vengeful ravens are powerful and won’t stop until they hunt down and destroy every creature on the island. Only by using all of their courage and cunning will Urchin and his friends stand a chance of preserving life as they know it on their beloved island.
Beautiful cover by Christine Enright, beautiful black and white drawings by Janna Mattia.
Blossoming Through Books has a girls bookclub guide for this book, take a look!
Fans of this delightful series will not be disappointed with the latest installment of the adventures in this enchanting universe. Urchin continues to grow as a hero, and the creatures who surround him continue to be well-rounded and wonderfully real. McAllister includes just enough animal behavior along with the anthropomorphic to keep the mix from turning too human but still lets the characters change and grow realistically, a delicate balance nicely pulled off. As in the previous books, the plot is complex without being confusing, twisting without blindsiding, and engaging throughout.
— Teresa Copeland, VOYA
Read extract
‘Look at the riding stars, look at your dreams,’ said Sepia, stretching her paws to the fire. ‘I remember now.’
‘All I dream of is having my own boat,’ said Fingal. ‘Get looking and get dreaming, everyone!’
They smiled, but their hearts were with the stars. Urchin and Needle thought of the new life before them as full members of the Circle with all its responsibilities and demands. Urchin thought, too, of the parents he had never known. He folded his paw over the squirrel-hair bracelet that was all he had of them.
Juniper gazed up steadily. There were two hopes and dreams for him. One was to serve the Heart and the island as the best priest he could be. The other was to find out who he really was.
Like Urchin, he was a foundling. Damson the Squirrel had found him as a baby and brought him up in secrecy in the days when any animal with a twisted paw, like his, was put to death. He was sure that Damson knew more about him and who he really was than she had ever told him. Brother Fir had called him ‘Juniper of the Journeyings’, and he knew it wasn’t just because of his journey to the Isle of Whitewings. On Whitewings, Urchin had discovered who his parents were. That was what Juniper wanted for himself, too.
A star twirled down, so fast and bright that the flash of it made Juniper turn and squeeze his eyes shut. Suddenly he shuddered, swallowed hard, and pressed a paw against his stomach to keep himself from feeling sick.
‘Are you all right?’ asked Urchin.
‘I don’t know,’ he whispered.
Behind his closed eyes, with the imprint of the star still before him, he had seen with intense clarity. For a split second he had seen claws, very white, outstretched claws. There had been something blue, something that he felt he should have recognised -then the silver flash of a knife.
‘I’m fine,’ he said to Urchin. There was no claw any more, no flash of blue, no knife. But he had seen them.
Nobody noticed the gull that flew over the island that night, with a fish in its beak. It meant to land and gobble it down, but the fish was diseased and foul-tasting so the gull dropped it and flew on, beyond the mists, without anyone seeing it at all.