
Quill and the Last Generation
C. M. Lewis(Author)
Macmillan Children's Books (Publisher)
Published on 29. January 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-0350-6061-0 (ISBN)
Description
Shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards 2026.
'A pulse-quickening adventure strewn with rich seams of myth, magic and mystery' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and Stars
'Five stars. It's just perfection' - Archie, aged 9
'Magical storytelling at its best' The Scotsman
'Epic fantasy rooted in kindness and bursting with a rich mythology . . . It feels like the start of something really special' - Rob Biddulph
'Fresh and original, this is a gripping fantasy adventure . . . Magnificent' - Liz Hyder, author of The Twelve.
'Quill is my new favourite hero. A thunderously good story' - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse
Quill and the Last Generation is the first in a spectacular epic fantasy trilogy from award-winning author C. M. Lewis. Perfect for readers of 9?12 who love Skandar, Percy Jackson, and Cressida Cowell.
A world without children is a world dying for a hero. No babies have been born for twelve years. No one knows why.
Quill, a shy, ordinary, twelve-year-old boy, doesn't know the first thing about being a hero. But that changes the moment a mysterious young shapeshifter, in the form of a raven, opens his eyes to a world bursting with urgent magic and breathtaking danger. Quill must prepare for
DRAGONS that guard the deepest secrets,
A MONSTROUS HOUND hunting lost souls and
A WATER HORSE of deadly beauty.
Everyone believes Quill is the last generation's only hope. But to save everyone, he must be ready to face the King of Darkness in battle, and claim the Light of the World before time runs out. First he needs to find the courage to fight.
'A pulse-quickening adventure strewn with rich seams of myth, magic and mystery' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and Stars
'Five stars. It's just perfection' - Archie, aged 9
'Magical storytelling at its best' The Scotsman
'Epic fantasy rooted in kindness and bursting with a rich mythology . . . It feels like the start of something really special' - Rob Biddulph
'Fresh and original, this is a gripping fantasy adventure . . . Magnificent' - Liz Hyder, author of The Twelve.
'Quill is my new favourite hero. A thunderously good story' - Emma Carroll, author of Letters from the Lighthouse
Quill and the Last Generation is the first in a spectacular epic fantasy trilogy from award-winning author C. M. Lewis. Perfect for readers of 9?12 who love Skandar, Percy Jackson, and Cressida Cowell.
A world without children is a world dying for a hero. No babies have been born for twelve years. No one knows why.
Quill, a shy, ordinary, twelve-year-old boy, doesn't know the first thing about being a hero. But that changes the moment a mysterious young shapeshifter, in the form of a raven, opens his eyes to a world bursting with urgent magic and breathtaking danger. Quill must prepare for
DRAGONS that guard the deepest secrets,
A MONSTROUS HOUND hunting lost souls and
A WATER HORSE of deadly beauty.
Everyone believes Quill is the last generation's only hope. But to save everyone, he must be ready to face the King of Darkness in battle, and claim the Light of the World before time runs out. First he needs to find the courage to fight.
Reviews / Votes
Myth thrillingly fused with modernity [in] this superb fantasy -- 5 stars, Emily Bearn * The Telegraph * A pulse-quickening adventure strewn with rich seams of myth, magic and mystery. Quill completely captured my imagination and heart. -- Kiran Millwood Hargrave An epic fantasy rooted in kindness and bursting with a rich mythology. Quill is the sort of wonderfully human hero children will recognise and cheer for. . . It feels like the start of something really special -- Rob Biddulph Quill is my new favourite hero. A thunderously good story told on a magnificent scale. I was mesmerised. -- Emma Carroll Fresh and original . . . this is a gripping fantasy adventure packed full of the wild and wonderful, from horses conjured out of water to fierce dragons. Above all, though, it is so full of love. Woven through is a thread of loyalty and kindness and being brave on your own terms . . . An absolutely extraordinary book. Magnificent. -- Liz Hyder Lewis has created a tale that succeeds as both a thrilling fantasy adventure and a tender exploration of what makes a hero. It's mythology reimagined, a culture shared and storytelling at its finest * Books for Keeps * Anyone aged 8-800 can enjoy this book and I really hope they do because it's magnificent. -- @frompenandpage It doesn't flinch from life and death or the battlefield, but it is also about laughter, kindness, joy, hope and never losing sight of why the fight matters. A must read for fantasy fans - spellbinding -- Louise Austin Beautifully told, an atmospheric story full of dragons, magic and true heroism . . . This is magical storytelling at its very best. -- Matthew Martin * Books for Keeps 5*review * Magical storytelling at its best * The Scotsman *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Pan Macmillan
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 9 to 11 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
approximately 30 b/w
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
200 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0350-6061-0 (9781035060610)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

C. M. Lewis
Quill and the Last Generation
C. M. Lewis's Gripping Epic Fantasy: Dragons, Shapeshifters and the Last Generation's Hero
E-Book
01/2026
Macmillan Children's Books
€10.99
Available for download
Persons
C. M. Lewis is a multi-award-winning Welsh novelist, children's writer, playwright and screenwriter, who also writes as Caryl Lewis. Her breakthrough novel Martha, Jac a Sianco, widely regarded as a modern classic of Welsh literature, is on the Welsh curriculum, and the film adaptation - with a screenplay by Lewis herself - went on to win six Welsh BAFTAs. Lewis's other screenwriting work includes BBC/S4C thrillers Hinterland and Hidden. She has won Wales Book of the Year three times and is the only writer to have won in both languages. Caryl's work for children has twice scooped the Tir na n-Og Award, and has been shortlisted for both the Branford Boase and The Week Junior Awards. Quill and the Last Generation is her debut fantasy novel drawing on Celtic myths and the Welsh language stories of her childhood. Lewis is a visiting lecturer in Creative Writing at Cardiff University, and lives with her family on a farm near Aberystwyth.
Interior art: Marina Vidal particularly likes illustrating fiction, fantasy, sci-fi and horror books, and has illustrated for many notable international authors, such as Terry Pratchett. She enjoys making zines and taking them to comic book fairs. She also teaches at a comics school in Sabadell, Spain. She loves cats, raccoons, mushrooms, boardgames and green tea.
Cover art: Khadijah is a Malaysian illustrator and concept artist who is passionate in music, film and fashion. Born in the sunny, bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, Khadijah has illustrated more than 50 book covers for publishers such as National Geographic, Disney, Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan Publishers. Khadijah's most known works are her reimagined, new covers for Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus. As she is diverse in the work that she does, Khadijah has also worked on concept art for films and games, as well as illustrated an album cover for K-pop's AleXa.arina lives in Barcelona, Spain with her cat.
Interior art: Marina Vidal particularly likes illustrating fiction, fantasy, sci-fi and horror books, and has illustrated for many notable international authors, such as Terry Pratchett. She enjoys making zines and taking them to comic book fairs. She also teaches at a comics school in Sabadell, Spain. She loves cats, raccoons, mushrooms, boardgames and green tea.
Cover art: Khadijah is a Malaysian illustrator and concept artist who is passionate in music, film and fashion. Born in the sunny, bustling city of Kuala Lumpur, Khadijah has illustrated more than 50 book covers for publishers such as National Geographic, Disney, Scholastic, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan Publishers. Khadijah's most known works are her reimagined, new covers for Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus. As she is diverse in the work that she does, Khadijah has also worked on concept art for films and games, as well as illustrated an album cover for K-pop's AleXa.arina lives in Barcelona, Spain with her cat.