
Riverkeep
Martin Stewart(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 28. April 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
368 pages
978-0-14-136203-8 (ISBN)
Description
Fifteen-year-old Wulliam is dreading taking up his family's mantle of Riverkeep, tending the river and fishing corpses from its treacherous waters. But then everything changes. One night his father is possessed by a dark spirit, and Wull hears that a cure lurks deep within the great sea-beast known as the mormorach. He realizes he must go on an epic journey downriver to find it - or lose Pappa forever.
Reviews / Votes
A cracking, startlingly original story . . . It would be an extraordinary book by any author - but it is Martin Stewart's first * Spectator * Relentlessly brilliant . . . Stylish, precise, limitlessly evocative of landscape, atmosphere, guilt and terror . . . That he has packed enough detail, talent and skill in there for three books can hardly be a criticism. His characters lived for me by the end * Guardian * Extraordinary . . . Stunningly original * Evening Standard * A completely absorbing fantasy debut from a highly skilled writer * The Bookseller * A brilliant fantasy read * Sunday Express * Riverkeep is utterly engrossing. There are elements of Game of Thrones in the grittily realised violence; there is Gormenghast in the grotesque comedy; and it has the strange magic of Earthsea. The prose is by turns dense, sensuous, and funny, but never less than gripping. A superb debut novel -- Anthony McGowan, award-winning author of The Knife that Killed Me and Henry Tumour Stewart's opening is both dramatic and touching, as fifteen-year-old Wull, reluctantly destined to succeed his father as the 'riverkeep', watches his own father disappear beneath the water when a freakish monster grabs him and takes him below. The writing is both visceral and highly visual. It's a remarkably assured debut . . . written by someone utterly confident in the reality of the world he has created and in the appeal of his characters * Herald Scotland * One of my favourite debuts of the year so far * The Bookseller * A truly extraordinary, rich and vivid debut. Martin has built a world and concocted a story you can get lost in - this is one of the most engrossing books I've read this year, and I loved every second of it. One for fans of Pratchett and Gaiman -- Robin Stevens, author of Murder Most Unladylike Stewart is being touted as the new star of fantasy fiction, and the subject of heady comparisons with his heroes Neil Gaiman and Philip Pullman * Herald Scotland *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Random House Children's UK
Target group
Children/juvenile
Interest Age: From 12 to 14 years
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
259 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-136203-8 (9780141362038)
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

Person
Martin Stewart has previously worked as a recycling technician, university lecturer, barman, golf caddy, and English teacher. Having written his first book on Post-Its as an eight year-old, it was his time back in the classroom that made him understand the unique joy of writing for younger readers. A native of Glasgow, where he still lives, he enjoys buying books to feed his to-be-read pile, and combining the city's urban splendour with walks on the beaches of Scotland's west coast. Martin's first novel, Riverkeep, was longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Follow him on Twitter: @martinjstewart.