Midnight Over Sanctaphrax

MIDNIGHT OVER SANCTAPHRAX by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
The Edge Chronicles Book III - Fantasy
Doubleday (Transworld) - 2000
ISBN: 0385600895 - Hardback

Reviewed by Rachel Hyde, MyShelf.com
Buy a Copy

Twig is back – no longer in the shadow of his magnificent father Cloud Wolf but a captain himself in charge of the Edgedancer and oh the trail of his missing father. But a storm is on its way and not just any storm but the Mother Storm herself, returning after many hundreds of years to rejuvenate the magical springs at Riverrise but destroy Sanctaphrax, which is in its path. Its not going to be easy though for Twig loses his ship, his memory and his crewmates and has to piece together what he has to do, find all he has lost and save the day. He will make many new friends and enemies as he journeys to Sanctaphrax, goes home to the Deepwoods and even traverses the dread Great Shryke Slave Market.

When an adult deliberately chooses to read a trilogy of children’s books you can be assured that they must be very special and if the children in your life have read Harry Potter and yearn for more magical adventures them buy them this trilogy. Many more adventures lie ahead of Twig and his friends in this thrilling story – the terrible catwalks of the Great Shryke Slave Market, the haunted depths of the Deepwoods, magical Riverrise, seedy Undertown and the exalted city of Sanctaphrax. Although you really need to have read the earlier two books each novel is a separate story in itself, which is a rarity when most fantasy trilogies are one long story and each story has plenty to recommend it and set it apart from the others. Profusely illustrated by Chris Riddell this is a rare gem of modern juvenile literature in that it manages to entertain from beginning to end without being twee or preachy, this is a thrilling and robust series that ought to appeal to children (and adults) of many ages and both sexes. A rare feat and I for one look forward to the further adventures of the folk who dwell on the Edge.

The other books in the series are Beyond the Deepwoods and Stormchaser. Miss them at your peril!