Fly by Night
by Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge's debut novel is something special and rare. It is a book of great quality, both in terms of writing and story, but it has also been a timely reminder to me what great childrens books are all about, and are capable of.
The story, set in the inventively-named 'Fractured Realm concerns the flight from her native hamlet Chough of Mosca Mye, an independently-minded, quick-witted survivalist who goes on the run after accidentally burning down her house. She hooks up with a silver-tongued swindler and spy called Eponymous Clent, whom she happens to save from the gallows, and together they become deeply involved in a dark and hideous plot to spread further death and discord throughout the kingdom.
Highwaymen, smugglers, crazy kings, deceitful queens and floating coffee houses ¨ its all here. It hooked me first with the imaginative landscape against which the narrative unfolds, a sort of weird 18th Century England ¨ with twists - then with the characters which were satisfyingly funny, complex and scheming. I fell in love with Mosca the orphan girl and her homicidal goose immediately and savoured her adventures with relish. High praise indeed, but worth every bit of it. Undoubtedly, my book of the year.
[Read Hardinge's Luck, an interview with Frances Hardinge in this issue of Armadillo - Ed]
Buy this book from Amazon UK