The Colour of Darkness

Description

Danny O'Neill hasn't had a single good night's sleep in the year since he discovered the book of storms. Exhausted and a social outcast, he wishes only to escape the shadowy figure of Sammael who controls his dreams and nightmares. Cath Carrera, from the other side of town, dreams of escaping her brutish father and spiteful step-family. So when she meets Barshin, a talking hare who offers her protection from her dad's latest violent rage, she doesn't think twice about going with him. But she didn't expect to find a place like Chromos: a vibrant, addictive dreamland built from her imagination, in all its colours. In return for his protection, Barshin wants Cath to deliver a message to Danny: he must rescue his cousin Tom from Sammael before it is too late. Together, the three must find a way to stop Sammael before he destroys Tom. But even with the help of talking plants and creatures, and a friendly stag, the journey to Chromos and beyond is a dangerous, near-impossible mission, and Danny and Cath will have to muster every scrap of bravery and ingenuity to have a hope of succeeding.

Ruth Hatfield is from Cambridge, although she travels around a bit as she is a field archaeologist by profession. It's a good job for inspiration! Ruth has been writing stories for most of her life just to please herself; however, what she loves to explore is the way in which imagination gives us limitless possibilities to make our own lives extraordinary. In her spare time she eats books, gallops around on horses, pedals around on her bike and tries not to break too many bones.

If dark, layered fantasy reminiscent of Susan Cooper and Alan Garner is your thing, then don't miss it * The Bookseller (Children's Previews) * Debut author Hatfield weaves a dark and twisted tale in the vein of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book ... Hatfield creates an imaginative, whimsical world. * Publishers Weekly (Praise for THE BOOK OF STORMS) * This is really something special. An 11-year-old boy searches for his storm-chaser parents and unravels a shadowy world of magic, menace and a truly terrifying foe. Wonderful storytelling with echoes of Susan Cooper. It's her debut and she's most certainly a name to watch ... Don't miss it. * Editor's Choice, The Bookseller (Praise for THE BOOK OF STORMS) * A powerfully conceived and executed story that adds a wholly original element to the fantasy genre * Kirkus, starred review (Praise for THE BOOK OF STORMS) *