Impossible Creatures: 'There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell' – Michael Morpurgo Paperback – 29 Aug. 2024

With a beautiful cover, fabulous map, lovely illustrated guide to the creatures and a brilliant story for ages nine to adult, Impossible Creatures really is the perfect gift for any family!The story is engaging and well written, the characters are relateable and I loved the way we met so very many magical creatures (including dragons) and visited so very many of the islands in the archipelago without it ever feeling too much or repetitive. Both Mal and Christopher were great characters and I totally loved Nighthand, Ratwin and Irian too! I also really appreciated the magical objects - the casapasaran and the glamry blade were a little remniscient of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.In all it's a great middle grade fantasy adventure with some complex themes and bittersweet moments and is sure to become a modern classic.I actually read this with my 9 year old and she also totally loved it too and we had fun chatting about it! She loved all the magical creatures as well as the idea of the immortal.An easy 4.5 stars from me and 4.75 from my daughter (rounded up to 5 for Amazon) and we definitely recommend it!

I bought this book to read to my 9 year old and was so impressed. It is exceptionally well written with beautiful imagery and colourful characters but remains accessible and exciting for a 9 year old. I looked forward to reading it as much as he looked forward to listening to it. I must admit I found the ending very emotional. What a triumph! Can’t wait for the next one.

I love reading children's fiction, it is sometimes the best fiction. Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell, was an absolute joy to read. The writing is very accessible, the plotline moves quickly, the creatures and world she creates are vivid and imaginative. I read this in a few days and really enjoyed it. I do hope that there are more in this series. I can clearly see this being made into a film.

Another winner for Katherine Rundell. Full of imagination, heart and joy.

Just finished this book. What a wonderful joyful adventure into a new and exciting world.I'm a little older than the target audience at 63, but I found it quite delightful and can't waitfor the next installment next year.Will give me chance to re read it and adventure into her other books, having recently readRoof toppers ,Sky steppers and the Good Thieves...I have some catching up to do!Cindy Wright

I bought 'Impossible Creatures' for my 10 year old, after it was lauded in a literary podcast as being a good read for adults too. My daughter loved 'His Dark Materials' and 'Harry Potter', so I thought it would be a safe bet.Unfortunately, she dismissed the book and stopped reading it quite quickly. I thought i'd read it to see if she was being unfairly harsh and then maybe we could at least discuss what she didn't like about it.In my opinion, 'Impossible Creatures' does hook you in immediately because it has a very dynamic opening with a direct and dangerous antagonist and a basic premise that is interesting and has great scope.However, once past the adrenalised inciting incident and first obstacles, my first impression was that the core dual protagonists, Christopher and Mal, were very reminiscent of Lyra and Will from 'His Dark Materials'. Likewise Mal's relationship with Gelifen is like a poor facsimile of Lyra and Pantalaimon, without any of the deeper emotional subtext. Mal's relationship with Gelifen is never fully explained or explored. As the last Griffin, Gelifen symbolises, more than any other character, what is at stake in this world - the potential extinction of all 'impossible creatures'. Gelifen's experience could have added some of the missing emotional depth in this book. Gelifen was little more than a one dimensional accessory, ultimately just used as a plot device to provide motivation to Mal. As most of the other creatures in this world speak, it felt like a huge missed opportunity.Likewise the Glamry Blade and the compass are pretty derivative poor facsimiles of the subtle knife and the golden compass in 'His Dark Materials' but without any of the depth.I could go on about all the ways this book feels like an amalgamation of many other things but it would need to include spoilers and would take too long!Overall 'Impossible Creatures' hangs together to create a dynamic adventure in an interesting world with some likeable characters, jeopardy and dramatic encounters. It's written in easily digestible chapters and is decent enough if you're an 8-10 year old.However, if they've already read 'His Dark Materials' or 'Harry Potter', my personal opinion is that 'Impossible Creatures' is derivative and paper thin in comparison.Judging by the 5 star reviews many adults have enjoyed this book and it's received high praise by those much more esteemed than myself!My honest personal opinion as a discerning adult reader is that the central plot was weak and the main characters lacked depth. The ultimate antagonist was particularly unsatisfying and the reader's experience of this critical character mostly comes from third party exposition. For such a megalomaniacal character threatening Christopher and Mal's worlds, the antagonist is strangely passive, lacking and absent for the majority of the book, which undermines the climax of the central narrative and just feels like poor storytelling.No doubt 'Impossible Creatures' will be hugely successful and i'm sure the author had an eye on screen adaptation from the beginning but i'm really not jumping on the hype train for this one.

I was attracted to this YA book by the reviews comparing it to Tolkein and Pullman. They were right. I loved it (age 72) my daughter loved it (age 42) and I am planning to give it to a 12 year old granddaughter. A nine year old friend has also enjoyed it. We await the sequel. It is an imaginitive, funny, sad and wonderfully written story that grips from the first page (I skipped the bestiary of amazing animals at the front and used it for reference when I came across them). It's about two twelve year olds in two separate worlds who each discover their hidden powers and destiny and come together to overcome an evil force threatening to wreck the magical world. Superb. It would make a terrific film.

I cannot wait for the new one next year! I read this to my 2yo at bedtime every night until we completed it. We got her others to hold us over, but the first so far isn't holding his attention. I'm a fan now and we will carry on with the rest.