The Shadow of Malabron

by Thomas Wharton

Book Overview

A rich, absorbing fantasy follows a rebellious teen on his journey through the Perilous Realm, where dreams, fairy tales, and reality intersect. When Will crashes his father's motorcycle and stumbles... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0763639117
• ISBN13: 9780763639112
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 382 Pages
• Weight: 1.42 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 8.7"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

Pleasantly surprised!

When I picked up this book at the library the book sounded really interesting but the cover looked very juvenile. However on skimming through I decided to give it a try. The book pulled me in immediately and after the first couple of chapters I realized that "you can't judge a book by it's cover" as goes the cliche. I am constantly asked by young people (I am a mother and prolific reader) what books I recommend since we have a very large home library. I liked the book so much that after reading the public library's copy I went out and purchased my own copy for my home library. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

Flamingnet.com Teen Book Reviews-action-packed fantasy

When Will steals his father's motorcycle and runs away from the campsite where they are staying, his plan is for revenge not to crash and end up in another land. He wants revenge on his father for taking him and his sister, Jess, away from the house they lived in before his mother died. His destination on the motorcycle is the Perilous Realm, what he thinks is an amusement park a few miles down the road from their campsite. Will does end up in Perilous Realm; too bad it is not an amusement park, but an entirely different world. An evil sorcerer brings him there and wants to capture Will to use him for his own nefarious reasons. The Perilous Realm is a world of stories where everyone and everything has their own and are all part of the weaving, the largest story of all. The Angel and his master want to create the end of all the stories; they want to control all of them for themselves. Will sets off on his journey accompanied by a young girl with extraordinary powers, her storytelling grandfather, a talking wolf, and a knight-in-training. Along the way, they pick up a man who is of the storyfolk and has a dark past as well a raven companion. Will and his friends set off on a journey to nowhere, to find the gateless gate in order to get Will back home to Elsewhere, avoiding the Angel and his minions the whole way. Wharton does an extraordinary job of weaving the tales of many people together in order to create Will's story. His characters are vibrant and come to life. One cannot allow Will to stay in the Perilous Realm and it keeps a reader going until the very end. The book is action-packed and good for anyone who loves fantasy books. Delve into the Perilous Realms, read a story of stories and travel with Will across an unknown land as he endeavors to get back home. Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer Flamingnet Book Reviews Teen books reviewed by teen reviewers

The Shadow of Malabron: The Perilous Realm: Book One

The first book in Thomas Wharton's new trilogy, //Perilous Realms//, opens like a shot. When Will's mother dies and his father decides to move the family across the country, and Will steals his dad's motorcycle, crashes the bike, and flees into the woods to escape punishment. After encountering a very peculiar tree decorated with bits of mirror, he realizes that, somehow, he has ventured not just away from the road, but away from his own world. As Will encounters characters from other stories, his confusion mimics our own. But so does his thrill of revelation, as Will learns more about why he's been drawn into this world and what he must do before he can leave. Young adult fantasy fiction has no shortage of boy-on-a-quest stories, but with //The Shadow of Malabron//, Wharton has added something worthwhile to the genre. And though this is the first volume in a trilogy, those who don't like the idea of waiting for book two will be happy to know that this installment wraps up nicely. You'll want to know what happens next, but you'll be satisfied if you wind up having to wait a while. Reviewed by Amanda Mitchell