Somewhere Beyond the Sea
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4.4 • 61 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
This is the hugely-anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, an international bestseller and one of the best loved fantasy novels of the past decade.
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one. He's the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.
Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.
But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve. And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home - one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from - Arthur knows they're at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.
Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur's story.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Somewhere Beyond the Sea, TJ Klune returns to the mesmerising world of Marsyas Island, where the battle for magical rights is far from over. Deepening and expanding on The House in the Cerulean Sea, this time, the central character is Arthur Parnassus, who we met in the first book, the enigmatic caretaker of the island’s orphanage. The plot weaves Arthur’s history of illegally moving magical persons to help them avoid detection, with his current desire to adopt the six magical orphans in his care. With warmth and tension, Klune creates a surreal and deeply human world, examining themes of belonging, safety and strength found in chosen families. It’s a vision of acceptance and inclusivity that’s also wonderfully enchanting and comforting.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Klune's sweet, satisfying sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea finds Arthur Parnassus, a man with the power to shape-shift into a phoenix, hopeful that his testimony about his abusive treatment under government care as a child will soften hearts and ease restrictions on all magical beings. But during the hearing before Parliament's Council of Utmost Importance, he succumbs to goading from arch conservative Jeanine Rowder, who threatens to dispatch an inspector from the Department in Charge of Magical Youths to the remote island where Arthur lives with his fiancé, Linus Baker, and the six magical foster children they're hoping to adopt. Arthur and Linus return to their home with David, a melodramatic 10-year-old yeti, to prepare their six young wards—gnome Talia, forest sprite Phee, wyvern Theodore, semiaquatic oddity Chaucey, shape-shifter Sal, and son of the devil Lucy—for the investigation. The stern inspector, who claims she does not feel fear, notes every deviation from regulations while the children waffle between trying to appease her and lashing out at her intolerant views. When Arthur uncovers the real motivations behind her visit, the action careens to a tense showdown. Though slightly more preachy and less sophisticated than book one, this follow-up still bursts with charm, wit, and endearing scenes of magical found family, complete with timely messages on acceptance and fighting oppression. Fans will be gratified by this heartfelt return.
