Endymion Spring
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4.8 • 8 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
"You've stumbled on to something much larger than you can possibly imagine."
In the dead of night, a cloaked figure drags a heavy box through snow-covered streets. The chest, covered in images of mythical beasts, can only be opened when the fangs of its serpent's-head clasp taste blood.
Centuries later, in an Oxford library, a boy touches a strange book and feels something pierce his finger. The volume is blank, wordless, but its paper has fine veins running through it and seems to quiver, as if it's alive. Words begin to appear on the page--words no one but the boy can see.
And so unfolds a timeless secret . . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
An enchanted blank book one that reveals its secrets, but "only for those with eyes to see them" lies at the center of Skelton's ambitious first novel, which unfolds through two alternating narratives. The first, set in the present, follows young Blake, whose mother is a visiting academic at Oxford. One day he runs his finger across the spines of some books in the Bodleian Library, and one volume " him back." The book's title, "Endymion Spring," begins to appear before his eyes, and he opens the cover only to find the contents blank save for a riddle-like poem. The second thread of the tale, set in 15th-century Germany, is narrated by Endymion Spring, a boy serving as apprentice to the great Gutenberg, who is hard at work on his printing press. Gutenberg, eager for money to fund his Bible-printing project, strikes a deal with the "ruthless" Fust, who travels with a locked chest, adorned with gruesome imagery. Its hidden treasure represents a mystery with ties to both Blake's blank book and to Eden. With it, Fust seeks to create a book that will contain "all the secrets of the universe." Skelton's fiction breathes excitement into real history, as he exploits the fact that Johann Fust, Gutenberg's real-life patron, has been identified with Faust (as explained to Blake by a professor and to readers in an endnote). Riddles galore, a great cliffhanger and a film deal with Warner Bros. should generate plenty of excitement for this literary thriller; book lovers in particular will savor its palpable whiff of musty shelves and dusty volumes. Ages 12-up.
Customer Reviews
Blew Me Away.
This book. . . There are no words to describe how amazing this book is. It is, the greatest book I have ever read. I mean, by far. I am like, completely speechless right now. I cannot explain, no matter how hard I try, how amazing this book is. Matthew Skelton. You are the most talented, creative author I have ever seen. You really need to write more books! No other book can even come close in comparison to your book. That is just it. I literally have nothing else to say about your book. That is how amazing this book is.