Shadowcry
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4.8 • 13 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
The Night of Souls—when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest—is only days away.
Albion is at war . . . and losing.
The wardens have descended, kidnapping innocent citizens for their army, but looking for one in particular.
And fifteen-year-old Kate Winters has just raised a blackbird from the dead.
As her home is torn apart by the wardens, Kate's discovery that she is one of the Skilled—the rare people who can cross the veil between life and death—makes her the most hunted person in all of Albion. Only she can unlock the secrets of Wintercraft, the ancient book of dangerous knowledge. Captured and taken to the graveyard city of Fume—with its secret tunnels and underground villages, and where her own parents met their deaths ten years ago—Kate must harness her extraordinary powers to save herself, her country, and the two men she cares for most. And she'll make a pact with a murderer to do it.
Those who wish to see the dark, be ready to pay your price.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this somewhat overwritten but nonetheless gripping first volume of the Secrets of Wintercraft, 15-year-old Kate Winters has lost her parents to the wardens who patrol the benighted land of Albion, drafting conscripts for a never-ending war with the Continent. Living quietly in her uncle's bookshop, Kate is unaware of her magical lineage as one of the Skilled. Her life changes, however, when the wardens, led by the powerful and immortal Silas Dane, a minion of High Council member Lady Da'ru, attempts to capture her. Da'ru seeks Wintercraft, a magical tome that has passed down through the Winters family for generations. Many of the Skilled have died at Da'ru's hands as she has sought control of the book's magic and, as Silas tells Kate, Da'ru and her fellow councilors "will keep experimenting on the Skilled, taking the lives of innocent people.... They will keep failing and they will try again, and everyone else will pay the price." Debut novelist Burtenshaw's tale is melodramatic and overly reliant upon coincidence, but her characters are compelling and her descriptions of the death-besotted society of Albion have genuine power. Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
One of the best books ever
I fell in love with the book after the first few chapters. I especially love Silas's charecter. A must for any library