Crown of Acorns
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Review
PRAISE FOR INCARCERON AND SAPPHIQUE:
'One of this year's most striking fantasy novels'
'... an intoxicating world reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. Highly recommended.' (The Bookseller )
'suspense is constantly built ... rattles along at a dizzying pace ... next volume please.' (School Librarian )
'A crisp, quick-moving narrative and fully fleshed out characters will keep readers hooked' (Publisher's Weekly )
'A powerful and very exciting adventure story.' (School Library Journal )
'... displays all of her usual strenth of imagination ... she is simply too good to miss.'
'... stands out above all others. Its imaginative scale and gobsmacking finale make it one of the best fantasy novels written for a long time.'
'one of today's best fantasy writers ... a deliciously dark and scary ride.'
(Independent )'... imaginative, rich in texture and vividly realised. Catherine Fisher writes with consummate skill and depth of feeling.'
(The Bookseller )'One of this year's most striking fantasy novels'
(Amanda Craig, The Times )
PRAISE FOR THE ORACLE SEQUENCE:
'... a rich, resonant conclusion to the series.'
'Vivid, complicated, and thoroughly engrossing, this fast paced adventure keeps readers avidly turning pages until the majestic conclusion.'
(Horn Book Review May/June 06 )'... an intoxicating world reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. Highly recommended.' (The Bookseller )
'suspense is constantly built ... rattles along at a dizzying pace ... next volume please.' (School Librarian )
'A crisp, quick-moving narrative and fully fleshed out characters will keep readers hooked' (Publisher's Weekly )
'A powerful and very exciting adventure story.' (School Library Journal )
'... one of the most skilled and original writers currently working in young adult fantasy'
(New Welsh Review )'Beautifully imagined and realised, this novel of future regression is rich with strong characters, big issues and a compelling plot. It is a barnstorming piece of serious fantasy that doesn't put a foot wrong.'
(The Bookbag )'Catherine Fisher is an artist with words ... An engrossing, intricate story of an extraordinary journey undertaken by ricjly imaginative characters'
(Carousel )'a deliciously dark and scary ride.'
(Nicholas Tucker, The Independent )'a deep and sophisticated adventure story'
(Write Away )'... wholly engaging and rushes along as a breathless and nail-biting pace ... a gripping read that should enthral both young and old fans'
(Buzz )'the most cleverly comples and fascinating novel for teenagers I have read since His Dark Materials.'
(School Librarian )A sophisticated and beautifully written novel with a brilliant climax.
(School Librarian )Product Description
In an absorbing mystery thriller, a teenage girl with a past arrives in a city: new name, new identity, new foster family. She has chosen the city herself, and is fascinated by its harmony and beauty, but is clearly in fear of discovery. She is nursing a secret from her early childhood, a secret that produces new terrors for her the moment she fears her identity has been spotted.
A parallel narrative tells of a young architect's apprentice, Zak, in 1750 - working with Jonathan Forrest, a man obsessed with past Druidic mysteries and a new architectural vision for the city. He plans to create the world's first circular terraced street, the King's Circus - a plan greeted with scorn and derision. Zac soon realises there's more than just obsession with an architectural vision; there is some secret associated with building a hidden chamber in the centre of the Circus. But Zac himself has his own confused and highly destructive agenda ...
These narratives are framed by the voice of Bladud - mythical first builder of the city, destined to die in trying to fly. And ultimately his narrative brings all together in a clever and brilliantly intriguing climax.
A parallel narrative tells of a young architect's apprentice, Zak, in 1750 - working with Jonathan Forrest, a man obsessed with past Druidic mysteries and a new architectural vision for the city. He plans to create the world's first circular terraced street, the King's Circus - a plan greeted with scorn and derision. Zac soon realises there's more than just obsession with an architectural vision; there is some secret associated with building a hidden chamber in the centre of the Circus. But Zac himself has his own confused and highly destructive agenda ...
These narratives are framed by the voice of Bladud - mythical first builder of the city, destined to die in trying to fly. And ultimately his narrative brings all together in a clever and brilliantly intriguing climax.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Crown of Acorns, Catherine Fisher's latest, has three separate strands, taking place in three time zones. In prehistory, Bladud the leprous king is cured by the sacred spring of Sulis, but the circles he gratefully builds to her honour come to imprison him. In the 18th century, Zachariah Stoke works as apprentice to Jonathan Forrest, who dreams of building a perfect circle of houses. And in the present day, a girl of 17, calling herself Sulis, arrives in Bath, with a false identity provided for her by social services and a habit of looking over her shoulder for a man who may or may not be there.
It will be clear already that what links the three strands, apart from images and themes, is a location, the city of Bath. To the young Sulis, it is her "ideal city", bewitching her both with its golden stone and its unimaginably long history, and it works much the same magic on the reader. So does the grand obsession of Forrest, a slightly fictionalised version of John Wood, architect of the King's Circus in Bath, a visionary artist plagued by mole-eyed money men. Meanwhile in the best Fisher tradition we have not one but two refreshingly chippy, unorthodox young protagonists in Sulis and Zac, (not to mention their two equally chippy foils, Josh and Sylvia).
Like the perfect circle of houses, the themes and images in this book constantly mirror each other, but though what goes around comes around, it is subtly changed; history does not simply repeat itself in a new time but rather reinvents itself constantly, as no two acorns produce identical oak trees.
If having two teenage protagonists - albeit pretty late teens - makes a book "young adult" rather than adult, I suppose that's what this is, despite the fact that the portrayal of 18th-century Bath's gambling hells, and the girl who used to work in one, is as grim and gritty as you'd expect. But the adult/young adult boundary is meaningless when the book is good enough - does anyone stop reading Treasure Island when they grow up, just because Jim is young? - and this is the most enjoyable novel I've reviewed for a while (S. Pugh. aged 59 and a quarter).
It will be clear already that what links the three strands, apart from images and themes, is a location, the city of Bath. To the young Sulis, it is her "ideal city", bewitching her both with its golden stone and its unimaginably long history, and it works much the same magic on the reader. So does the grand obsession of Forrest, a slightly fictionalised version of John Wood, architect of the King's Circus in Bath, a visionary artist plagued by mole-eyed money men. Meanwhile in the best Fisher tradition we have not one but two refreshingly chippy, unorthodox young protagonists in Sulis and Zac, (not to mention their two equally chippy foils, Josh and Sylvia).
Like the perfect circle of houses, the themes and images in this book constantly mirror each other, but though what goes around comes around, it is subtly changed; history does not simply repeat itself in a new time but rather reinvents itself constantly, as no two acorns produce identical oak trees.
If having two teenage protagonists - albeit pretty late teens - makes a book "young adult" rather than adult, I suppose that's what this is, despite the fact that the portrayal of 18th-century Bath's gambling hells, and the girl who used to work in one, is as grim and gritty as you'd expect. But the adult/young adult boundary is meaningless when the book is good enough - does anyone stop reading Treasure Island when they grow up, just because Jim is young? - and this is the most enjoyable novel I've reviewed for a while (S. Pugh. aged 59 and a quarter).
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I only bother to review books I have really enjoyed, and this one ticked all my boxes!
Three separate stories are woven together. Images and ideas tumble from one strand to another, linking the tales and characters and providing a continuous timeline from ancient times to the modern day.
The modern girl chooses the name Sulis for the new identity she adopts when she moves to yet more foster parents, and thus she is caught up in the story of the city she will now call home. The city has a colourful past and we are fortunate enough to witness significant periods in that history, by learning about Bladud (legendary king, said to have founded the city of Bath) and John Forrest (fictional character based on John Wood, architect of the real Kings Circle in Bath). Each strand of the book is fascinating, but I was always pleased to get back to the 1700s to find out what that silly young man, Zac, was getting up to!
It became almost a game to spot the images that appear in two or more stories - pigs, acorns, the numbers three and thirty, the jackdaws and, of course, circles.
Thank you Ms Fisher for a book that is not a vampire/werewolf/fallen angel /high school romance! As a school librarian I am always reluctant to put an age guide to books so I will just say that this is an enjoyable and intelligent read for anyone who has developed the reading stamina to tackle it.
Three separate stories are woven together. Images and ideas tumble from one strand to another, linking the tales and characters and providing a continuous timeline from ancient times to the modern day.
The modern girl chooses the name Sulis for the new identity she adopts when she moves to yet more foster parents, and thus she is caught up in the story of the city she will now call home. The city has a colourful past and we are fortunate enough to witness significant periods in that history, by learning about Bladud (legendary king, said to have founded the city of Bath) and John Forrest (fictional character based on John Wood, architect of the real Kings Circle in Bath). Each strand of the book is fascinating, but I was always pleased to get back to the 1700s to find out what that silly young man, Zac, was getting up to!
It became almost a game to spot the images that appear in two or more stories - pigs, acorns, the numbers three and thirty, the jackdaws and, of course, circles.
Thank you Ms Fisher for a book that is not a vampire/werewolf/fallen angel /high school romance! As a school librarian I am always reluctant to put an age guide to books so I will just say that this is an enjoyable and intelligent read for anyone who has developed the reading stamina to tackle it.
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