Amazon.co.uk Review
The Oracle Betrayed comes from the pen of the award-winning Welsh author and poet Catherine Fisher, and grabs readers quickly with a convincingly imagined Greco-Egyptian setting and characters that defy quick classification. Our heroine, Mirany, begins the story as a timid teen serving the High Priestess, the masked Speaker who discerns the wishes of a god through a mysterious island oracle. When the current Archon (the sequestered God-on-Earth) passes a secret note to Mirany just before he's sacrificed, the story throws intrigue onto intrigue with a murder plot, a drunken musician, a conflicted scribe, a slick tomb robber, an offended Rain Goddess and no shortage of mystic burial rituals and dusty tombs.
Fisher's biggest accomplishment is that for all the page-turning action, she still manages to raise some pretty heady ideas about death, ambition and the nature of faith. Expect both kids and grown-ups to be reaching for Fisher's follow-up. (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes, Amazon.com
Review
'suspense is constantly built ... rattles along at a dizzying pace ... next volume please. (School Librarian 20030801)
'an intoxicating world reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. Highly recommended' (The Bookseller 20010209)
Vivid and convincing ... a very satisfying read for young people who want some depth to their fiction, and the depiction of an unusual and interesting world. (Vector 20010209)
The tension endures until the last page ... we want the sequel, soon! (BfK 20050201)
'will linger long in readers' memories' (Kirkus Reviews 20050201)
A crisp, quick-moving narrative ... will keep readers hooked. (Publisher's Weekly )
A powerful and very exciting adventure story (School Library Journal )
DARKWATER HALL: 'a seriously good author ... makes for some nail-biting reading.' (The Independent )
'... a thrilling, chilling world of magic and menace' (The Mail on Sunday )
'A gripping story that'll keep you guessing!' (SHOUT )
'an extraordinary imagination, always coming up with some new twist that is both weird yet utterly convincing.' (Nicholas Tucker, Rough Guide to Children's Books )
'Breathlessly paced . . . almost painfully heightened tension right to the end . . . will have readers queuing for the concluding volume.' (Harper Collins Publishers )
'an intoxicating world reminiscent of the Arabian Nights. Highly recommended' (The Bookseller 20010209)
Vivid and convincing ... a very satisfying read for young people who want some depth to their fiction, and the depiction of an unusual and interesting world. (Vector 20010209)
The tension endures until the last page ... we want the sequel, soon! (BfK 20050201)
'will linger long in readers' memories' (Kirkus Reviews 20050201)
'the reader will fall under the spell of this fantasy story'
(Grafschafter Nachrichten )A crisp, quick-moving narrative ... will keep readers hooked. (Publisher's Weekly )
A powerful and very exciting adventure story (School Library Journal )
DARKWATER HALL: 'a seriously good author ... makes for some nail-biting reading.' (The Independent )
'... a thrilling, chilling world of magic and menace' (The Mail on Sunday )
'A gripping story that'll keep you guessing!' (SHOUT )
'an extraordinary imagination, always coming up with some new twist that is both weird yet utterly convincing.' (Nicholas Tucker, Rough Guide to Children's Books )
'Breathlessly paced . . . almost painfully heightened tension right to the end . . . will have readers queuing for the concluding volume.' (Harper Collins Publishers )
'gripped by the deeper truths of the story and the compelling, vivid intensity of the writing.'
(Armadillo - Douglas Hill )
