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Endymion Spring (Hardcover)

by Matthew Skelton (Author) "Johann Fust arrived on a cold winter's night ..." (more)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Customers buy this book with Dragonkeeper (Dragonkeeper Trilogy) by Carole Wilkinson

Endymion Spring + Dragonkeeper (Dragonkeeper Trilogy)
Price For Both: £13.78

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 448 pages
  • Publisher: Puffin Books (2 Mar 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141382392
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141382395
  • Product Dimensions: 20 x 16 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 334,617 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Attractively packaged in an all-important shiny cover, and clocking in at just shy of 450 pages, Matthew Skelton’s debut novel is a substantial and impressive addition to the oeuvre of modern children’s books that many commentators say is undergoing something of a ‘Golden Age’.

Endymion Spring, feverishly sought after by many a publisher when it was completed and thrust forth upon the books community for acquisition, has catapulted its shy creator into a very large limelight. And it is attention richly deserved. It’s a well-written book that impresses from the beginning.

The author expertly interweaves two narratives with aplomb. The first tells of the adventures of 12-year-old Blake Winters, who is visiting Oxford with his academic mother and his kid sister, Duck. While their mum immerses herself in dusty academia, Blake feels trapped in the rarefied air of the college library until one day, while running his finger along a shelf, something pierces his finger, drawing blood. The biting book responsible is a battered old volume, with a strange clasp like a serpent's head--with real fangs. Printed on its front are two words: Endymion Spring.

The second part of the story takes place in 1452, in medieval Mainz, the German city where Johannes Gutenberg invented the first printing press to use movable type. It's the tale of Gutenberg's young apprentice, and the sacrifices he makes to keep a precious, dangerous dragon book from falling into the wrong hands.

The publishing industry loves a rags-to-riches story, and it hit the jackpot when Matthew Skelton, a penniless academic from Oxford, wrote a first novel that sold for huge sums of money. But Skelton has justified the investment in him by writing an intriguing, dramatic and suspenseful novel that cannot to fail to entertain all those who dare to pick it up.

(Age 10 and over)--John McLay

book review book of books, november 16, 1999
a thrilling book full of suspense and dark secrets.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Johann Fust arrived on a cold winter's night. Read the first page
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Endymion Spring
86% buy the item featured on this page:
Endymion Spring 3.9 out of 5 stars (19)
£9.89
The Story of Cirrus Flux
14% buy
The Story of Cirrus Flux 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£4.89
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Customer Reviews

19 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping Read!, 21 Jan 2007
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This book reminded me in some ways of Shadow of the Wind. Also, it has aspects of LOTR; in this case it's a book that holds the key to everything. I loved the references to Goblin Market which is my long time favourite poem. The way the history of printing was brought into the story line without becoming stuffy was ingenious. The descriptions of libraries and bookstores evoked some wonderful imagery, and I could have wept when Blake (the main character) loses the book that he wanted to buy for his mum. I was gripped from the very first pages and hope I'm right in thinking that there is a sequel to come. If you are a lover of myths and legends, suspense, dark secrets, ancient books and good v evil, then this book is a must have for you. Written for 10 year olds but definitely not to be missed out on by adults!
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping tale, 3 Jan 2008
By kehs (Hertfordshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Endymion Spring (Paperback)
This book reminded me in some ways of Shadow of the Wind. Also, it has aspects of LOTR; in this case it's a book that holds the key to everything. I loved the references to Goblin Market which is my long time favourite poem. The way the history of printing was brought into the story line without becoming stuffy was ingenious. The descriptions of libraries and bookstores evoked some wonderful imagery, and I could have wept when Blake (the main character) loses the book that he wanted to buy for his mum. I was gripped from the very first pages and hope I'm right in thinking that there is a sequel to come. If you are a lover of myths and legends, suspense, dark secrets, ancient books and good v evil, then this book is a must have for you. Written for 10 year olds but definitely not to be missed out on by adults!
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11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe the rubbishing, 3 May 2006
By Milo Dijete (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews
Hm. I feel the reviewer below who gave this one star and a rubbishing is being savagely unjust. Poorly written? I don’t know, perhaps it is indeed poor writing in some parallel universe where Clive Cussler is Tolstoy and everything is upside down in relation to this one. Don’t take me at my word, don’t take “A reader” at his. Pick the book up in a store, leaf through it, read several passages and decide for yourself. As for hype, if I didn’t know the author, I wouldn’t know this book existed. Even it the middle of *Oxford* no bookshop that I noticed even put it on special display, let alone had an author event. I had to specifically look for it in the exact place I figured it would be, and even so I almost missed it.

Oh, Oxford University is being described, who knows why? Might it perhaps not be because that is where half the story takes place? There’s too much detail? No, there’s as much detail as is needed for credible and interesting descriptions of where, how, who and why. From that review, one would think the book is crammed with throwaway trivia. “Random Name (1802-1891)“ for example, is there because that precise inscription is what the character sees (and it gets important later on). It is not the kind of detail that looks out of place or jarring. The prose “reads like an academic essay”?… [mirthless laughter] Oh, if only academic essays were like that; perhaps I would have emerged from my own Oxford ordeal with rather more sanity than I did.

The first one hundred pages introduce us to both stories, the other one taking place (mostly) in Mainz in the 15the century, and the two eventually come together. The two stories are picked up in turn throughout the book, not divided between two halves. “Only one major plot point,” the mysterious blank book, is what the narrative is about. How many plots should one book have?

“Adults talking to children as academics to one another”… OK, this criticism I actually completely agree with. Such dialogue bothered me when I was reading it. Then again, I would not put it past some Oxford academics to converse like that with children, hamsters or lampposts, so it’s not such an improbability after all, and it makes up only a small portion of the dialogue. I also agree that Blake seems surprisingly literate for a kid that doesn’t like to read, and it irked me that his sister is portrayed rather unsympathetically. There are other bits I would have preferred to have been done differently, but this is Matthew’s story. And it’s a pretty good one. It’s not an Earth-shattering masterpiece, but by God it’s certainly not a one-star heap of rubbish. Nor would I ever in a billion years use the words “boring” or “dry” to describe it, or its author. It's well worth the money.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Good start...
This book reads like the halves of two promising books: The 15th century story is more gripping but unfinished and sketchy; Blake's story in present day Oxford is closer to a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by E. Chao

3.0 out of 5 stars Alright but...
The book appears to be good, the story being a good idea but it appears that Skelton is more interested with how the book looks than how the story is, using fonts to make it look... Read more
Published 19 months ago by RoseGirl

3.0 out of 5 stars Good and bad
The story of an American child in the libraries of Oxford finding a mysterious book that bites and then starts telling him things, is a brilliant premise. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Wyvernfriend

3.0 out of 5 stars The originality is stifled by the flat writing
For a book with such original ideas in it, the execution is peculiarly flat. Skelton seems more interested in setting up location and places than he is in building up character... Read more
Published 22 months ago by tybalt-quin

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
I recently met Matthew Skelton at a debate about whether books could be replaced by the internet, obviously he was on our side, arguing against. Read more
Published on 2 April 2007 by Mrs. A. M. Howe

3.0 out of 5 stars Great idea lost in bad writing
This is an interesting story and I loved the idea of a book of knowledge made from dragon skin. Unfortunately, the great idea is let down in this over-written and under-edited... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2007 by L. Hogan

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I hoped
Before reading this book, I decided to ignore all of the reviews I had read (good and bad) and make up my own mind about it. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2006 by Brida

2.0 out of 5 stars Bleah Painfully awkward
I am not certain where the stellar reviews of this book are coming from unless they are friends of the author. Read more
Published on 26 Jul 2006 by Joe Williams

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fabulous
I've just finished this book and it is great! If you like Harry Potter you love this book!
Published on 14 May 2006 by H. J. Klein Egelink

5.0 out of 5 stars Two wonderful stories in one
This book is gripping, moving, utterly original and altogether marvelous. Skelton's prose is a joy to read, and there are many nicely quirky turns of phrase. Read more
Published on 27 April 2006 by Minax

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