51 used & new from £0.01
See All Buying Options
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
The Speed of the Dark
 
See larger image 
Share your own customer images
Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book.

The Speed of the Dark (Paperback)

by Alex Shearer (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


1 new from £21.55 50 used from £0.01
Other Editions: RRP: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 20 used & new from £0.01

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Harry Potter Find all the latest books, toys, games and DVDs from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in our Harry Potter store.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Stolen (PB)

The Stolen (PB)

by Alex Shearer
4.6 out of 5 stars (5)  £3.98
The Great Blue Yonder (PB)

The Great Blue Yonder (PB)

by Alex Shearer
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  £3.98
Bootleg

Bootleg

by Alex Shearer
5.0 out of 5 stars (3)  £9.68
Tins

Tins

by Alex Shearer
4.0 out of 5 stars (5)  £3.98
The Lost (New Windmills)

The Lost (New Windmills)

by Alex Shearer
4.7 out of 5 stars (6)  £7.12
› Explore similar items

Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books; New edition edition (6 Feb 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330415387
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330415385
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 471,452 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Product Description

Product Description

Christopher Mallan loves Ernst Eckmann's sculptures. He visits his gallery often on his way home from school to marvel at the creations. They are so tiny and perfect they appear almost real. One day, the impossible happens - Christopher sees a sculpture move and dance. It even seems to breathe.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Speed of the Dark
51% buy the item featured on this page:
The Speed of the Dark 5.0 out of 5 stars (3)
The Great Blue Yonder (PB)
14% buy
The Great Blue Yonder (PB) 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£3.98
Speed of Dark
13% buy
Speed of Dark 4.3 out of 5 stars (12)
£4.99
Coraline
12% buy
Coraline 4.4 out of 5 stars (60)
£4.87
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Haunting and Atmospheric Masterpiece, 5 Jul 2004
By Chrestomanci (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
'The Speed of the Dark' is a strangely haunting little book. Atmospheric ... sinister even. The style of writing is not unlike Roald Dhal's short stories; imagine one of his 'Tales of the Unexpected' expanded to a full novel, and you'll get the picture.

For the most part, the narrative takes the form of a letter/manuscript found after Christopher, a mysterious young scientist, goes missing - leaving nothing behind but a snowglobe screwed down to his desk. A snowglobe without snow.

His manuscript tells the story of his childhood, and the three adults his life revolves around: Robert, his father, a surly bohemian street artist; Poppea, a street performer who pretends to be a mechanical ballerina; and Mr Eckmann, the deformed owner of The Gallery of the Art of the Impossible - and sculptor extraordinaire. His sculptures are truly beyond belief: a polar bear carved from a single grain of salt, a camel tiny enough to be displayed in the eye of a needle, the Empire State Building carved on the tip of a pencil lead, and many more.

But Eckmann has a strange ambition: he wants to include in his Gallery microscopic figures that actually move. One day he invites Christopher to view his latest masterpiece: a fully articulated mechanical ballerina small enough to dance on the point of a needle. His new attraction coincides with the mysterious disappearance of Christopher's friend Poppea. Is this a coincidence ... or something far, far more sinister?

This book is charmingly written, and grips to the very end. It has been short-listed for the Guardian Children's Fiction Award - however, the style of story-telling may well suit early teens to young adults best. A true gem!

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The images haunt you days after reading the book, 6 Oct 2008
I don't want to give the content away. So I am simply going to say read this book, it is one of the most original ideas for a fantasy/horror book I have read in ages. Beautifully written the words tug at your soul and by the end I wanted to cry, because during the story I had come to care for the characters. I read this book in one night because I couldn't put it down it weaved it's spell and I was hooked.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5.0 out of 5 stars This is in my Top Ten, 28 Oct 2009
I love this book and thank you very much Chrestomanci for recommending it to me. I don't know why this book isn't well known. It is excellent - a fantastic story that leaves you thinking about it for a long time, and to me, that is the mark of a good book. I wouldn't call it a children's book, maybe mid-teens to adult. My husband read it after me and he thoroughly enjoyed it as well.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
   
Related forums

Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject









i.e., each product must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Ad

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.