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Corby Flood has noticed something is wrong on their cruise ship, the S.S. Euphonia. Among the odd passengers and eccentric crew, there is a strange group of men in bowler-hats who call themselves The Brotherhood of Clowns. There's also a melancholy wailing sound coming from the hold....
The second magical, funny, and fabulously illustrated story in the Far Flung Adventures from the authors of Fergus Crane and the Edge Chronicles.
Corby Flood and her family are about to set sail on the rather ramshackle cruise ship, the S.S. Euphonia. Her boisterous brothers might not have noticed that anything is wrong, but Corby is highly observant and has a lot of time for note-taking and eavesdropping. Onboard, among the odd passengers and eccentric crew, there is a strange group of men in bowler-hats who call themselves The Brotherhood of Clowns. There's also a melancholy wailing sound coming from the hold. It's strictly out of bounds but Corby can't help investigating. What could be inside the crate she discovers down in the hold? As the ship arrives at its destination, Corby must enlist the help of some very well mustachioed locals to uncover the contents of the crate and the dark secrets of the menacing Clowns...
EXCERPT
Chapter 1. The Saddest Song
It’s quiet and dark here, and the forest floor sways and rolls beneath my feet. Sometimes I stumble, but I do not fall over, because I’m trapped inside this tree where it is always dark. Oh, how I long to see the sun again.
How did I get here? I can hardly remember . . .
Ah, yes, that’s it. I followed my tongue. The sweet petals tasted so good, melting in my mouth, until I walked into this tree and got trapped inside.
Now there is no more sun. Just quiet and darkness and swaying. I feel so sad. My heart is so full of sadness that it must surely break . . .
I will sing to let the sadness out. Perhaps if I sing, the forest will stop rolling and swaying, and the sun will come back, and my heart will not break . . . just yet.
The S.S. Euphonia, ablaze with twinkling lights, glided across a moonlit sea. Its funnels were topped with streams of frothy white smoke, its gleaming sides peppered with brightly lit portholes and its decks...
Corby Flood is a fantastic novel with wonderful characters and great adventures. I really liked the clown characters, who are all named after typefaces, like Mr Times New Roman - who is a really evil man and the leader of the evil clowns. This is the second in the series but you don't have to have read the first one, I haven't and I still enjoyed it! I recommend this book for kids 7 to 12. - Natasha, aged 10...continued
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell have collaborated on a number of books together, predominately the widely
popular (particularly in our household) Edge Chronicles series for ages 10-14 (approx), and the Far
Flung Adventure Series (of which, Corby Flood is book 2) for slightly
younger readers.
The Edge Chronicles Series
(UK first publication dates, unless otherwise specified)
Beyond the Deepwoods (1998)
Stormchaser (1999)
Midnight over Sanctaphrax (2000)
The Curse of the Gloamglozer (2001)
The Last of the Sky Pirates (2002)
Vox (2003)
Freeglader (2004, USA Feb 2006)
Winter Knights (2005, not yet in US)
Clash of the Sky Galleons (UK Oct 2006)
The Stone Pilot (2006 - an 80 page story produced exclusively ...
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