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by Martin Stewart
A stunning debut perfect for fans of Patrick Ness and Neil Gaiman!
The Danék is a wild, treacherous river, and the Fobisher family has tended it for generations - clearing it of ice and weed, making sure boats can get through, and fishing corpses from its bleak depths. Wulliam's father, the current Riverkeep, is proud of this work. Wull dreads it. And in one week, when he comes of age, he will have to take over.
Then the unthinkable happens. While recovering a drowned man, Wull's father is pulled under - and when he emerges, he is no longer himself. A dark spirit possesses him, devouring him from the inside. In an instant, Wull is Riverkeep. And he must care for his father, too.
When he hears that a cure for his father lurks in the belly of a great sea-dwelling beast known as the mormorach, he embarks on an epic journey down the river that his family has so long protected - but never explored. Along the way, he faces death in any number of ways, meets people and creatures touched by magic and madness and alchemy, and finds courage he never knew he possessed.
Martin Stewart's debut novel is an astonishing blend of the literary, the comedic, and the emotionally resonant. In a sentence, it's The Wizard of Oz as told by Patrick Ness. It marks the beginning of a remarkable career.
"Starred Review. Filled with wild adventure and hilarious dialogue (Tillinghast has a particularly saucy mouth), this vivid, engrossing fantasy will delight readers, even those who occasionally find the dialect tricky to navigate." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Stewart shows a dab hand at crafting memorable characters and thoroughly frightening opponents for them to face ... A rich debut: Huck Finn meets Moby-Dick." - Kirkus
"With a humorous, light touch and an excellent feel for dialogue, Stewart has created a first-rate fantasy ... Otherwise excellently written quest fantasy, marred by a significant world-building error. In spite of this, an author to watch." - School Library Journal
"While knowledge of folklore and mythology will enhance a reader's experience, it's not essential to enjoyment of this riveting read." - Booklist
This information about Riverkeep was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Martin Stewart has previously worked as a recycling technician, university lecturer, barman, golf caddy, and English teacher. A native of Glasgow, where he still lives, he enjoys buying books to feed his to-be-read pile, and combining the city's urban splendor with walks on the beaches of Scotland's west coast. Riverkeep is his first novel.
If you liked Riverkeep, try these:
by Barbara Kingsolver
Published 2024
From the New York Times bestselling author of Unsheltered and Flight Behavior, a brilliant novel which enthralls, compels, and captures the heart as it evokes a young hero's unforgettable journey to maturity.
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Published 2018
A richly illustrated and lyrical tale, one that asks harrowing questions about power, loyalty, obsession, and the monsters we make of others.
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The eerie, suspenseful debut novel — hailed as "an amazing piece of fiction" by Stephen King — that is taking the world by storm.
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