The first figure raises his crossbow, tilting his head to pinpoint the exact position of the thing in the bushes. It has stopped running now, and is muttering something. Some kind of prayer, a call for its mother, its father: anyone who might help it.
Something sinister is going on in the stinking slums of London. Sideshow acts are going missing . . . men wearing animal masks and eye goggles are hunting them down and killing them for sport. But who are this fiendish Hunters' Club? And what is the reason for their cruel game?
Sheba the wolfgirl and Pyewacket the witch's imp know all about life in a sideshow. But now they are the Carnival, private investigators working to help unusual people like them. Teaming up with new recruits half-cat Inji, her extraordinary brother, the armadillo-like Sil and Glyph the psychic, it's a race against time . . . to track down the mask-wearing villains, before anyone else comes to harm!

From bestselling author and winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, Uki and the Swamp Spirit is the fifth title set in the world of Podkin One-Ear.

Uki had the sensation of a sickly green light, spreading out through the networks of water. Of tendrils connecting all the creatures of the marsh in a web . . . Linking itself so it could poison it all and destroy it.

Uki and his friends have two more spirits to find and capture. After defeating Valkus, they make for Clarice, who is spreading disease through the swamps. Can Uki and his friends outwit him - all whilst they themselves are being chased by the Endwatch and Jori's clan of assassins?

'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson

'One of my sons very favourite authors.' Romesh Ranganathan

'Superb.' Max Porter

'It's jolly good fun ... expect sequels to breed like... well, rabbits.' SFX on The Legend of...]]> Thu, 01 Oct 2020 16:22:15 +0300 https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/301590-the_peculiars.html https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/301590-the_peculiars.html
The Peculiars are a band of misfits, trapped in a nightly Victorian sideshow. There's Wolfgirl, Sheba; Sister Moon, who can move at the speed of light; and Monkey Boy, ace climber and human stink bomb. But during the day, in a world of childsnatchers, grave robbers and dastardly doctors, they solve the mysteries no one else cares about - including why London's poorest children are being snatched from the banks of the Thames...]]> Tue, 20 Nov 2018 21:45:32 +0200 https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305701-podkin_one-ear.html https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305701-podkin_one-ear.html
A thick white blanket covers the wide slopes of the band of hills some call the Razorback Downs...Podkin One-Ear is a legend: a fearsome warrior rabbit whose reputation for cunning and triumph in battle has travelled the ages. But how did he become such a mighty fighter? The answer may surprise you... When a travelling bard arrives at Thornwood Warren on Midwinter night, he is warmly welcomed. In return for food and lodging, he settles down to tell the tale of Podkin One-Ear - and soon the rabbits are enthralled to hear the story of how one lost little rabbit overcame the cruellest enemy imaginable, and became the greatest warrior their land has ever known.]]> Sun, 20 Nov 2016 23:39:11 +0200 https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305702-freaks.html https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305702-freaks.html
Weirdest. Crime Fighters. Ever.Sheba, the fur-faced Wolfgirl, can sniff out a threat from miles away. Monkeyboy clambers up buildings in the blink of an eye — then drops deadly stink bombs of his own making (yes, THAT kind)! Sister Moon sees in the dark, and moves at the speed of light. Born with weird abnormalities that make them misfits, these FREAKS spend their nights on public display, trapped in a traveling Victorian sideshow. But during the day, they put their strange talents to use: They solve the most sinister crimes. And in a dank, desperate world of crooks and child-snatchers, they're determined to defend London's most innocent victims: the street urchins disappearing from the city's streets.]]> Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:39:12 +0200 https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305700-the_beasts_of_grimheart.html https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/305700-the_beasts_of_grimheart.html
The bard is captured by the bonedancers and taken to their temple where he has to retell the tale that earned him a contract on his life. The story of Podkin continues . . . The Gorm have started to attack the forest, trying to flush out the Darkhollow rabbits. Podkin and the others leave for Sparrowfast warren, on the other side of the forest, to ask his uncle for help and for the use of his magic bow (one of the 12 Gifts). As they make their way through the forest, Vetch turns traitor and tries to seize the Gifts Podkin and Paz own for his masters, the Gorm. The young rabbits flee into the forest depths, where they discover a lost tribe of rabbits and a another of the sacred Gifts - a crown which lets the wearer speak to animals. With their new allies, Podkin, Paz and Pook emerge, meeting up with the others at Silver Rock warren. His uncle and the Sparrowfast rabbits are already there, as the Gorm have marched round the forest edge and taken their warren.When the two...]]> Tue, 20 Nov 2018 23:39:11 +0200 https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/300956-the_gift_of_dark_hollow.html https://vampires.library.land/kieran-larwood/300956-the_gift_of_dark_hollow.html
The second book in this extraordinary series, in which Podkin discovers a skill for moonstriding - jumping in and out of the shadows with his new Gift - and makes new friends and allegiances on the way to becoming leader of rabbits. Simply unmissable.]]> Mon, 20 Nov 2017 21:31:54 +0200