PHILIP WOMACK: anthony mcgowan

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Wednesday, 2 April 2025

April Children's Book Round Up for Literary Review

Here's my April Children's Book Round up for Literary Review. I'm reviewing books by Geraldine McCaughrean, Anthony McGowan, Zillah Bethell and Georgia Channon.

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

Christmas Children's Books for Literary Review

My children's book round up for Literary Review is in the December / January issue. This year I've reviewed a selection of compelling and beautiful tales: Celia Rees's The Glass Town Wars; Kenneth Oppel's Inkling; Katherine Rundell's Into the Jungle; Kevin Crossley-Holland's Between Worlds; Anthony McGowan's Lark; Lucy Strange's Our Castle by the Sea; and Brian Wildsmith's two picture books about Christmas.

Friday, 6 May 2016

Event at Waterstones Piccadilly with Caroline Lawrence, Katherine Rundell, Anthony McGowan and Philip Womack

I'm doing an event with the excellent authors Caroline Lawrence, Katherine Rundell and Anthony McGowan, and Waterstones Piccadilly on the 1st June at 6.30pm. It's free, but do RSVP to piccadilly@waterstones.com.

Thursday, 2 July 2015

Check out the July issue of Literary Review for my children's book round up, featuring:

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Arsenic for Tea by Robin Stevens
The White Umbrella by Brian Sewell
Pike by Anthony McGowan
The Dreamsnatcher by Abi Elphinstone
An Island of Our Own by Sally Nicholls
The Wordsmith by Patricia Forde
Beasts of Olympus by Lucy Coats
Julius Zebra by Gary Northfield
Apocalypse Bow Wow by James Proimos III
Uncle Gobb and the Dread Shed by Michael Rosen
The Story of King Lear by Melania G Mazzucco.

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Telegraph Christmas Books Round Up

Sally Gardner: Hot stuff

Hello all: December creeps towards us, and what better time than to think about what books to get for any children of your acquaintance. Here's my round up of the best of this year, done for The Telegraph. It features a host of novels, from Sally Gardner, Emma Carroll, Katherine Rundell, Marcus & Julian Sedgwick, F E Higgins, Philippa Gregory, Anthony McGowan; my review of Patrick Ness' More Than This was cut, so I've pasted it here below:

Patrick Ness’ More Than This (Walker Books, £10.99, 477pp), is a book which descends from our anxieties about our universe, as seen in films such as The Matrix. What is this strange world on which we live, and what if it was all a simulacrum? Ness’ treatment of his troubled gay hero is thoughtful and brave – which more than makes up for the slightly creaky premise.

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Praise for The Arrow of Apollo

"The Arrow of Apollo ... drawing deeply and with great intelligence on classical mythology, is beguilingly original. ... The prose is both elegant and muscular ... There is much to admire in this intriguing, ambitious, immersive book." Julia Gray, Literary Review.

"Womack is a classicist so his grasp of the intricacies of Greek mythology is sure. Here he weaves the complexities of family relationships, the dark deeds that arise from jealousy, passion and revenge – and the consequences with assurance. He is not retelling the myths, already well known, he is carrying them forward, creating a group of very believable characters in so doing. The result is an exciting, immersive and engaging story that carries its learning lightly ... Though this is a novel to appeal to KS3 readers Womack’s uncluttered contemporary style – no anachronisms here – make it ideal for confident KS2 readers whether they have met the mythological world of the Greeks and Romans or not. Excellent." Books for Keeps

Praise for The Double Axe

"I began to leaf through, then could not put the book down, so easy to read it was like being in a trance. You can virtually taste the blood, smell the sea breezes, touch the stone walls of the palace as you run your hands along them, inhabit the strong young body of the 13 year old narrator and feel his fear and exhilaration. The pages almost turned themselves as my brain was effortlessly filled with data normally the preserve of scholarly classicists." Mary Killen, The Lady

"Womack’s fifth novel, unsettling, original and absorbing, shows him at the height of his powers." Imogen Russell Williams, Literary Review.

"Learned and exciting." Suzi Feay, Financial Times.

"...a clever rummage through the myth that manages to turn it on its head and recast it in a new light... promises great things to come." Toby Clements, The Telegraph.

" You should try this book. The spare, simple narrative tightens the tension in every page and keeps you reading. There is suspicion, trust, betrayal, and death. Curses, prophecies and magic. Excellent stuff!" Reading Matters.

Praise for The King's Shadow

"The King's Shadow, like The Broken King and Womack's two previous books, remains full of atmosphere, menace and lightly-worn learning. Classical influence is evident in the lunar names of King Selenus and his daughter and in the compass directions of the Roman winds; and there are nice, unsettling touches of warped courtliness and chivalry throughout. A darkly disconcerting high fantasy, in the vein of Alan Garner or Susan Cooper, it should appeal to adventurous young readers." - Imogen Russell Williams, Literary Review

"Womack delivers a whole, satisfying story ... Giants, dwarfs and magic all bubble in the mix - along with a dash of romance." Suzi Feay, The Financial Times.

Praise for The Broken King

"Philip Womack is one of the best contemporary writers of children's fantasy... There's a real sense of deepening menace... will please any young fantasy fan." Philip Reeve, author.

"[Womack] does conjure an eerie poetry of the subconscious, a kind of Alice in Terrorland." Suzi Feay, The Financial Times

"A magical story full of powerful images and unexpected consequences." Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading4Kids

" The Broken King is superbly written and totally gripping, and I want the next bit now." Kate Saunders, Literary Review.

"Like Alan Garner, Philip Womack takes ancient fairy-tales about searching for a child kidnapped by dark magic, and turns it into a haunting adventure exploring love, courage, fear and friendship. Written with sensitivity, intelligence and conviction, it's the kind of classic story readers can't get enough of." Amanda Craig

"A cracking pace, enigmatic characters and terrifying adversaries will have you clamouring for the next in the series. " - Sarah Naughton

Praise for The Other Book

"Philip Womack is a writer of huge talent" - Artemis Cooper in The Daily Telegraph

'Womack is not simply writing for children, he is, like many of the best children's writers, remembering how it felt to be a child'. Roz Kaveney in Times Literary Supplement

'Womack excels at vivid and lyrical phrasing ... Can't wait for more.' Elspeth Barker in Literary Review

'A ripsnorting children's adventure ... the helter-skelter pace will keep any right-thinking ten year old hooked.' Archie Bland in The Spectator

Praise for The Liberators

What is so rewarding about Womack’s book is that the quality of the writing is good enough to slow you down. From the “pall of fear” that “hung over London as its citizens mobbed around, uncertain of the dangers that hid in their midst” to the conversations between children and adults, the pace and mystery are underscored by a poet’s imagination. This is a proper, copper-bottomed magical story of the kind once written by Alan Garner and John Masefield, and it uses the sinister side of Greek myth with brio.' Amanda Craig, The Times

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