PHILIP WOMACK

Monday, 14 December 2015

The Broken King and The King's Shadow in The Guardian Children's Books of the Year

A lovely Christmas present came today - the great Philip Reeve has chosen The King's Shadow as one of his children's books of the year. Callay! Read the whole list here.

Thursday, 3 December 2015

Literary Review December Children's Book Round Up

From The Iliad, ill. Neil Packer

As December approaches, so, with the regularity of the seasons, comes my round-up for Literary Review, which this year features the following books:

Railhead by Philip Reeve
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
Anything that Isn't This by Chris Priestley
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
Boy 23 by Jim Carrington
The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
Love Notes for Freddie by Eva Rice
Mango & Bambang the Not-A-Pig by Polly Faber, ill. Clara Vulliamy
Nelly and the Quest for Captain Peabody by Roland Chambers, ill. Ella Okstad
The Iliad by Gillian Cross, ill. Neil Packer.

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Guardian Review of The King's Shadow

A lovely reader's review of The King's Shadow was in The Guardian today. Here it is.

Friday, 13 November 2015

TV reviews: The Last Kingdom and The Last Panthers, for The Telegraph

I've reviewed Episode 4 of The Last Kingdom, and Episode 1 of The Last Panthers for the Telegraph.

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

Cover for THE KING'S REVENGE

Next year, the final part in the Darkening Path trilogy will be out - THE KING'S REVENGE. Here's the front cover, which I think you'll agree is rather splendid:

Monday, 26 October 2015

Visit to Dorset House Preparatory School

A couple of weeks ago I went back to my old prep school, Dorset House, which is in a Norman manor house nestled in the Arun valley. My childhood was spent roaming the beautiful river banks, running through the woods, with Amberley and Arundel castles not far away: a timeless landscape, pretty much as it must have been when the Normans settled there. It was naturally a powerful influence on my imagination, and my first novel, The Other Book, was certainly inspired by the location. The West Sussex County Times have written up the visit here - though the current piece erroneously states I was there in the 1980s; I was in attendance in the mid-90s. We had about two CDs - Queen's Greatest Hits and Nirvana's Nevermind.

Monday, 12 October 2015

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne: review

I've reviewed John Boyne's new book, The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, for the Guardian, available here.

Quotes

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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