Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Impossible Creatures
by Katherine Rundell
Fantasy | Children’s Lit
368 Pages
Released September 2024 (US edition)
Impossible Creatures Series #1
Rating: ★★★ 1/2
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Content Warnings
It was a very fine morning until something tried to eat him…It was a very fine morning until someone tried to kill her. And so kicks off Katherine Rundell’s newly released (in the US anyway) fantasy series for children. This book follows two characters: Christopher, a boy visiting his grandfather in the Scottish highlands and Mal, living in the magical land of the Archipelago. When their lives suddenly converge, the two children are whisked off on a magical adventure to discover what, or who, is destroying the Archipelago’s magic.
I have been looking forward to this book for months now and finally got my hands on the U.S. edition. I’d like to start by saying that I went into this book with insanely high expectations. I mean, how could I not when Ms. Rundell was being touted as the next Tolkien or Pullman? In a way, I think this did Katherine Rundell a disservice, as both Tolkien and Pullman are known for their epic world-building. So I have to be completely honest when I say this: the book was great, but not (yet) incredible. The story follows Christopher, who always seems to attract animals wherever he goes. Whilst visiting his grandfather, he unexpectedly comes across Mal who pulls him into the magical world of the Archipelago - a secret series of islands inhabited by all sorts of wondrous creatures.
The book is extremely fast paced, and doesn’t wait long to jump right into the action. I felt like I didn’t have very long to get to know the main characters before I was knee-deep in adventure and as such, I didn’t feel as attached to them as I wanted to be yet. The story then flits around to several islands in the Archipelago as Christopher and Mal not only flee Mal’s would-be killer, but make friends along the way and try to discover why Mal’s world appears to be dying. Unfortunately, I never felt fully connected to the characters because of the emphasis on the plot.
I also enjoyed the world-building but with such a fantastic and wide-spread location, it felt like we barely got to scratch the surface of the Archipelago. I also felt a bit inundated by all the magical creatures (thank goodness for the glossary in the back of the book). And while the story does feel magical, it’s also quite hard-hitting and dark for a children’s book (I’m still recovering from the second half).
Overall, I think this is a solid start to a new children’s fantasy series. I deeply hope that we get to know the characters better in future books and see more world building than just an assortment of encounters with magical creatures. I think this will soon become another beloved series and I tentatively look forward to the next book.