Book One of The Dark Inventions
A world of dark angels, giant insects and truly awful advertising campaigns...
Farperoo was voted a BBC Radio Four 'Read of the Year'...
On the day the five-fold quest for heaven began, the small town of Grimston-on-Sea was squatting beneath a heavy, doom-laden sky...
Dare to enter a fabulous tale of angelic magic, dark ritual and strange, inedible food. The story features the mysterious Lucy Blake, an 'ordinary' young girl with a talent for extraordinary lies that have a habit of coming true. Before her fourteenth birthday comes around she’s going to steal a priceless work of art, get involved in a spectacularly explosive firework display and find herself pitched into mortal combat with the winged hordes of heaven. Lucy’s friend Fenny has been kidnapped by an evil angel, but the mistress-of-lies has problems of her own. Her wafer-thin stepmother wants Lucy's boarding-house for herself, and she’s prepared to have the lying step-daughter committed to an insane asylum in order to get it. The despicable Doctor Veraciter is only too willing to help with the plan - because he’s noticed something rather interesting about Lucy’s stories. Bentley Priory, the penniless private detective, thinks it might be something to do with Lucy’s real mother, who vanished from a locked room years ago and has never been seen since. Pursued by the angel Raziel, Lucy is forced to flee into a dark and sinister world where even handbags aren't quite what they seem. Surrounded by tales of lost dragons and mythical cities, she and her companions explore a world of shew stones, talking maps, and truth cabinets. This is a world of mad inventors, ritual magicians and corrupt emperors - a world completely dominated by the equally mysterious Sisters of Perpetual Mercy. Who are they, and why are they so interested in Lucy that they're willing to destroy an entire world in order to get their hands on her?
They want her, because they know what's coming soon...
The Second War of Heaven...
We're not going to spoil the story by telling you the whole plot, but we might just tempt you with a few unanswered questions!
What's the story with all those birds?
Who are the Sisters of Perpetual Mercy?
What is the real nature of 'Lectric'?
Does the mysterious bandstand hide a secret?
Who is the Grand Architect?
Will Lucy ever get to eat that elusive bacon and marmalade sandwich?
What is the correct way to eat bogeys at an Imperial banquet?
Let's take a look at a few of the characters you'll meet in Farperoo...
Q. Which of them are on Lucy's side?
A. You might just be surprised...
Chamberlain Beaksheaf
Zenda Freggley
Bony Crumpet
Doctor Veraciter
The Mechanical Turk
Inspector Trembley
Toby Lindstrom
The Angel Thomax
Major Swindlem
The Major's Slimy Brother
The Angel Raziel
Imperial Shieldmaster Pentabonce
Morana Fay
Lucy Blake
Lily Winnet-Blake
Genjamin
Exotica
Doctor Dee
Bruno Pharty
Dragonard
Quince
These are just a few of the characters you'll be meeting in the world's longest children's book.
But you don't need to be a child to read it!
