Close Kin: Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy by Clare B. Dunkle (English) Pa

Description: Close Kin by Clare B. Dunkle For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the lands dreadful heritage--until Marak the magician decides to tell them himself. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Clare Dunkles acclaimed fantasy trilogy-- now available in paperback For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the lands dreadful heritage--until Marak decides to tell them himself. Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be the goblin king, and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom . . . So begins the award-winning Hollow Kingdom Trilogy. Now in paperback, these editions welcome a whole new audience to the magical realm that Newbery Award winner Lloyd Alexander calls "as persuasive as it is remarkable." Author Biography Clare B. Dunkle is also the author of By These Ten Bones. A native of north Texas, she and her family currently live in Germany. Review "Clare Dunkle brings a fresh new voice and a fresh new vision to the high art of fantasy. She creates a world filled with intense excitement, terror, beauty, and love--a world as persuasive as it is remarkable." --Lloyd Alexander "* A luminously polished fantasy that starts off strong and just gets better. A masterly debut." --Publishers Weekly, starred review "The impact of Dunkles evocative storytelling lingers long after the final page." --Booklist Review Quote The impact of Dunkles evocative storytelling lingers long after the final page. Excerpt from Book CHAPTER ONE Seylin hurried through the maze of hallways in the great underground goblin palace and knocked on Emilys door. They had been close friends since childhood, but Seylin wasnt a child anymore. He was one of the Kings Guard now, and his black uniform matched his black hair and eyes. The girl he had played with had grown into a young woman. By human standards, Emily looked quite average, and the elvish Seylin looked quite remarkable, but Seylin was the one who found himself daydreaming about Emilys brown eyes and warm smile. He couldnt even tell if she cared. There was a scramble, and Emilys door popped open to reveal his friend Brindles little daughter, her snake eyes gleaming up at him. In her arms she clutched Talah, Emilys monkey, rolled up in a blanket like a doll. "Wheres Em?" he asked, and the little girl pointed wordlessly behind her. He found Emily seated on the terrace, teaching a very small goblin boy to fasten a buckle. Emily was always surrounded by children. They appealed to her high spirits and love of excitement. Goblin babies were more fun than human babies, she said, because human babies never bit large chunks out of the furniture or tried to take off on awkward wings and crashed into the wall. The handsome Seylin was an embarrassing anomaly in an ugly goblin world. His parents had almost died of shame over their sons striking features. Having grown up with teasing, inaudible whispers, and sympathetic glances, the sensitive young man had always enjoyed the company of Emilys many visiting children because he never felt that they were mocking him or gossiping over his looks. But lately, he had found all the bustle and confusion a little hard to take. "Cant I ever see you alone?" he asked crossly, sitting down beside her. "Goodness, I am alone," responded the young woman. "Just Brindles two before class this morning. This afternoon Im expecting a dozen. Were going to the kitchens to bake cakes." Seylin sighed. She was right. This was as alone as she ever was. "Em, Ive been thinking," he began. "Were older now, and I wanted to talk to you. After all, were not little pages anymore." He paused. "We need to talk." "Ive been wanting to talk to you, too," declared Emily with some force. "Ever since you came back from that trading journey last spring, all you do is stand around and goggle at me. You hardly say five words, and if I look like Im having any fun, you glower at me just like an old governess." Seylin was glowering now. He tried to make himself stop. "Thats not what I want to talk about," he protested. "What I wanted to say is that I wont always be a guard-" "Nothing wrong with the Guard," remarked Emily breezily. "Thaydar told me last night he thinks the Guards never looked better. Sweetie, wed better run you to the bathroom," she added, standing up with the tiny goblin. "So Thaydar was here again!" snapped Seylin. "Not now," called Emily, hurrying off and leaving him free to glower unobserved. Thaydar, the cat-eyed commander of the Guard, was his most serious rival for Emilys affection. Thaydar made no secret of the fact that he wanted the prestige of a non-goblin bride, and he was one of the most important men in the kingdom. To make matters worse, he was Seylins commanding officer. Seylin had spent many evenings on patrol duty knowing that Thaydar was keeping Emily company back home. After a few minutes of gloomy contemplation, Seylin wandered back into the apartment to find Emily breaking up a fight between the two children. Each of them had one of Talahs arms and refused to let go. "No monkey for either of you," said Emily, prying them loose. Talah bounced into Seylins arms, and he sat down on the couch with her. "Em, I dont want to be a guard all my life," he continued earnestly. "Theres nothing to guard. Its so boring. I dont want to be a lore-master, either, teaching the Unlock Spell over and over to crowds of pages, and I dont want to be a scholar. They just study things. I want to live stories, not read them." Emily was pouring drinks and barely paying attention. She had heard all of this before. The little boy promptly dumped his cup down his front. She carried him over to the couch and sat down, scrubbing him off with a towel. rd"Did I tell you that Jacoby was here last night," she said, "and he choked on a piece of caramel? I had to whack him on the back for a long time before it went down. Ive learned something, Seylin. Goblins with beaks shouldnt eat chewy candy. They dont have any way to chew it." "Why do I ever try to talk to you?" cried Seylin. "You never listen to a word I say!" "Im listening," she protested. "You dont want to be anything." "Right," he confirmed, trying to ignore the fact that the little girl was staring at him fixedly with her hypnotic snake eyes. "Right, I wont always be a guard, I promise. Ill be something more. I know I dont have much to offer you right now," he continued as the little girl dragged Talah from his arms. "But I think I will later." "Thanks, I dont need anything," answered Emily absently. "Did you see Jacobys new sister? Isnt she adorable with those little pink bird feet?" Seylin gritted his teeth, glaring at his heedless beloved. Here he was, sitting right next to her, and she might as well be a thousand miles away. "Kitty, kitty," giggled Brindles daughter, patting his knee. "Very good! Kitty," said Emily encouragingly. "Seylin, change into a cat for her." "Em, I am trying to have an important conversation!" shouted Seylin. "I will not change into a cat!" Brindles daughter drew back and buried her face in Emilys lap. "And I suppose its more important than making a little child happy," said Emily angrily, stroking the girls hair as she cried. "Yes! Yes, as a matter of fact, it is," declared Seylin, breathing hard. "Well, go have it somewhere else then," ordered the righteous young woman. "I dont want to hear it." "No, you dont, do you?" exclaimed Seylin, beside himself. "But you want to hear Thaydar, dont you? You drink in every word he says!" This wasnt true. Thaydar spent as much time holding babies and repeating himself as Seylin did. He was just more philosophical about it. "Thaydar isnt rude," Emily replied tartly. 0 "Rude? Im rude? You never even listen to me, but thats not rude." "I heard every word!" cried Emily. "You want to talk, you wont be a guard, you dont want to be anything, and I dont care. All you ever do is complain. Thaydar never does." "Well, why dont you just marry Thaydar, since youre so fond of him?" he demanded. "I certainly wouldnt marry you," declared the wrathful Emily. "Not if you were the last goblin on earth." Seylin stared at her, his anger evaporating. "Do you mean that?" he asked incredulously. Emily was still furious. "Of course I do," she snapped, rising and catching the little boy as he made a dash for the terrace. Seylin stood up and stared after her for a minute, but she didnt turn around to look at him. "Fine," he said bitterly. "Marry Thaydar, then." And he stormed out of the apartment. *** Seylin found the goblin King in his workroom, giving his wife her magic lesson. The young man stopped in the doorway to watch, bending down to give Kates drowsy dog a pat and exchanging a quiet greeting with the guard on duty in the hall. The goblin Kings Wife had required years of convincing before she had agreed to learn magic. She always felt uneasy about what her father would have said about it. Kate had been raised a perfect English gentlewoman. She had been shocked to learn that her great-great grandmother was an elf. Even though she was technically an elf-human cross, she was so strongly elvish that the goblins called her an elf, too. Kate no longer noticed that her husband looked alarming. Nevertheless, the first sight of Marak had been enough to startle her into hysterics. The goblin Kings body was powerful and bowlegged, with long, wiry arms and big, knotted hands. His magic hand had six fingers. His face was broad and bony, with sunken temples and deep eye sockets, and the eyes that gleamed brightly from under his bushy eyebrows were two different colors, one green and one black. Maraks skin was gray, and his lips and fingernails were a rather gruesome shade of tan. His hair was as coarse and straight as a horses tail. Kate still noticed her husbands hair. It fell in an unruly shock to his shoulders and into his eyes, and he had the habit of running his hands through it as he thought. Most of it was light beige, but a black patch grew back in a cowlick above his green eye, sending strands of black hair falling over the pale hair in what looked like long stripes. Kate disapproved of anything so untidy and kept their young sons hair short as a precaution against his developing his fathers taste in hairstyles. For this lesson, Kate was learning how to heat an elvish cooking stone. The nocturnal elves saw perfectly well in the dark but were blind in the dazzling day. Their eyes were even more sensitive than those of the goblins, so they cooked on special stones that gave off no light. The dwarves had made such a stone for Marak, flat and about a foot square. It lay now on the floor at Kates feet, and a small metal pan full of water sat on it, waiting to be he Details ISBN0805081097 Author Clare B. Dunkle Language English ISBN-10 0805081097 ISBN-13 9780805081091 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY FIC Series Number 02 Year 2006 Short Title HOLLOW KINGDOM TRILOGY BK02 HO Audience Age 11-14 Country of Publication United States Illustrations Illustrations, black and white Subtitle Book II -- The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy Edition 2nd DOI 10.1604/9780805081091 UK Release Date 2006-12-26 AU Release Date 2006-12-26 NZ Release Date 2006-12-26 US Release Date 2006-12-26 Pages 224 Series Hollow Kingdom Trilogy Publication Date 2006-12-26 Audience Children / Juvenile Publisher St. Martins Press-3PL Imprint St. Martins Press-3PL We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:100563243;

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