The Twyning
Imagine a city. A place where respectable men and women rub shoulders with thieves and madmen. A place where two runaway children can easily be lost among the smoke and grime.
But beneath this city there is another world. A world of Courts and Warriors, where the rat Kingdom is ruled by the great King Tzuriel.
This world is about to end.
And it all starts with a young ratling called Efren...
This is the story of Efren, a young ratling born into the Court of Tasting, in the kingdom of rats below the city streets. The kingdom is in turmoil after the death of the old king, assassinated by a human scientist, Dr Henry Ross-Gibbon. Obsessed by an ambition to exterminate all rats, the doctor is assisted by Dogboy, an abandoned thirteen-year-old with a gift for understanding animals. Soon a war to the death rages between the rat kingdom and its mortal enemy: humankind.
Hurt and alone, Efren finds shelter with Dogboy and his friend Caz, a runaway eleven-year-old girl. And between these unlikely allies a spark is ignited - first of communication, then of hope. This tumultuous story of creatures caught up in a pitiless war transcends the barriers between animals and humans. What Watership Down did for rabbits, THE TWYNING will do for the kingdom of rats.
THE TWYNING was published on 1st January 2013 by Head of Zeus.
'This novel deserves praise and prizes... This is powerful stuff and as much a Watership Down for our time as an alternative to the popular Redwall series... Bravo!'
- The Times
'This is stunning. Don't pigeon hole this as fantasy - and it's certainly not for children, despite him being the author of the Ms Wiz books. This has got huge mainstream potential, a Watership Down (with rats) for today which deserves the same recognition... it is astoundingly good.'
- The Bookseller
‘…more Animal Farm than Watership Down. In essence, it is a work in praise of the noble traitor…a cautionary classic for our warlike age.’
- Morning Star
'There is rat gore and rat lore in abundance here, nicely seasoned with the grime and crime of a great Victorian city... skilful plotting, brisk narrative and sharply drawn characters put us firmly on the side of the ratpack and its gripping tale of apocalypse and triumph.'
- Daily Mail
‘Clever and beautifully written, it avoids the obvious, delivering a subtle evocation of the need for harmony between all forms of life.’
- Literary Review
'A darn charming yarn.'
- The Speculative Scotsman
'Inspired. A much needed bit of rodent PR.'
- The Sunday Herald
'The Twyning is a thoughtful, pacey adventure with a knack for conveying a rat's-eye-view.' SFX
'I implore you to cast rat prejudice aside. This is a story attracting a readership from the ages of 10 to 100 and up.'
- The Bookbag
'The much maligned rat emerges as an intelligent and sensitive creature in this exciting novel.'
- Independent
But beneath this city there is another world. A world of Courts and Warriors, where the rat Kingdom is ruled by the great King Tzuriel.
This world is about to end.
And it all starts with a young ratling called Efren...
This is the story of Efren, a young ratling born into the Court of Tasting, in the kingdom of rats below the city streets. The kingdom is in turmoil after the death of the old king, assassinated by a human scientist, Dr Henry Ross-Gibbon. Obsessed by an ambition to exterminate all rats, the doctor is assisted by Dogboy, an abandoned thirteen-year-old with a gift for understanding animals. Soon a war to the death rages between the rat kingdom and its mortal enemy: humankind.
Hurt and alone, Efren finds shelter with Dogboy and his friend Caz, a runaway eleven-year-old girl. And between these unlikely allies a spark is ignited - first of communication, then of hope. This tumultuous story of creatures caught up in a pitiless war transcends the barriers between animals and humans. What Watership Down did for rabbits, THE TWYNING will do for the kingdom of rats.
THE TWYNING was published on 1st January 2013 by Head of Zeus.
'This novel deserves praise and prizes... This is powerful stuff and as much a Watership Down for our time as an alternative to the popular Redwall series... Bravo!'
- The Times
'This is stunning. Don't pigeon hole this as fantasy - and it's certainly not for children, despite him being the author of the Ms Wiz books. This has got huge mainstream potential, a Watership Down (with rats) for today which deserves the same recognition... it is astoundingly good.'
- The Bookseller
‘…more Animal Farm than Watership Down. In essence, it is a work in praise of the noble traitor…a cautionary classic for our warlike age.’
- Morning Star
'There is rat gore and rat lore in abundance here, nicely seasoned with the grime and crime of a great Victorian city... skilful plotting, brisk narrative and sharply drawn characters put us firmly on the side of the ratpack and its gripping tale of apocalypse and triumph.'
- Daily Mail
‘Clever and beautifully written, it avoids the obvious, delivering a subtle evocation of the need for harmony between all forms of life.’
- Literary Review
'A darn charming yarn.'
- The Speculative Scotsman
'Inspired. A much needed bit of rodent PR.'
- The Sunday Herald
'The Twyning is a thoughtful, pacey adventure with a knack for conveying a rat's-eye-view.' SFX
'I implore you to cast rat prejudice aside. This is a story attracting a readership from the ages of 10 to 100 and up.'
- The Bookbag
'The much maligned rat emerges as an intelligent and sensitive creature in this exciting novel.'
- Independent
