Impossible Creatures: The Poisoned King

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Publish date: 11 September 2025
Pages: 336
Language: English

Subjects: Juvenile Nonfiction, Curiosities & Wonders, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure, Animals, Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical, Fantasy & Magic, Social Themes, Friendship

'Katherine Rundell returns with a perfect fantasy' Telegraph

The unmissable new story in the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling Impossible Creatures series, for fans of Philip Pullman, Percy Jackson and Skandar.

'There was Tolkien, there is Pullman and now there is Katherine Rundell' - Michael Morpurgo

When Christopher Forrester is unexpectedly woken by a miniature dragon chewing on his face, his heart leaps for joy. For months he's dreamed of returning to the Archipelago - the secret islands where all the creatures of myth still live. But he did not know it would involve a rescue mission on the back of a sphinx, or a plan to enter a dragon's lair. Nor did he imagine it would involve a girl with a flock of birds at her side, a new-hatched chick in her pocket and a ravenous hunger for justice...

Awards and praise for Impossible Creatures
WINNER Waterstones Book of the Year
WINNER British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year
WINNER Foyles Children's Book of the Year
WINNER Books Are My Bag Readers Award

'A book stuffed full of fantastical, magical delight' - Cressida Cowell

'Readers will seize this with delight' - Philip Pullman

'A masterpiece to rival Tolkien' - Daily Telegraph

'Every sentence sparkles ... Magnificent' - The Times

Impossible Creatures Sunday Times bestseller, December 2023