Skylark

Lark Ainsley has never seen the sun. She has never seen flowers, grass or the sky. She has never been outside the walls of her city.

Lark is waiting. She hopes that this time she will be harvested. Finally, like all the other children, her magic will be taken and used to sustain the city. Only then can she become an adult. However, there is something wrong with Lark’s harvesting. It is painful, repeated and intense. She escapes, but outside the city walls lies a world that has been devastated by the wars. It is a frightening land of broken cities, dark forests and endless skies. There are many dangers here: magic pockets that become nightmares at sunset; inhuman creatures that are cannibals; and the mechanical pixies sent as spies.

As she crosses these lands to get to the promised sanctuary of the Iron Wood, Lark realises she has help, in the form of a half-wild boy. But is he really her friend or is he something much more frightening? Will the Iron Wood be a place where Lark can be safe at last or will it be yet another deception?

Skylark is an imaginative and ambitious fantasy novel. It is fast-paced and engaging with an impressive sense of suspense. Occasionally, the description is so involved that it distracts slightly from the plot, for example when describing the mechanical workings of Lark’s city. But, in spite of this, it is an extremely enjoyable and exciting read with many unexpected twists that will keep the reader guessing throughout.