Stormchaser:
The Edge Chronicles No. 2

Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

Average Rating 9/10 (3 Reviews)

Take your imagination to THE EDGE!

Since his childhood in the Deepwoods, young Twig has always longed to soar above the forest canopy and explore the sky. Now a lowly crew-member on his father’s sky pirate ship, the Stormchaser, his dream seems fulfilled. But a much higher destiny awaits Twig as plots and treacheries from many years ago bring the lofty city of Sanctaphrax - home of the Edgeworld’s most learned academics - to the point of disaster. For the city is built on a giant rock, floating high in the sky, its future balance dependent on stormphrax - a valuable yet extremely volatile substance obtained only from the heart of a Great Storm at the very instant it unleashes its most intense power. And only a ship such as the Stormchaser could risk entering the Storm...

'Amazing... the illustrations are excellent.'

Review by Nadine(2) (310811) Rating (9/10)
Review by Jessica (070108) Rating (8/10)
Review by Molly Martin (070108) Rating (9/10)

Review by Nadine(2)
Rating 9/10
Stormchaser is the remarkable tale of a young boy called Twig, as he embarks on the most strenuous journey of his life thus far. Stormchaser was written by award winning novelist Paul Stewart and illustrated by none other than Chris Riddell. Together they have fuelled the imaginations of innumerable individuals globally with The Edge Chronicles, a captivating collection of mind-boggling adventures throughout the Edgelands. I would recommend Stormchaser to older children and young adults, but any person with an appetite for adventure and drama would find these books equally enthralling.

Stormchaser is the second instalment to the action-packed twig trilogy. Stormchaser continues the story set in the first instalment to the trilogy, Beyond the Deepwoods. Stormchaser appealed to me much more than Beyond the Deepwoods. I personally found the plot much more gripping; it certainly was a real page turner.

In the first book, Twig is reunited with his father Captain Cloud Wolf of the Stormchaser. Cloud Wolf reluctantly agrees to undertake the most perilous and testing journey of his life, to chase a great storm to the deep dark heart of the treacherous twilight woods in hope of retrieving a sacred substance called Stormphrax. Without Stormphrax, the glorious floating city of Sanctaphrax would be lost forever to open sky. Cloud Wolf refuses to let Twig join him on this perilous quest, but Twig is smuggled aboard by a mutinous quartermaster, Sylvo Spleethe. After this follows a catastrophic twist in the tale, and Twig is forced to take his father’s place as captain. Together with the remaining crew he is determined to complete the quest his father began.

Though this book is jam-packed with adventure, drama and appeals to many booklovers, it is not a tale for the light-hearted. This book is packed with many gory, disturbing things, for example the haunting character Screed Toe-Taker, once an ancient knight academic, now a demented lunatic. Screed offered himself as a guide through the treacherous mire to any unfortunate traveller that found him, but screed took their money and murdered them, slicing off their toes and cleaning beneath their toe nails for the meagre tiny specks of Stormphrax underneath, in hope that one day he would gain enough to return to his beloved Sanctaphrax.

An extremely appealing aspect of Stormchaser is the ingenious illustrations of inspirational illustrator Chris Riddell. His artwork throughout the volume contributes a more realistic, graphic image of the story to the readers. The pictures of the characters were remarkable and really original. I found his detailed maps and striking pictures highly attention-grabbing as I read this book. I believe his pictures to be a real asset to the book, as many books for people of this age contain no images, only text. It is one of the several things in the Edge Chronicles that sets it apart from other books.

The settings in the Edge Chronicles are absolutely mind boggling. In Stormchaser, readers get to join Twig as he ventures the sprawling city of undertown, they get to experience the feeling of soaring on board a magnificent sky ship, they visit the treacherous twilight woods, with its disturbing voices, phantasms, and an everlasting golden hue that tints the sky.

In my opinion, Stormchaser is a book well worth reading. It is fast - paced, gripping; I found it a real page turner! I loved the constant action, the twists and turns and the emotion throughout this story. So for sky’s sake, read Stormchaser!
Nadine(2) (31st August 2011)

Review by Jessica
Rating 8/10
See Jessica's review for Stormchaser as part of The Twig Trilogy.
Jessica (7th January 2008)

Review by Molly Martin
Rating 9/10
Twig is now 16. It is midday in Undertown. The tale opens with Twig meeting a none too successful Slaughterer hawking leather talismans. A playful prowlgrin cub, Twig’s old friend the Caterbird, and the breaking of the chain tethering the floating rock whereupon the seat of learning, Sanctaphrax, is perched add to the excitement of the moment. The Caterbird knows the story behind Twig’s father and how he became Cloud Wolf captain of the sky ship The Stormchaser. A wrecked sky ship caught on a treetop, Mim the leader of the Gnokgoblins, Mother Horsefeather, and Twig’s understanding of the woodtroll ways move the tale forward at a dramatic clip. When Cloud Wolf presents Twig a lesson into the flying of a sky ship they are interrupted by the approach of a leagueship. Near disaster follows when a jammed stern-weight must be freed. Twig volunteers for the job. And things only go from bad to worse. Loss of their load of Iron Wood, a crippled ship and his father’s anger leave Twig feeling more than a little anguish.

A daring plan is hatched between Cloud Wolf and Mother Horsefeather, but Twig is not to be part of it. Chicanery, quartermaster Spleethe’s treachery, stowing away on The Stormchaser, the Great Storm, and storm chasing and a gigantic battle onboard the sky ship lead to more excitement than Twig had ever dreamed was possible.

From the ample imaginativeness of the team of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell comes a thrilling yarn of conspiracy, conniving and complicity. The story presented on the pages of Stormchaser is entertaining, the often eerie and extraordinary characters are not only engaging but creditable as well. The fantastic world created by writer Stewart is elaborate, marvellously detailed and illustrated to perfection by artist Riddell. This is not a book for the youngest readers, or for the squeamish. Death produced in all manner of gruesome methods leaves the reader more than a little breathless.

Life becomes no easier for Twig in Book two of Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s Edge Chronicles. Stormchaser brings Twig into the fiendish, malignant machinations of the floating city Sanctaphrax. Younger readers should be aware brutality is offered in occasional violent bursts. The Screed Toe Taker in particular is a particularly gruesome character with little to redeem him to the reader. Stormchaser is a abundantly creative fantasy filled with absorbing characters sure to please the most demanding reader. The story line presents an enthralling tale set against a backdrop of fascinating, rather surreal settings. Characters are richly portrayed, illustrations are a genuine asset to the work.

From the opening lines as Twig ponders how to free his friend the caterbird from a cage where he has been imprisoned straight on to the last pages where we follow Twig on board a new sky ship the reader is carried on a roller coaster ride of adventure. We leave the caterbird, Twig and his crew setting sail to find Cloud Wolf who is now in grave danger and in need of help somewhere in the ‘monstrous, misty wasteland beyond the Edge.’

A good addition to the home and school library. Stormchaser is sure to be a hit with middle to upper grade readers. Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend. Anxious to read book 3.
Molly Martin (7th January 2008)