Frances Hardinge - Free Library Land Online - Contemporary

Twilight Robbery

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 14:03:49 +0300

"Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now.' Patrick Ness The extraordinary sequel to the award-winning Fly By Night by Costa winner Frances Hardinge. The city at night is a dangerous place. . . Mosca Mye and Eponymous Clent are in trouble again. Escaping disaster by the skin of their teeth, they find refuge in Toll, the strange gateway town where visitors may neither enter nor leave without paying a price. By day, the city is well-mannered and orderly; by night, it's the haunt of rogues and villains. Wherever there's a plot, there's sure to be treachery, and wherever there's treachery, there's sure to be trouble - and where there's trouble, Clent, Mosca and the web-footed apocalypse Saracen the goose can't be far behind. But as past deeds catch up with them and old enemies appear, it looks as if this time there's no way out . . ."

Cuckoo Song

Mon, 27 Oct 2014 14:03:49 +0200

The first things to shift were the doll's eyes, the beautiful grey-green glass eyes. Slowly they swivelled, until their gaze was resting on Triss's face. Then the tiny mouth moved, opened to speak. 'What are you doing here?' It was uttered in tones of outrage and surprise, and in a voice as cold and musical as the clinking of cups. 'Who do you think you are? This is my family.' When Triss wakes up after an accident, she knows that something is very wrong. She is insatiably hungry; her sister seems scared of her and her parents whisper behind closed doors. She looks through her diary to try to remember, but the pages have been ripped out. Soon Triss discovers that what happened to her is more strange and terrible than she could ever have imagined, and that she is quite literally not herself. In a quest find the truth she must travel into the terrifying Underbelly of the city to meet a twisted architect who has dark designs on her family - before it's too late ...

Gullstruck Island

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:03:49 +0200

From the award-winning author of FLY BY NIGHT comes another triumph of imagination and wordplay. An adventure as fierce and fiery as the volcanoes that rule it . . . and the girl that rules them! On Gullstruck Island the volcanoes quarrel, the jungles sing and occasionally a Lost is born – a child seemingly a halfwit but with the power to depart its body and mind-fly with the winds. Hathin and her sister Arilou are members of the Lace – a tribe ostracized for terrible ancient crimes. However, Arilou is also a Lost, the clan’s most precious commodity. The other islanders will give anything to see what she sees. But Hathin and her people have a secret – in truth, Arilou's mumblings make no sense. Only Hathin’s trickery keeps the pretence alive. So when the lie that has protected Hathin’s village for so long threatens to turn against them, what else can Hathin do but take her halfwitted sister and run?
With a cast of larger-than-life characters, this is a richly imagined adventure no child will be able to put down – or ever forget!

A Face Like Glass

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 14:03:50 +0300

In the underground city of Caverna the world's most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare - wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear - at a price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell's emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed ...

Deeplight

Sat, 09 May 2020 15:20:47 +0300

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea meets Frankenstein in Frances Hardinge's latest fantasy adventure
The gods are dead. Decades ago, they turned on one another and tore each other apart. Nobody knows why. But are they really gone forever? When 15-year-old Hark finds the still-beating heart of a terrifying deity, he risks everything to keep it out of the hands of smugglers, military scientists, and a secret fanatical cult so that he can use it to save the life of his best friend, Jelt. But with the heart, Jelt gradually and eerily transforms. How long should Hark stay loyal to his friend when he's becoming a monster and what is Hark willing to sacrifice to save him?

Unraveller

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 18:16:16 +0200

Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week
'This multilayered, humane and brilliant YA fantasy is the Costa-winning Hardinge's best yet.' - The Guardian
'Gothic and twisty and witty and gripping . . . I loved it' - Katherine Rundell
'A gloriously creepy, intricate masterpiece.' - Adrian Tchaikovsky
Unraveller is a spell-binding fantasy from the Costa-award winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge.
In a world where anyone can cast a life-destroying curse, only one person has the power to unravel them.
Kellen does not fully understand his unique gift, but helps those who are cursed, like his friend Nettle who was trapped in the body of a bird for years. She is now Kellen's constant companion and his closest ally.
But the Unraveller carries a curse himself and, unless he and Nettle can remove it, Kellen is a danger to everything – and everyone...

The Lie Tree

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 14:03:49 +0200

Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy - a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered. In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father's possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father's murder - or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.

A Skinful of Shadows

Fri, 27 Oct 2017 14:03:50 +0300

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl . . . Sometimes, when a person dies, their spirit goes looking for somewhere to hide.
Some people have space within them, perfect for hiding. Twelve-year-old Makepeace has learned to defend herself from the ghosts which try to possess her in the night, desperate for refuge, but one day a dreadful event causes her to drop her guard. And now there's a spirit inside her. The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when she is sent to live with her father's rich and powerful ancestors. There is talk of civil war, and they need people like her to protect their dark and terrible family secret. But as she plans her escape and heads out into a country torn apart by war, Makepeace must decide which is worse: possession – or death."

Verdigris Deep

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 14:03:49 +0300

Verdigris n. a blue-green rust that tarnishes ageing and forgotten copper coins, altering them entirely . . . When Ryan and his friends are caught stranded and penniless late one night, they steal some coins from a well for their bus fare home. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar marks tingle on Ryan’s knuckles, light bulbs mysteriously explode and a terrified Chelle starts speaking words that aren’t her own. Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on, the friends must serve her . . . and the wishes that lie rotting at the bottom of her well. In the tradition of truly fantastic storytelling, VERDIGRIS DEEP is darkly witty, utterly unexpected and shiver-down-the-spine sinister

Fly by Night

Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:03:50 +0300

"Everyone should read Frances Hardinge. Everyone. Right now.' Patrick Ness Fly By Night is the stunnning debut novel from Frances Hardinge, author of the Costa Award winning The Lie Tree.
As the realm struggles to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and tyranny, a twelve-year-old orphan called Mosca Mye and her loyal companion, a cantankerous goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a radical revolution. Mosca is on the run, heading for the city of Mandelion. There she finds herself living by her wits among cut-throat highwaymen, spies and smugglers. With peril at every turn, Mosca uncovers a dark plot to terrorize the people of Mandelion, and soon merry mayhem leads to murder . . .

Fly By Night* by Frances Hardinge has an unforgettable cast of characters and an inspiring message at its heart - sometimes the power of words can change the world.

Fly By Night is followed by its thrilling sequel, Twilight Robbery."

Fly Trap: The Sequel to Fly by Night

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 13:01:43 +0300

Twilight Robbery aka Fly Trap

Sun, 17 Nov 2002 07:33:37 +0200

Mosca Mye and Eponymous Clent are in trouble again. Escaping disaster by the skin of their teeth, they find refuge in Toll, the strange gateway town where visitors may neither enter nor leave without paying a price. By day, the city is well-mannered and orderly; by night, it's the haunt of rogues and villains. Wherever there's a plot, there's sure to be treachery, and wherever there's treachery, there's sure to be trouble – and where there's trouble, Clent, Mosca and the web-footed apocalypse Saracen can't be far behind. But as past deeds catch up with them and old enemies appear, it looks as if this time there's no way out…

A Skinful of Shadows

Wed, 08 Nov 2000 16:12:26 +0200

This is the story of a bear-hearted girl...As a young child, Makepeace Danners was sent by her mother to sleep in the graveyard. Told it was to build her defences against the spirits that lurked there, she spent night after night bedded down amongst the ghosts, with only mice and rats for company.As she grew older, Makepeace realised that she had a strange talent. There is a space inside her which can be filled by the spirits of the dead. This talent marks her as very interesting to the Felmotte family, the rich and powerful ancestors from whom she has inherited it. Her mother hopes her childhood training will protect her from them, but one fateful day Makepeace lets her guard down, and now she has a spirit inside her. The spirit is wild, brutish and strong, and it may be her only defence when the Felmotte family come to claim her as one of their own. There is talk of civil war, and they need people with talents such as hers to protect their dark and...