By Marcus Sedgwick (author)
Paperback Not Available
View All Editions (1)
Compelling and gripping, beautifully crafted with a narrative that will stick in your mind long after you’ve finished. It’s a powerful story of magic and betrayal in a distant past whilst at the same time has a timeless ingredient to have broad appeal. If you’ve enjoyed Tolkien then you’ll love Sedgwick’s originality too.
A boy destined to lead his clan; a girl raised by wolves; a stranger with a sealed box. These are the elements of this powerful novel, set on a rocky northern coast in a distant time, in a small community who live in dread of the coming of the legendary warrior tribe, the Dark Horse. Told in part by the boy, Sigurd, himself, it is a dark and dangerous story of conflict and betrayal.
Read the full description
With its strong sense of time and place and the magic of a primitive people,
again confirms the exceptional talent of Marcus Sedgwick.
Marcus Sedgwick April 1968 - November 2022
Marcus began to write seriously in 1994. His first book, Floodland , was published by Orion in 2000, and won the Branford-Boase award for best debut children's novel. Witch Hill followed in 2001, and was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award.
The Kiss of Death was published in paperback in April 2009, and picked up a thread from his highly acclaimed My Swordhand is Singing (winner of the 2007 Booktrust Teenage Book Award). In between came what Marcus calls “my big one - a project I've been working on for so long my head hurts.” – Blood Red Snow White , which was first published to considerable acclaim in 2007.
2009 saw Marcus turn his attention to books for younger readers with the launch of a humorous new series: The Raven Mysteries , narrated by a grumpy raven, Edgar.
Marcus has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal five times, the Edgar Allan Poe Award (twice) and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize (four times). He is also the most noted author in the history of the Printz Award, with one win and two honour books, for Revolver, The Ghosts of Heaven and Midwinter Blood.
In his spare time, was also a stone carver and wood engraver and illustrated all his novels. Marcus was also an enthusiastic drummer.
Q&A with Marcus Sedgwick
Many of your novels are inspired by history and by myth and legend - have these areas always been a fascination of yours since childhood and if so how did this passion come about? Yes, I always loved myths and legends - I used to read and re-read two books from the library - one a big illustrated edition of Greek Myths and the other Old Peter's Russian Tales. I don't know why I was fascinated by these stories, but maybe simply because I find them to be more glamorous than contemporary stories... Apart from writing what are your passions? I love music, both listening to it and playing it (I'm a drummer). A day without music is not a proper day... I also love travel and try to travel as much as I can manage. Where did the idea come from for The Raven Mysteries ? It was a single line, the first line in the book in fact. I'd had it for ages but didn't know where I was going to use it until the character of Edgar came along: "I suspect I may have fleas again". The Raven Mysteries are full of humour and mad-cap action, which is quite different from your novels for older readers. Was this a conscious decision of yours when setting out to write this series? Absolutely, and it was great fun. After writing a few hardcore goth books, it was great to let my hair down with these stories. And it gave me fresh impetus to go back to the next YA novel, Revolver , with renewed determination to be gloomy! Where and when do you write? I write at the weekends, and mostly in the study in my loft, but also sometimes I travel to write - eg much of Revolver was written on trips to Sweden. What age did you first start writing and when did you think that one day you'd write a novel that would actually be published? I started to write as a teenager a bit, but properly when I was in my mid-twenties. It took a few years to think it might actually happen! With both your publisher and author hat on, what advice can you give would-be children's authors in getting published? The most important thing is to know your market! Who do you think your book is going to be read by? What else is out there that's like it? Are you writing something that will sell? The historical context of most of your novels must mean a huge amount of research prior to writing each book. What does this involve and how long does it take? It varies from book to book but it's not a chore as I love to do research. It's easier than actually writing the things! For Revolver , the research spanned about 16 months, of little trips here and there and lots and lots of reading!
What was your inspiration for Revolver ?
Finding an empty shell casing on the pavement in St Petersburg. It was a long way from there to the finished book but that was the start of it.
What was your favourite book as a teenager?
Without question, the Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake.
If you got into Doctor Who’s tardis, where (or when) would you go? Great question, impossible to answer. So many amazing things to go and see – the building of the pyramids, a Viking boat putting out to sea, Man Utd winning the European Championship in 1968…
Who would you choose to be if you could be a celebrity for the day?
Matt Bellamy on any day with a gig.
If you were invisible for a day what would you do?
I’m invisible most days, so nothing much would change. 10 things you didn't know about Marcus Sedgwick 1 - I have an embarrassing middle name, but I'm not going to tell you what it is 2 - I am learning Swedish 3 - As well as playing the drums, I play bass guitar 4 - My grandfather invented the hydraulic tipper truck 5 - I have a pet raven called Edgar, though he doesn’t say much, eat much, or indeed, move much. There’s a possibility that he’s stuffed, I guess. 6 - I’m extraordinarily sleepy right now. 7 - I represented England (Juniors) at Fencing. 8 - I totally love football. 9 - I'm allergic to red peppers 10 - I believe there is only one radio or TV station worth listening to: Radio 3.
Author photo © Kate Christer
One of the World Book Day 2015 Authors Marcus was our Guest Editor in July 2010. Click here to see all his selections.
Marcus also wrote with his brother Julian , and contributed to a short story collection with fellow YA authors .
A tribute to Marcus Sedgwick
A boy destined to lead his clan; a girl raised by wolves; a stranger with a sealed box. These are the elements of this powerful novel, set on a rocky northern coast in a distant time, in a small community who live in dread of the coming of the legendary warrior tribe, the Dark Horse.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Dark Horse and determined it is suitable for children aged 11-12 years old
Dark Horse features in the following genres: Recommended Children's eBooks, Recommendations, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. Not Available.
Dark Horse was written by Marcus Sedgwick and published by Orion Publishing Co
Dark Horse has 187 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. Not Available.
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP. Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.