By Melvin Burgess (author)
"Based on an Icelandic saga, this dark post-apocalyptic sci-fi duology set in war-ravaged London is a work of boundary-breaking brilliance."
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August 2024 Book of the Month
In thrilling news for new generations of YA readers (and adults), this two-in-one tome brings together both books — Blood Tide and Blood Song — in Melvin Burgess’ outstanding dark fantasy duology. Melding myth and sci-fi with arresting contemporary style, it’s outrageously bold and powerful.
First published some 25 years ago, the duology’s ferocious world transposes the Icelandic Volsunga Saga to future London. A city destroyed. A city cut off from the rest of the country and wracked by violence as a pair of warring families contest power, with the second novel, Blood Song, revisiting remaining family members some years later.
No holds are barred, no topic off limit. There’s blood and violence, sex and death, and emotional depths are punch-packingly plumbed as Burgess takes readers to the brink while exploring timeless themes of treachery, revenge, power-play, and bonds that might make or break us with gripping invention.
Melvin Burgess' dark fantasy epics, Bloodtide & Bloodsong, inspired by Norse mythology, now available as one sensational duology for a new generation of fans.
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Melvin Burgess' dark fantasy epics, Bloodtide & Bloodsong , inspired by Norse mythology, now available as one sensational duology for a new generation of fans.
London is in ruins. The once-glorious city is now a gated wasteland cut off from the rest of the country and in the hands of two warring families - the Volsons and the Conors.
In Bloodtide , Val Volson offers the hand of his young daughter, Signy, to Conor as a truce. At first the marriage seems to have been blessed by the gods, but betrayal and deceit are never far away in this violent world, and the lives of both families are soon to be changed for ever...
A generation later, in Bloodsong, fifteen-year-old Sigurd, son of King Sigmund, is the last surviving member of the Volson clan. His father's kingdom - the former city of London - is gone. Armed with a legendary weapon, Sigurd faces death, fire and torment as he travels through Hel and back to unite his country once again.
Praise for Bloodtide :
'Shies from nothing, making it both cruel and magnificent' - Guardian
'An epic tale of treachery, deceit, sex, torture, violence, revenge and retribution' - Independent on Sunday
'Will rank along with the 20th-century classics' - Sunday Telegraph
Praise for Bloodsong :
'A thrillingly readable and evocative narrative' - Daily Telegraph
'Matches the power of its ancient inspiration and remakes it for another time' - Books for Keeps
Melvin Burgess was brought up in Sussex and Berkshire. As a child, his reading included The Wind in the Willows and Gerald Durrell's animal stories. He went on to enjoy The Hobbit and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast books. A generally unconfident student, he became interested in writing when he was twelve and an English teacher praised one of his stories - "it was about the first time I'd ever done anything that got an A. I was so pleased I never stopped." After leaving school, Melvin moved to Bristol where he worked on occasional jobs, mainly in the building industry, and was often unemployed. He started writing in his twenties and wrote on and off for the next fifteen years before The Cry of the Wolf was published in 1990. He moved to London in 1983 and began a small business marbling fabrics for the fashion industry. In 1997 his controversial bestseller Junk won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal. It was also shortlisted for the 1998 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. Four of his novels have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal.
Melvin Burgess is regarded as one of the best writers in contemporary children's literature. In 1997, his controversial bestseller Junk won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal. It was also shortlisted for the 1998 Whitbread Children's Book of the Year. Four of his novels have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. Melvin lives in Hebden Bridge with his partner.
The LoveReading4Kids Best Children's Books of the Year 2024
the best books for teenagers
Geraldine McCaughrean
A Small Matter of Impending Catastrophe
Melvin Burgess' dark fantasy epics, Bloodtide & Bloodsong, inspired by Norse mythology, now available as one sensational duology for a new generation of fans. London is in ruins.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Bloodtide & Bloodsong: The Complete Duology and determined it is suitable for children aged 13-18 years old
Bloodtide & Bloodsong: The Complete Duology features in the following genres: Books of the Month, Recommendations, Fantasy / Magical, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for Young Adults, Mystery / Mythology, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Star Books, Featured Books for 13+ readers
Paperback. £9.89, down from the £10.99 cover price. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
Bloodtide & Bloodsong: The Complete Duology was written by Melvin Burgess and published by Andersen Press an imprint of Andersen Press Ltd
Bloodtide & Bloodsong: The Complete Duology has 800 pages
£9.89, reduced from £10.99. Temporarily Out Of Stock.
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