Clariel: Prequel to the internationally bestselling Old Kingdom fantasy series Garth Nix 9781471409752

Dive deeper into the history of the Old Kingdom in the brilliant prequel to Garth Nix's astonishingly successful fantasy series.

Sixteen-year-old Clariel is not adjusting well to her new life in the city of Belisaere, the capital of the Old Kingdom. She misses roaming freely within the forests of Estwael, and she feels trapped within the stone city walls. It seems, too, that the city itself is descending into chaos, as the ancient rules binding Abhorsen, King and Clayr appear to be disintegrating.

With the discovery of a dangerous Free Magic creature loose in the city, Clariel is given the chance both to prove her worth and make her escape. But events spin rapidly out of control. Clariel finds herself more trapped than ever, until help comes from an unlikely source - and at a terrible cost. Clariel must question the motivations and secret hearts of everyone around her - herself most of all.

Garth Nix was born in 1963 in Melbourne, Australia. A full-time writer since 2001, he has worked as a literary agent, marketing consultant, book editor, book publicist, book sales representative, bookseller, and as a part-time soldier in the Australian Army Reserve. Garth's books include the award-winning Old Kingdom fantasy novels; the six books of The Seventh Tower sequence; The Keys to the Kingdom series; and with Sean Williams, the Troubletwisters books and Spirit Animals: Blood Ties. He is also the author of Frogkisser! and other novels for younger children.

More than six million copies of Garth's books have been sold around the world and his work has been translated into 40 languages. He lives in Sydney, Australia. Follow Garth on twitter at @garthnix or at www.garthnix.com