Goblins (NE)

A wild world of magical creatures and heroic adventure fromthe extraordinary imagination of Philip Reeve.

The squabbling goblins who live in the great towers of Clovenstone spend their time fighting and looting. Only clever young Skarper understands that dark magic created by a vanquished sorcerer is rising again.

From the lands of men come fortune-seekers - and trolls, giants, cloud-maidens, boglins, swamp monsters, tree-warriors and bloodthirsty goblins are swept into a fabulous magical conflict to thrill all fantasy fans.

Philip Reeve is best known as the author of Mortal Engines, currently being adapted for the screen by Peter Jackson. He has written many other works, including Railhead, Here Lies Arthur, and a series of popular books for younger readers with the illustrator Sarah McIntyre.

Philip was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects. Philip then began illustrating, and has since provided illustrations, cartoons and comic strips for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series. It was while working on these that he wrote Mortal Engines, his first novel.

Mortal Engines is a gripping adventure story set in a future world where moving cities trawl the globe. A magical and unique read, it immediately caught the attention of reviewers and book buyers. It was shortlisted for several awards and was the Gold Award winner at the Nestle Smarties Book Prize 2002 and the winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year at the 2003 Awards. A movie is currently in production, written and produced by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and directed by Christian Rivers. It will be released by Universal in December 2018.

Predator's Gold is the second book in the Mortal Engines quartet, Infernal Devices the third and A Darkling Plain concludes the series to date. A Darkling Plain was published in 2006 and won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

In 2007, Philip took a new direction with publication of Here Lies Arthur, a story which this time looks back into history. Set in the Dark Ages, the book is a gripping adventure story and at the same time explores how a myth can be created through story-telling. Here Lies Arthur has received a fantastic reaction from the media and his reader fans. It was shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Award, the Nestle Children's Book Prize and won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2008.

Fever Crumb, published in 2009 and set many generations before the events of Mortal Engines, was short-listed for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2010. It was followed by A Web of Air (2010) and Scrivener's Moon (2011).

Philip's most recent novels are Goblins ,Goblins Vs Dwarves, and Goblin Quest, comic fantasies about the bloodthirsty goblins of Clovenstone.

Philip is also the author of a trilogy of steam-powered Victorian space adventures Larklight, Starcross and Mothstorm, all gloriously illustrated by David Wyatt.

In recent years Philip has begun a successful collaborate with the illustrator and comics creator Sarah McIntyre. Their first book together is Oliver and the Seawigs, a highly illustrated adventure featuring explorers, mermaids, and moving islands, published by Oxford University Press. They have produced a follow-up, the sci-fi-and-bakery adventure Cakes in Space. Their third book together, Pugs of the Frozen North, featured 66 pugs and was a soaraway success. Their latest collaboration, Jinks and O’Hare Funfair Repair was published in October 2016, and they have also created an activity book, Pug-A-Doodle-Do, based on characters from all their books together. They are currently working on a new story, The Legend of Kevin, to be published in Autumn 2018.

Inspired by working on the Reeve & McIntyre series, Philip returned to large-scale sci-fi with his YA novel Railhead, an adventure set in a future where human beings live in a galactic empire linked by a hyperspace railway. It tells the story of a young thief named Zen, who is recruited to commit an elaborate robbery. Zen’s adventures continue in a sequel, Black Light Express, and Station Zero will complete the trilogy in spring 2018.

Philip lives on Dartmoor with his wife and son, and his interests are walking, drawing, writing and reading.