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Book Cover for: Sky Carver, Dean Whitlock

Sky Carver

Dean Whitlock

Thomas Painter lives in a land where your name is your life. His father was a genius with a paintbrush, and everyone expects Thomas to be the same. But Thomas stinks at painting. His talent is carving; his genius flows through a knife. Now, with both parents gone and presumed dead, Thomas is still trapped in his father's shadow. Secretly, he has taken the name Carver, but he's not permitted to follow that path. Until a magic wand, dropped by a bemagicked raven girl, falls into his hands, revealing an unforseen raw talent and sending him down an unexpected path.

Accompanied by the raven girl, Carver sets off in search of a mage who can train him to use the wand. They befriend Fireboy, who helps them escape on his steamboat from a cruel baron. They become outcasts in a city of filthy canals and spewing workhouses, where mages are hunted and magic won't work. Finally, lured by one of his own father's paintings, Carver and his companions are trapped at the magic apparatus of the great mage Krimm. There, Carver must confront the images of his missing parents in order to overcome the enchantments of the mage, save his friends, and choose his own path.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Boatman Press LLC
  • Publish Date: Oct 15th, 2018
  • Pages: 248
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.00in - 5.25in - 0.56in - 0.63lb
  • EAN: 9780990902577
  • Recommended age: 13-18
  • Categories: Action & Adventure - General

About the Author

Whitlock, Dean: - Vermont author Dean Whitlock writes fantasy and science fiction for young and not-so-young adults. His stories have appeared in Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Aboriginal SF, as well as in anthologies in the US and abroad. His first two YA fantasy novels were published by Clarion Books, but now he publishes independently under the Boatman Press imprint. He began releasing his short stories and novels for e-readers and in print in 2015. An Air Force brat, Dean has lived in a dozen states and three foreign countries, a life of travel that gave him plenty of time to read in the car and now enriches his writing. You can find out more about Dean and his upcoming reprints and new titles at www.deanwhitlock.com.
Hyman, Trina Schart: - A winner of both the Caldecott Medal and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the late Trina Schart Hyman illustrated over 150 children and young adult books. She was the first art director of Cricket Magazine and was one of the first white American illustrators to incorporate black characters into her work regularly, as a matter of principle. Ms. Hyman died in 2004, shortly after completing the cover art for Sky Carver.
Manzieri, Maurizio: - Artist and cover designer Maurizio Manzieri is a science fiction and fantasy illustrator dreaming his Universes in a small oasis in the heart of Turin, Italy. He has provided cover and interior illustrations for dozens of books and stories published in Europe and the U.S., many of which have been showcased in exhibits all around the world. He has won both the Chesley Award, presented by the Association of Fantasy and Science Fiction Artists, and the Best of Show Award at the World Science Fiction Convention. He has been a featured artist at numerous conventions and teaches digital art in workshops and classes there and in his home in Italy. A collection of his work, The Art of Maurizio Manzieri, was released in 2009 by publisher Vittorio Pavesio. You can find Maurizio's online portfolio at www.manzieri.com.

Praise for this book

"In Sky Carver, Dean Whitlock gives us a unique world of his own creation - a true world, deeply perceived and fully realized. Magic runs throughout the adventure, along with suspense, terror, and poignancy. And one of fantasy's most marvelous birds (of sorts).
"As Carver, the young artist, begins his journey upriver, we can only wish for other journeys to come."
-Lloyd Alexander

"A flowing quest explores industrialization and personal magical talents through three likable characters . . . A nice blend of introspection and action."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Mixing technology and magic in an unconventional way, the story is richly inventive...many readers will [be] swept along the broad stream of this fast-paced fantasy adventure."
-Booklist

"Whitlock has created fully realized characters...Carver's struggle to find his identity will ring true with adolescent readers."
-School Library Journal

"The vivid characters in this novel bring it to life, giving it great depth and making it hard for the reader to put it down. Raven, with her curses and fighting spirit, and Carver with his gentle determination, carry the story forward to a dramatic climax and a most unexpected conclusion."
-Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Review

"Whitlock's prose is smooth and lively, and his characters are well defined."
-Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"SKY CARVER begins slowly and quickly gathers momentum, building up to a speed so fast you don't want to stop reading. Character development, suspense, action, and story line with writing so descriptive you can see what's happening, all meld together to create a riveting tale of budding friendship, nascent and accomplished magic, and good vs evil. I highly recommend it, not only for young adults, but for grownups as well. Fun, entertaining, imaginative, and action packed."
-A. Simran via Amazon

"This is a fantasty/adventure lover's book. The well-written and unpredictable complex plot make this book hard to put down!"
-Darla
Best Books for Young Adults Reviewers Circle
Flint Public Library
Flint, MI

"This coming of age fantasy of bird magic, paint, woodcraft and sorcery in a world where one's name prescribes one's life was an intriguing read with unexpected twists and powerful characters. An excellent new book for middle graders."
-Susan Voake, Librarian
Marion Cross School
Norwich, VT

[As in his short story "Changeling", ] Whitlock shows the same ability to present characters who are simple rather than extravagant, but who possess the quirks and insecurities that make real human beings so compelling. He shows this wisdom and restraint at the same time he gradually elevates the level of the fantastic in this novel for young readers. . . . Thomas is the focus, even if Raven has all the flash. His quest to find himself, and by extension to find his parents, and the complicated feelings surrounding this journey, even more than the world, the magic, and the adventures, make Sky Carver a memorable book that should appeal widely to younger readers.
-Panguitch, on epinion.com