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Runcible Jones #1
Runcible Jones and the Gate to Nowhere
Over a million copies of Ian Irvine's fantasy novels sold.
In a world terrified of magic, a boy is abandoned to the worst school in the world - Grimdgrim. A place designed to crush all magic out of him. But Runcible Jones has to learn magic, to uncover the truth about his father's death on another world.
Hurled through a gate to magical Iltior, Runcible's arrival begins a war that will spread to Earth. But why is Lord Shambles, the blackest sorcerer on Iltior, hunting him?
To uncover the truth, Runcible must fight the dreadful sorcerer, but even if he wins, nothing will ever be the same again.
After every defeat, Lord Shambles comes back stronger than before, and more determined to punish humanity. Having crushed all resistance on magical Iltior, he moves the war to Earth, and so much power has been drained that the world is on the verge of collapse.
Unfortunately, Earth's weapons are useless against this enemy. Only Runcible Jones can stop him, though it's an impossible battle - a fourteen-year-old boy against the most terrible sorcerer on two worlds. Runcible will need every bit of his courage and cunning to save Earth.
In a world terrified of magic, a boy is abandoned to the worst school in the world - Grimdgrim. A place designed to crush all magic out of him. But Runcible Jones has to learn magic, to uncover the truth about his father's death on another world.
Hurled through a gate to magical Iltior, Runcible's arrival begins a war that will spread to Earth. But why is Lord Shambles, the blackest sorcerer on Iltior, hunting him?
To uncover the truth, Runcible must fight the dreadful sorcerer, but even if he wins, nothing will ever be the same again.
After every defeat, Lord Shambles comes back stronger than before, and more determined to punish humanity. Having crushed all resistance on magical Iltior, he moves the war to Earth, and so much power has been drained that the world is on the verge of collapse.
Unfortunately, Earth's weapons are useless against this enemy. Only Runcible Jones can stop him, though it's an impossible battle - a fourteen-year-old boy against the most terrible sorcerer on two worlds. Runcible will need every bit of his courage and cunning to save Earth.
441 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Ian Irvine
74 books668 followersI'm an Australian author of 34 novels, mainly fantasy. They include the bestselling Three Worlds epic fantasy sequence, which has sold over a million print copies. It comprises The View from the Mirror quartet, The Well of Echoes quartet and The Song of the Tears trilogy. I’ve just finished The Gates of Good and Evil quartet, the long-awaited sequel to The View from the Mirror. Book 3, The Perilous Tower, was published recently and the final book, The Sapphire Portal, will be published on November 1, 2020.
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ianirvine.au...
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LATEST BOOK
WHY I WRITE
Funny thing is, I never wanted to be a writer. From an early age my ambition was to be a scientist. I’m an expert in pollution and I’ve spent my professional life studying it in far-flung places like Mauritius, Sumatra, Mongolia, South Korea, the Philippines, Papua-New Guinea and Western Samoa, as well as all over Australia. Often scuba diving to the bottom of foul, smelly harbours and hammering tubes deep into the polluted mud to collect samples for chemical analysis. Now that’s living!
I was a small, quiet kid who devoured books from the moment I learned to read. When I was naughty, Mum wouldn’t let me read anything for a week – talk about a cruel and unusual punishment.
I discovered fantasy in the early 70’s, with The Lord of the Rings and the Earthsea trilogy, and was immediately hooked. But there wasn’t much fantasy in those days; within a couple of years I’d read everything available. I wanted more and bigger tales, on vaster canvases, but they didn’t exist. That’s why I had to become a writer – to write the kind of stories I wanted to read.
WHAT I WRITE
I’ve never wanted to write about superheroes or huge, reckless warriors who know no fear. I write epic fantasy about underdogs and ordinary people who, in pursuit of their goals, are put to the limit of human endurance. My characters aren’t fantasy stereotypes, they’re real people with believable motivations and unfortunate flaws. I’m well known for strong female characters who have as many adventures as the men, and frequently get them out of trouble (I have five sisters). My characters are often small or clumsy or inexperienced or handicapped in some way, yet they make up for it with cleverness, ingenuity or sheer, low cunning. My antagonists are real, complex people who do bad things for strong and deeply-held reasons – never ‘just because they’re evil’.
Though my characters suffer every kind of torment imaginable, at their lowest point they discover the truest form of courage – they keep fighting because the fate of the people they care for, and the world they love, depends on them never giving up.
SOME RECENT REVIEWS
"Irvine is a veteran storyteller who excels in sustaining complex plots with well-rounded characters. Here, he delivers a compelling tale of vengeance, loyalty, and the search for a place in the world." Starred review, Library Journal (US)
"That Grand Master of the vast epic is with us again! The first gripping volume of what promises to be a vintage Irvine treat. More please!" Crisetta MacLeod, Aurealis Express
"Incredibly exciting. The end will have you eagerly anticipating the next book." Good Reading (Aus)
"He knows how to spin an epic yarn and tell it with real gusto ... ambitious in scope and tirelessly action-stuffed." SFX
Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/ianirvine.au...
Signup to my email newsletter for free books and special offers, preview chapters, news and other great stuff. https://www.ian-irvine.com/join-my-ne...
LATEST BOOK
WHY I WRITE
Funny thing is, I never wanted to be a writer. From an early age my ambition was to be a scientist. I’m an expert in pollution and I’ve spent my professional life studying it in far-flung places like Mauritius, Sumatra, Mongolia, South Korea, the Philippines, Papua-New Guinea and Western Samoa, as well as all over Australia. Often scuba diving to the bottom of foul, smelly harbours and hammering tubes deep into the polluted mud to collect samples for chemical analysis. Now that’s living!
I was a small, quiet kid who devoured books from the moment I learned to read. When I was naughty, Mum wouldn’t let me read anything for a week – talk about a cruel and unusual punishment.
I discovered fantasy in the early 70’s, with The Lord of the Rings and the Earthsea trilogy, and was immediately hooked. But there wasn’t much fantasy in those days; within a couple of years I’d read everything available. I wanted more and bigger tales, on vaster canvases, but they didn’t exist. That’s why I had to become a writer – to write the kind of stories I wanted to read.
WHAT I WRITE
I’ve never wanted to write about superheroes or huge, reckless warriors who know no fear. I write epic fantasy about underdogs and ordinary people who, in pursuit of their goals, are put to the limit of human endurance. My characters aren’t fantasy stereotypes, they’re real people with believable motivations and unfortunate flaws. I’m well known for strong female characters who have as many adventures as the men, and frequently get them out of trouble (I have five sisters). My characters are often small or clumsy or inexperienced or handicapped in some way, yet they make up for it with cleverness, ingenuity or sheer, low cunning. My antagonists are real, complex people who do bad things for strong and deeply-held reasons – never ‘just because they’re evil’.
Though my characters suffer every kind of torment imaginable, at their lowest point they discover the truest form of courage – they keep fighting because the fate of the people they care for, and the world they love, depends on them never giving up.
SOME RECENT REVIEWS
"Irvine is a veteran storyteller who excels in sustaining complex plots with well-rounded characters. Here, he delivers a compelling tale of vengeance, loyalty, and the search for a place in the world." Starred review, Library Journal (US)
"That Grand Master of the vast epic is with us again! The first gripping volume of what promises to be a vintage Irvine treat. More please!" Crisetta MacLeod, Aurealis Express
"Incredibly exciting. The end will have you eagerly anticipating the next book." Good Reading (Aus)
"He knows how to spin an epic yarn and tell it with real gusto ... ambitious in scope and tirelessly action-stuffed." SFX
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 17, 2015
I read Runcible Jones: Gate to Nowhere back-to-back with Jenny Nimmo's Charlie Bone and the Hidden King.
These two books are so stylistically similar they are not quite clones but certainly closer than cousins—literary half-siblings, perhaps.
Highly improbable plots with melodramatic overtones, landscapes partly Dickensian, partly Rowlingsian and partly golden age science fiction, character line-ups peopled by angst-ridden orphans, feisty female sidekicks and villains almost slapstick in their perfidy — these are wonderful romping tales, but as for the suspension of disbelief, there was never a hope it could be achieved. I’m not sure the authors were even seriously trying. I’m sure the reader was supposed to feel sorry for the plight of the respective heroes, but I kept wanting to join the bullies and hit them — just to knock some sense into their downtrodden psyches. Both books highly recommended, if you’re not looking for anything intellectually or emotionally satisfying.
These two books are so stylistically similar they are not quite clones but certainly closer than cousins—literary half-siblings, perhaps.
Highly improbable plots with melodramatic overtones, landscapes partly Dickensian, partly Rowlingsian and partly golden age science fiction, character line-ups peopled by angst-ridden orphans, feisty female sidekicks and villains almost slapstick in their perfidy — these are wonderful romping tales, but as for the suspension of disbelief, there was never a hope it could be achieved. I’m not sure the authors were even seriously trying. I’m sure the reader was supposed to feel sorry for the plight of the respective heroes, but I kept wanting to join the bullies and hit them — just to knock some sense into their downtrodden psyches. Both books highly recommended, if you’re not looking for anything intellectually or emotionally satisfying.
June 21, 2017
Did not finish.
I couldn't bear another moment of this horrible book.
The writing is so bad I couldn't even tell what on earth was meant to be happening.
And the story was sooo stereotypical that I'm surprised it got a sequel.
The only reason I picked this up in the first place is because the library has so many of them
I couldn't bear another moment of this horrible book.
The writing is so bad I couldn't even tell what on earth was meant to be happening.
And the story was sooo stereotypical that I'm surprised it got a sequel.
The only reason I picked this up in the first place is because the library has so many of them
November 2, 2014
I read this book a while ago, but, from what I can remember, I really liked it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews