Utterly Dark and the Heart of the Wild

Utterly Dark #2

by Philip Reeve

Utterly Dark has a special connection to the sea. But it is tested more than ever before, this autumn on the island of Summertide. Accompanying her uncle as he explores mysterious Summertide, Utterly is witness to strange happenings in the woods. Deep, old magic abounds, and threatens to steal those she loves most. Utterly must face truths about what lies beneath the land, and in her own past, if she is to save anyone. And she must make a sacrifice to the sea...

An enchanting story of nature, magic and friendship, from the renowned author of Mortal Engines.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Middle Grade, Childrens, Historical

304 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2022

About the author

Philip Reeve 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 cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.

Railhead, published by Oxford University Press, will be published in the UK in October 2015

Pugs of the Frozen North, written with Sarah McIntyre, is out now.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know anyone who writes true sense-of-wonder magic as beautifully as Philip Reeve. The first book in this series (which I also adored) was deeply rooted in its coastal setting, with the creepy magic - and terror - of the sea as its focus. In this one, Utterly and her family have to confront a different kind of ancient and terrible (in the old sense of the word) magic, the magic of the primeval woods and the chalk downs, where the sea became the land long ago.

At one point, Utterly reflects: "Magic obeyed no rules, unless they were the rules of dreams..." and that's exactly the way the magic feels in this series: absolutely beautiful and terrifying and having its own sort of internal plausibility that in no way matches the rules of human logic. Speaking as a fantasy writer, that's absolutely the hardest kind of magic to write convincingly; speaking as a fantasy reader, oh WOW, does Philip Reeve pull it off! I loved every bit of it, and I can't wait for the third Utterly Dark book, especially after the thrilling climax of this one.

Also, as with the first book in this series, this is a great crossover book for adults as well as children.

[Bookish Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohhh, what a joy this was! This was another title sent to me for review and I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise but I loved this A LOT. Utterly is the kind of character you love to see in children's books: kind, brave, slightly magical... I also loved Egg, and Aish and Uncle Will. This is definitely going on my list of favourite children's books and I'm gonna love reading this to my son one day.

[Chimène Gommans · Rating 4 out of 5]

"she found that her sadness had passed, or at least, it had folded itself away into a little attic part of her, where it could wait in secret until she needed it."

- good book, almost fair to say it is a form of poetic literature. liked it!

[Alan Castree · Rating 4 out of 5]

As is often the case with stories by Reeve, Heart of the Wild starts off simply but ends up going somewhere "utterly wild" and unexpected. An exciting read that leaves you wanting for more!

In the second book with Utterly Dark, she leaves the island of Wildsea for the first time, along with her Uncle Will and Egg, to visit a larger island called Summertide. In the town of Borrowchurch, where Uncle Will’s cousin resides, Utterly faces the uneasiness of not being near the sea and completely surround by land. And even though she feels a distance from the Gorm, she soon realizes magic still resides in many places beyond the sea.

[erebus K Rushworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Utterly Dark book and once again Philip Reeve weaves an engaging and exciting narrative for younger readers, that is also entertaining for older people. In the first book we meet Utterly, a child who is half human and half of the sea god, The Gorm. The first book is all about the wildness of the sea and its shorelines, and this second offering is focused instead on the woods and wild spaces, and their stories, creatures, and genius locii. Reeve writes great girl characters, who are fierce and, have pockets. Utterly and Egg are as much their adults' caretakers and rescuers as the other way around.

When Uncle Will is invited to his cousin's house after his cousin's twin sister is struck by lightning, it seems that not all is as planned. A local vicar seems to be running things, and also seems to be treasure hunting, and delving deep (sometimes literally) into the secrets of old magicks and myths. It's all not very God-fearing of him, and he's not a very popular chap.

The setting is painted in hues of late summer, in browns and golds. Again we are treated to delicious character names, that are evocative and whimsical, and lean heavily into old British traditions. There is even a place called Runny Bottom, which is a bit of a lark. The church is old and spooky, and built on a barrow. Older readers will recognise barrows and lichgates and all manner of perverse corpsey things mentioned in the neck-prickling descriptions of what should otherwise be a house of God.

The Utterly Dark books are undoubtedly a celebration of ecological health. In the discussion of Genius Locii (the gods of a place - hills, rivers etc.) I caught a whiff of a notion about stock effluent running off into rivers; the stream being slow-moving and thick with weed next to the cow fields is a sign that farming is taking a toll on the land, even though this is set in the late 1800s. The other idea that I noticed was the notion of re-wilding, which is certainly an anachronistic concept, as the urbanisation around the Industrial Revolution was more about conquering nature than re-embracing it, but it is certainly a wonderful idea to introduce to young readers, so I'm not bothered by it.

I'd say this is a must read for anyone interested in fantasies, myth and magic, aged 9-13 years.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Heart of the Wild is the second Utterly Dark book, Utterly Dark, the main character, lives in Wildsea with her uncle and is part of a small community of human and magical characters, on the edge of the sea. This book begins with the marriage of Will Dark and Aish, and it is not long before Utterly is off on her next adventure as her and her uncle head off to the village of Summertide to investigate some ancient artefacts that have been found there. What follows is a magical investigation involving myths and history, and set in the 1800's Downs. This book is beautifully written with descriptive, imaginative and playful language used to describe the characters, their adventure and the natural settings in which the story takes place. I loved the descriptions of the landscape, and how the formation of the Downs played an integral role in the story.

This is book rich in language, and is a great way in which to expand a child's knowledge of words and expressions.

We would recommend this story to anyone who loves magical adventures, who loves nature, being scared a little and Victorian tales set in the English countryside.

[Kyle Theobald · Rating 5 out of 5]

You may be a little disappointed if you were expecting a direct continuation of the first book, Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep, since this novel moves the action inland and shifts the focus (mostly) away from the sea to tell its own story. The hallmarks of the first book are still there though, in particular with how the magic system works on surreal dream logic where the events quickly fade from memory and you're never quite sure what was real and what was just imagined. I love this because it works both ways. Like who's to say that when we dream we aren't experiencing some remnants of an ancient magical world?

What I also think comes out in this book, more so than in the first, is Reeve's sense of humour, particularly with the introduction of more characters from early 1800s society who have the tendency to react to everything, no matter how absurd or life-threatening, with airs and graces and polite indignation, like "I do declare this is most improper." Not a direct quote from the book but that's the general tone. It definitely helps keep the thing grounded and breaks up the tension nicely.

[CrowCaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
god DAMN it. so good. so good. I love his writing and to have reeve do a take on faerie? hello??? but obviously all so seeped in these ideas of magic, ancient and unspoken magic that cannot have a name, because that would ruin the entire point. Worlds that brush alongside our own but are easily forgotten. Fun characters who feel extremely like people in only a line or two, in a world so lush and nostalgic I feel like I read it years ago, an adventure broad and exciting with dark threat and big magic.

People can and should read middle grade like this even as adults. It's good. It is good to remember having adventures when you were younger, to experience a story guaranteed perhaps to not have adult content- gore, swearing, whatever- but not at all be 'dumbed down' either.

god it's so good.

[Candy Wood]

Although this is #2 of a trilogy, it opens with unfamiliar characters and places before returning to events immediately following the end of #1. The adventures this time involve the land legend of the Hunter. Again, the negative characters are the ones who want to exploit the natural world for personal gain. Utterly prevails (with a lot of help, both human and not) and returns home, but she sees the return as an end of childhood, knowing that she has promised to leave. The shift from sea to land legends makes this work better than a Book 2 often does.

[A Severs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius story - even better than the first IMO.

I loved the references to history, geology, religion, politics and the natural world, all of which immersed me in the story and made me feel like all the magic could really happen.

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tense and gripping, book 2 in a trilogy. You can read my full review here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....

[Dr. Cheryl Diane Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love tumbling into the magical world of Utterly Dark. My only criticism is that it finished too early. So, I'll be reading the final book in the trilogy immediately.

I'm really hoping there will be more Itterly Dark in the future!

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful world building and a cliffhanger finish

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very elegantly written story. And I always love anything about the Wild Hunt. It's thrilling, terrifying, grueseome and appealing all at the same time.

[Erika LG · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can’t help yourself not to like the world and be part of the mystery of this world, it combines all the greats to make a good read

[Riley Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

utterly dark, i hope you will have many more great adventures to come. i will read about all of them.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Reeve's blend of suspense, whimsy and excellent description continues apace. A real treat.

[Claire]

Try as I might, I just cannot get into this book. I keep putting it down and I'm forcing myself to pick it up again and I'm a good 100 pages in... Such a shame as I really enjoyed the first book.

[Em's Adventures · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully read (audiobook) and exquisite story.

[Taygus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just really editing these easy going light fantasy books. ..looking forward to a book 3

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, which was published last year, is aimed, I imagine, at “middle-school” readers, kids from about 12 years old upwards. It’s a sequel to Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep, the first in this series, published about two years ago. When I read it, I didn’t expect there to be a sequel. Neither, apparently, did Philip Reeve, according to what he said to me on Twitter (should I be calling it “X” now?). Anyway, here we are, and I see that there’s yet another Utterly Dark novel in the works.

Reeve, by the way, is probably best known for his quirky Mortal Engines series, from which a movie was made a few years ago.

The setting of both the first Utterly Dark book and this new one is the fictional “Autumn Isles” which are supposedly located to the West of Britain. The time is the early to mid 1800s. In the first book, we discover that young Utterly was found abandoned in a wicker basket washed up on the shore of the island of Wildsea, and adopted by Andrew Dark, who was the Watcher of Wildsea, tasked with keeping watch for the return of the “Hidden Lands” far to the West, the domain of a powerful entity called The Gorm. He raises Utterly as his niece, but we eventually discover that his relationship to Utterly, and for that matter, with the Gorm, is stronger and stranger than it at first appears.

Andrew’s brother, Will Dark, returned to Wildsea part-way through the first book. At the start of this one, he is getting married to a woman called Aish, who rescued him from a shipwreck in the first book. She’s a strange, powerful woman, close to the land and the wilderness. A month or so after the wedding, Will is invited to help examine some standing stones on another island, Summertide. Aish tells him she can’t leave Wildsea, so Will invites Utterly to go with him.

On Summertide, dirty deeds are slowly uncovered, and Will and Utterly eventually find themselves trapped in the “Underwoods”, an endless forest dominated by the malevolent and powerful Hunter, a primitive demiurge. With the help of their friends and ultimately that of Aish, they do escape from the Hunter, but he follows them into our world and they have to struggle again to put an end to his power. Doing so forces young Utterly to make a solemn promise to The Gorm in order to recruit her help, a promise which we will have to wait for the next book in the series in order to see how it plays out.

All of this makes a compelling story for young and old readers alike. I enjoyed it a lot, and I will be looking out to buy the next book, Utterly Dark and the Tides of Time as soon as it comes out.

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