Impossible Creatures, Katherine Rundell, illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie. Alfred A. Knopf (ISBN: 9780593809860), 2024.

Summary: Christopher helps Mal, a young girl who can fly, as she flees a murderer and seeks the reason why the magic is fading.

A young boy, Christopher, visits his grandfather, in Scotland. Before he knows it, he rescues a griffin, coming face to face with the mythical creature, and escapes a vicious wolf-like creature called a kludde. Then he follows a girl to the bottom of a pool into a hidden world, the Archipelago. This is a collection of islands on Earth, hidden from the rest of the planet.

They arrive only to confront the man trying to murder Mal, the young girl. He has already killed her great aunt. But they fend him off, flee with the help of unicorns, and jump from a cliff onto a boat captained by Nighthand. Something Mal says about the Immortal stops him from throwing them off the ship.

Besides fleeing a murderer out to kill her for reasons unknown, she is trying to figure out why the glimourie, the life force that sustains the Archipelago, is weakening. Nighthand agrees to assist them. Kraken attack them. They seek help in turn in the City of Scholars and from the sphinx, who will help only after you answer riddles. A wrong answer, and they will eat you. They learn that only the Immortal can gain access to the glimourie tree through a labyrinth. But the Immortal is lost. The last renounced his powers, and, although a new Immortal was born when he died, no one knows who the immortal is.

Yet there is something more to Christopher, Mal, and Nighthand than meets the eye. Christopher’s grandfather is a Guardian of the Archipelago. From the way animals treat him, is he as well? Nighthand is more than a captain. He is the defender of the Immortal, a kind of bodyguard. And Mal? She can fly with her magical cloak. But why is she burdened with concern for the fading of the glimourie? Who is she, really, and why does someone want to kill her? So much of the story turns on her coming to understand and accept her identity. The life of the Archipelago, indeed all Earth, hangs upon it.

This is a story to set one’s spirit soaring along with Mal. Between the characters we see courage, compassion, and sacrifice, along with sheer determination. But be warned, there are moments that will break your heart as well. Along the way we encounter dragons and centaurs and a host of other mythical creatures (Rundell even includes an illustrated bestiary at the back of the book). Rundell’s writing combines beauty, memorable characters, and a fast-paced plot. Ashley Mackenzie’s illustrations capture key scenes and feed our imaginations.

I loved the story as an adult even though it is written for middle-graders. I understand the comparisons to Tolkien and Philip Pullman. And perhaps this is fitting. Rundell is a fellow in two of the Colleges of Oxford and has written academic works on John Donne, including a Baillie Gifford prize winner. Therefore, it is thrilling that this is the first of a series. After all, what’s not to like about an adventure fantasy filled with mythical creatures and noble quests?