The Curse of the Gloamglozer (Quint 1) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell

Author: Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
ISBN # 0552564251
Publisher: Corgi
First Published: 2001
380 pages

Blurb:
In the floating city of Sanctaphrax, fusty old professors scheme and bicker with each other as they study the weather in minute detail - mistsifting, fogprobing, researching the air blowing in from beyond the Edge. But some experiments are best left alone...Quint is the son of a sky pirate captain. He arrives in Sanctaphrax at the request of Linius Pallitax, the Most High Academe, who needs an apprentice he can trust to carry out a series of highly important tasks. Just how important, Quint is about to find out as he and Linius's only daughter, Maris, are plunged into the midst of a terrifying adventure that takes them deep within the rock upon which Sanctaphrax is built.

Review:
Seldom does one come across an imagined world so fully formed as the one portrayed in The Edge Chronicles! This first book in the Chronicles introduces the reader to the magnificent floating city of Sanctaphrax – a place where the study of the sky and weather are of the utmost importance – and its quirky inhabitants. But the most learned and respected professor of them all – the Most High Academe – is about to take science too far in his quest for knowledge, and it is up to his daughter, Maris, and his young apprentice, Quint (the son of a famous Sky Pirate), to find out what terror he has unleashed!

This is a heady adventure and the inventiveness of the authors rivals that of Terry Pratchett. Beautiful line drawings illustrate the action, capturing characters and locations to perfection – there’s even a handy map in the front of the book! This is a must-read start to the Quint Trilogy.

Rating: 9