Isobelle Carmody
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I am an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's and juvenile literature. I divide my time between a home on the Great Ocean Road in Australia and my travels abroad. I began work on the Obernewtyn Chronicles when I was fourteen years old. I continued to work on these while completing a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in literature and philosophy, followed by a cadetship in journalism. The first two books in the Obernewtyn series were short listed for the CBC Children's Book of the Year in the Older Readers category; My third book Scatterlings won Talking book of the Year. My fourth book The Gathering was a joint winner of the 1993 CBC Book of the Year Award and the 1994 Children's Literature Peace Prize. Another book, Greylands, won an Aurealis Award and a White Raven at Bologna Book Fair while Billy Thunder and the Night Gate was shortlisted for the Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Literature in the 2001 NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Both Little Fur and A Fox Called Sorrow received BAAFTA Industry Awards for design. Alyzon Whitestarr won the coveted Golden Aurealis for overall best novel at the Aurealis Awards. Nan Mc Nabb and were the participating editor of a two book collection of stories titled respectively The Wilful Eye and The Wicked Wood, released in 2011. My recent book The Red Wind won Book of the Year. My latest book is a collection of critically acclaimed stories called Metro Winds, and I am currently working on the final book in the Obernewtyn Chronicles, The Red Queen and another book, The Cloud Road.
Dark, Dystopian, Fantasy, Paranormal & Urban, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
The Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 1: Popular Penguins
In a world struggling back from the brink of apocalypse, life is harsh. But for Elspeth Gordie, born with enhanced mental abilities that would see her sterilised or burned if discovered, it is also dangerous. There is only survival by secrecy, and so she determines never to use her forbidden powers. But it is as if they have their own imperative, and their use inevitably brings her to the attention of the totalitarian Council that rules the Land . .
Green Monkey Dreams
This is the unforgettable world of Isobelle Carmody, presented in 14 stories written over a period of 13 years. Within it readers will find roads of paradox on which an angel might be a torturer, or a princess might reject a prince to save a rooster. These are paths traveled by seekers of the difficult deepest truths never found on straight roads; here a boy searches for his true name, a group of pilgrims is led by a song on an ancient journey, and a beast discovers hope. Enter this world and you will never again be sure where reality ends and imagination begins, for sometimes the greatest truths can only be told through imagination. From one of Australia's finest writers of fantasy comes a stunning collection of stories full of provocative ideas and haunting images.
Ashling (Obernewtyn Chronicles, Book 3)
As head of Obernewtyn’s Farseeker guild, Elspeth Gordie must travel to the lowlands to seal an alliance between Obernewtyn and the rebel forces that oppose the totalitarian Council. Yet her dreams call to her with an altogether different purpose: Elspeth must destroy what remains of the weapons that brought unimaginable chaos, death, and mutation to her world. Leaving the relative safety of the mountains, Elspeth embarks on a journey that takes her across the sea and into the heart of the mysterious desert region of Sador.
The Farseekers: The Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 2: Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 2
In this powerful sequel to Obernewtyn, young Elspeth Gordie-possessed of extraordinary mental powers-has united with others Misfits for refuge on the remote mountain keep of Obernewtyn. Yet the threat from the totalitarian Council to their safety is ever present. Their only defense is to work hard to develop their mental powers before an inevitable confrontation. But when Elspeth is lured off the mountain in a dangerous quest to rescue a powerful Misfit, the fate of the Obernewtyn colony will hang in the balance.
Greylands
Jack and Ellen have lost their mother and their grief-stricken dad isn’t coping. In the sad and confusing aftermath of her death, Jack tries to understand more about his mother and the mysteries behind her death. One wakeful night, Jack enters a place made up of colourless reflections of his own world. Trapped inside this lonely land he meets Alicia, a strange girl with a secret, and the tragic laughing beast. Will Jack work out how to escape before the terrifying wolves find him? Or is he destined to live in the Greylands forever?
Darkfall: Book One of the Legendsong: Book One of the Legendsong
Darkfall marks the beginning of a stunning trilogy from one of Australia's leading writers of fantasy. This powerful, compelling saga, book one of The Legendsong is set in a mysterious, uncertain world that only Carmody could create. After the death of her parents and her beloved instructor, Wind, Glynn devotes herself to the care of her sick twin sister, feeling her own life to be unimportant. One night, during a midnight swim, she is swept across the Void to the troubled watery world of Keltor, through a portal created to summon the mythical Unraveller. What is the mysterious connection between Glynn's world and Keltor? And why does the man who rescued her from the waves bear an eerie resemblance to Wind? While it stands on its own as an absorbing, seductive and powerful novel, the sequels to Darkfall will be eagerly awaited.
Metro Winds
In these stories, anything is possible. A young man fulfills a dying wish. A girl discovers her destiny in the dark tunnels of the Metro. Another seeks her lost sister in a park where winter lasts forever. A writer pursues an ending to his story. A mother works magic to summon a true princess for her son. A lost man goes in search of his shadow. This is a world of desire and transformation, the real and the not real, from a queen of modern fantasy.
The Keeping Place: The Obernewtyn Chronicles 4
When a Misfit is kidnapped, Elspeth finds she has little choice but to join the growing rebellion against the Council. Her extraordinary mental powers could tip the scales of the struggle, but Elspeth feels torn between toppling the corrupt authoritarian regime and seeking clues vital to a more personal quest—her ambition to destroy what remains of the Beforetime weaponmachines.
The Stone Key: The Obernewtyn Chronicles 6
Friend becomes foe and trust is a thing of the past when the Misfits’ most relentless enemy turns Elspeth’s world upside down. Through coercion and mind control, Ariel stands on the cusp of his ultimate revenge—and it falls to Elspeth to rescue a former ally whose mind and body have been manipulated to unleash a plague that will destroy all it touches.
Ashling
Elspeth is sent to Sutrium, seat of the totalitarian Council that rules the Land, to seal an alliance between the secret Misfit community at Obernewtyn and rebel forces. She undertakes the journey reluctantly as she has another task at hand: to find and destroy the dormant weaponmachines. Her journey takes her far beyond the borders of the Land and into the heart of the desert region of Sador, where she soon discovers just how much help she needs to complete both her quests!
The Stone Key: The Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 5: Obernewtyn Chronicles Volume 5
There was a great crash and wood splintered . . . I had a brief glimpse of a group of Herder priests, bald and robed, peering at me, and then the sundered remnants of the locker door were torn aside and a rough hand reached in to haul me out by the hair. A Hedra captain stared into my face with eyes that burned with a fanatical fire above a thin nose and a lipless slash of a mouth. . . 'You will die in great pain and very slowly, mutant,' said the Hedra master. When Farseeker Guildmistress Elspeth Gordie sets out from Obernewtyn to travel to Sutrium at the end of Wintertime, she quickly learns that not everyone welcomes the changes brought about by the rebellion. Capture by an old and vicious enemy, she is drawn into the heart of the Herder Faction, where she learns of a terrible plot to destroy the west coast. To stop it, Elspeth must risk everything, knowing that if she dies, she will never complete her quest to find the weaponmachines that destroyed the Beforetime. But if she succeeds, her journey will lead her to the last of the signs left for her by the seer Kasanda . .
Scatterlings (Point Science Fiction)
Merlin awakes from a terrifying accident not knowing who, or where she is. All she knows for certain, is that this is not her world ... Bewildered and alone, Merlin sets out through an alien landscape to try and discover the truth about herself - as terrifying as it may be!
The Gathering (Puffin Books)
Nathan has an eerie feeling about his new hometown of Cheshunt and wonders about the strange things he sees around the town, and, while researching the town's past, he learns the truth about the evil spell that holds everyone in Cheshunt in its thrall. Reprint
Night Gate: The Gateway Trilogy Book One
Rage Winnoway’s closest friends have always been her four dogs: Bear, Billy Thunder, Elle, and Mr. Walker. When Rage sets off for the hospital where her mother lies in a coma, the dogs and the neighbor’s goat tag along. On the way, they run into the firecat, who talks them into going through a magical gate. And something wonderful happens! Each of Rage’s friends is transformed. Bear becomes a real bear; Billy Thunder, a teenage boy; Elle, a warrior woman; Mr. Walker, a small, large-eared gentleman; and the goat, a satyr with an inferiority complex. Together, Rage and her companions embark on a quest to save the world of Valley, a journey that is somehow tied to Rage’s family. In this brilliant tale of courage and transformation, Isobelle Carmody captures the magic of Narnia and the whimsy of Wonderland without losing sight of the real world and all its difficulties.
Little Fur #4: Riddle of Green
When Little Fur loses touch with the flow of earth magic, she knows that she must regain it, whatever it takes. A visit to the prophetic Sett Owl makes it clear that Little Fur has to embark on the most dangerous of all her adventures and follow the dreams of a lemur. Accompanied by new companions including the lemur, a horde of lemmings, and a panther, Little Fur leaves the human city and sets out across the great salten sea. What Little Fur discovers about the past and the future on this most dangerous, yet most personal and rewarding journey, makes for an exciting and moving conclusion to this eco-fantasy quartet.
The Seeker: The Obernewtyn Chronicles
New from acclaimed fantasy author Isobelle Carmody comes The Seeker, an omnibus edition of the first two books in the dystopian fantasy the Obernewtyn Chronicles—Obernewtyn and The Farseekers! Discover the adventure! Elspeth Gordie has a secret: she's a Misfit, born with mental powers that would mean her death if discovered. But she's not alone, and her exile to the mysterious compound known as Obernewtyn is just the beginning....
Darksong: Book Two of the Legendsong: Book Two of the Legendsong
These are the signs by which the Unraveller shall be known: Half-blind yet seeing all, marked by visioning yet without Darkfall mark, who lives yet sings the death song, who is born yet is not of the Song of Making, who is gifted from the Great Waters, who is crowned in bright flame . . . Legendsong of the Unykorn. After crossing to the troubled world of Keltor, Ember learns that her twin sister also crossed, and is in great danger. She must find Glynn and warn her before it is too late. Darksong is the second in the parallel world trilogy, The Legendsong Saga, which began with Darkfall. The third and final book in the series will be Darkbane.