The Empire of Gut and Bone
The Norumbegan Quartet #3
“Anderson has done nothing less than create a true American fantasy…. He has fashioned an ongoing work that is a worthy successor to the books of Susan Cooper and Lloyd Alexander.” — School Library Journal
Scholastic (2011)
ISBN: 9780545138840
Ages: 8-12
Titles in The Norumbegan Quartet
M U R D E R !
M Y S T E R Y !
R E B E L L I O N !
The land of New Norumbega is an unusual one – an empire of the innards, lost within the organs of a huge, alien body. At its dark, dry heart is a ruling class that doesn’t care about much besides itself, especially its mechanical servants, who are tired of being taken for granted.
Brian and Gregory have come to New Norumbega for a reason – to get the Norumbegans to help them thwart an attack on their own homeland back on Earth. But instead, the boys find themselves caught up in both a robot rebellion and a murder mystery after one of the Norumbegan leaders is sent to sleep … permanently.
In New Norumbega, it’s very hard to know who to trust. There are assassins around every corner, and secrets pave every conversation. Brian and Gregory will be lucky to make it back out alive, never sure if they are meant to catch the murderer – or to be the killer’s next victim.
(The sequel to The Game of Sunken Places and The Suburb Beyond the Stars.)
Reviews
“Anderson has done nothing less than create a true American fantasy…. He has fashioned an ongoing work that is a worthy successor to the books of Susan Cooper and Lloyd Alexander.” — School Library Journal
“Anderson’s razor-sharp wit is on full display, full of snappy cross-species insultery and persistently highbrow absurdism.” — Booklist
“Fans will find the unapologetically intellectual looniness uncannily, happily familiar.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Fans of the bizarre and imaginative series will enjoy the pair's latest adventures.” — Horn Book