Read The Book of Beasts Online
Authors: John Barrowman
The Book of Beasts (32 page)
Animare
A person who can animate - bring pictures to life by drawing. The fact of their existence is known only to a few, but there are those who wish to use the power of Animare for their own evil gain. For this reason, Animare live by the Five Rules;
1.  They mustn't animate in public.
2.  They must always be in control of their animations.
3.  If they endanger the secret of their existence, they can be “bound” (see below).
4.  They are forbidden from having children with Guardians (see below), as this can result in dangerous hybrids with an unpredictable mix of powers.
5.  Children cannot be bound.
Guardian
A Guardian helps to keep an Animare's powers and emotions under control. Each Animare is allocated a specific Guardian at the age of sixteen. A Guardian's way of influencing an Animare's thinking is known as âinspiriting'. Guardians can use this power on other people as well.
Council of Guardians
A body of Guardians who enforce the Five Rules for Animare. Council Members do not always agree about how Animare should be guided. When hybrid children are created, for example, some Guardians believe that their talents should be nurtured, while other believe that binding (see below) is the only safe course of action.
Binding
Binding is a kind of suspended animation. Animare are bound into a work of art as a last resort when they lose control of their powers or endanger the secret of their existence. Binding an Animare can only be authorised by a Council of Guardians, and can only take place when a Guardian and a second Animare are present.
There are five secure vaults all over the world containing bound paintings. One lies at the Abbey on Auchinmurn Isle.
Hollow Earth
The supernatural place where all monsters, demons, devils and creatures from the dangerous, mystical past have been trapped by the medieval monks of the Order of Era Mina (see below).
The Hollow Earth Society
Founded by Duncan Fox in 1848, the original Hollow Earth Society was designed to prevent the world from knowing about the monsters and imagined creatures locked away in Hollow Earth. The reformed Hollow Earth Society has a very different outlook; to retrieve the monsters, control them and unleash them on the world.
The Order of Era Mina
The monks in medieval Auchinmurn belonged to the order of Era Mina, which had a particular mission: locking away the monsters of the superstitious past by drawing them into a bestiary called the
Book of Beasts
, thereby reinventing the world as a place of modern enlightenment and learning.
Even before we began writing, we knew how this trilogy would begin and how it would end, but we'd never have made it from there to here without help. To our extraordinary editor, Lucy Courtenay, who knows Matt and Em and the others as well as we do, the biggest thank youâ¦
imaginable
. Thank you to Buster Books for kicking off the series, and three cheers to Laura Palmer and the folks at Head of Zeus who will travel to the future with us. And, as always, thank you to our agents, Georgina Capel of Capel and Land Ltd, and Gavin Barker of Gavin Barker and Associates Ltd.
Finally, to our spouses, Kevin Casey and Scott Gill, our parents Marion and John Barrowman, and the rest of our family (especially Turner, Clare and Casey) without whom we'd be truly lost, thank you for making this literary journey much less bumpy and for being the rest-stops whenever we needed one â
CB: Which was a lot.
JB: You can't have the last words.
CB: Yes, I can.
JB: No, you can't
Carole and John
2014
âIt won't be long now.
Death will come soon enough...'
Twelve-year-old twins Matt and Emily Calder may be divided by time, but they are united in their mission to close Hollow Earth before the monsters inside can destroy the world. The key to success lies with their dazzling Animare talents: they can draw things into life and travel in time through art. But there are monsters outside Hollow Earth as well, intent on taking control of the beasts for themselves. And their own father is the worst monster of allâ¦
Even when you travel in time, time has a habit of running out.
âFast-paced adventure and characters so realistic they could jump out of the pages.'
The Bookbag
âA captivating children's fantasy adventure.'
Sunday Express
âAn exciting page-turner awash with devils and demons.'
Scottish Sunday Post
J
OHN
B
ARROWMAN
is an actor, a recording artist, a presenter and Carole's wee brother. He's best known for playing Captain Jack in the television series
Doctor Who
and
Torchwood
and the Dark Archer in
Arrow
.
C
AROLE
E. B
ARROWMAN
is an English professor and the Director of Creative Studies in Writing at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and she's John's big sister.
Carole and John love art of all kinds and wish they could draw as well as Matt and Em. They have collaborated on six books together.
The Book of Beasts
is the third in their Hollow Earth trilogy.
You can connect with John and Carole via:
Carole's Twitter:
@BarrowmanCrime
John's Twitter:
@Team_Barrowman
Carole's Facebook page:
Carole-E-Barrowman
John's website:
www.johnbarrowman.com
Carole's website:
www.carolebarrowman.com
John's Pintrest:
john-barrowman
John's Instagram:
johnscotbarrowman
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The story starts here.
First published in paperback and eBook in the UK in 2014 by Head of Zeus Ltd
Copyright © John Barrowman and Carole E. Barrowman, 2014
Illustrations copyright © Buster Books 2013
The moral right of John and Carole E. Barrowman to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Paperback ISBN: 9781781856352
eBook ISBN: 9781781856345
Typeset by e-type, Aintree, Liverpool
Head of Zeus Ltd
45â47 Clerkenwell Green
London EC1R 0HT