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The Edge Chronicles

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The Edge Chronicles
AuthorPaul Stewart
IllustratorChris Riddell
LanguageEnglish
Genre
PublisherDoubleday
Published1998 – present
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)

The Edge Chronicles is a children's fantasy novel series[1] written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell.[2] It consists of four trilogies, plus four additional books, and other books related to the universe (The Edge).[3] The series was originally published by Doubleday, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House,[4] and has sold more than three million copies, according to its publisher.[5]

The stories of The Edge Chronicles take place in the fictional world of The Edge, a vast cliff with no apparent bottom.[6] The majority of books are grouped into sagas, with each saga focusing on one character.[3] The series covers a 600-year period, divided into three "Ages of Flight". In The first age, floating rocks were used to stay airborne but then stone sickness, which made the rocks crumble, hit. Then, floating wood was used, and finally phrax-power. The power of flight is a major theme of the books, with each age defined by the current technology used for air travel.[7] The series is notable for its flora and fauna, along with the maps of various locations in The Edge.[6]

The first three trilogies were released over the course of 1998 to 2006, with a standalone saga serving as a conclusion to the first two ages of flight and a beginning to the third released in 2009.[3] The series was planned to end after the tenth book,[8] with the author's blog, Weird New Worlds serving as the continuous adventures with weekly 'chapter' installments.[9] After the completion of the 66 chapters of the blog, the authors decided to revisit the series with the fourth trilogy which would adapt the characters and stories from the blog, with the first and second books released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The series also includes a number of short stories, along with a companion book.[citation needed]

Books

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The Quint Trilogy

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  • The Curse of the Gloamglozer: the novel was first published in 2001.[10] It is the fourth volume of chronicles and the first of the Quint Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the first novel, preceding the Twig Saga trilogy that was published earlier.[11]
  • The Winter Knights: first published in 2005, it is the eighth volume of chronicles and the second of the Quint Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the second novel, preceding the Twig Saga and Rook Saga trilogies that were published earlier.
  • Clash of the Sky Galleons: first published in 2006, it is the ninth volume of chronicles and the third of the Quint Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the third novel.

Main characters

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  • Quintinius Verginix, also known as Quint
  • Vilnix Pompolnius, also known as Vil Spatweed
  • Maris Pallitax
  • Phin, Raff and Stope, Quint's friends
  • Hax Vostillix, the Hall Master of High Cloud
  • Phillius Embertine, Fenviel Vendix and Arboretum Sicklebough, the other Hall Masters
  • The Professors of Light and Darkness
  • Wind Jackal (Quint's father)
  • Thaw Daggerslash (An acquaintance of Wind Jackal)

The Twig Trilogy

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  • Beyond the Deepwoods (1998)
  • Stormchaser: first published in 1999, it is the second volume of chronicles and of the Twig Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the fifth novel, following the Quint Saga trilogy that was published later.
  • Midnight Over Sanctaphrax: first published in 2000, it is the third volume of the chronicles and of the Twig Saga trilogy; within the stories' own chronology it is the sixth novel.

Characters

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  • Twig
  • Quintinius Verginix
  • Vilnix Pompolnius
  • Slyvo Spleethe
  • Screed Toe-taker (Screedius Tollinix)
  • Mother Horsefeather
  • Hubble the Banderbear
  • Stope Boltjaw
  • Mugbutt
  • Spiker
  • Goom

The Rook Trilogy

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The Immortals

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The Immortals is the 10th book of The Edge Chronicles and was released on 5 February 2009 in the United Kingdom and 14 September 2010 in the United States and Canada. The book introduces the Third Age of Flight and the character Nate Quarter, and serves as a conclusion to the Quint, Twig and Rook sagas.

The Cade Trilogy

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  • The Nameless One: first published in 2014, it is the eleventh volume of the chronicles and the first of the Cade Saga trilogy; it is the first main series book since The Immortals.
  • Doombringer (2015)
  • The Descenders (2019)

Standalone books

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  • Cloud Wolf (2001) - A short side story, specially published for World Book Day. Serves as a prequel to the Quint Trilogy.
  • The Stone Pilot (2006) - A short side story, specially published for World Book Day.
  • The Lost Barkscrolls (2006) an anthology that includes "Cloud Wolf" (2001), "The Stone Pilot" (2006) and two additional short stories from the series named "The Slaughterer's Quest" set between the Twig and Rook trilogies, it follows an adventure of Rook's mother, Keris Barkwater, and "The Blooding of Rufus Filatine" set after Freeglader, it follows an adventure of Rufas Filantine, son of Xanth Filantine.
  • The Edge Chronicles Maps (2004) a companion book to the series, detailing the Edge in the First and Second Age of Flight. It also contains a double-sided map: on one side the Edge in the First Age of Flight, on the other the Edge in the Second Age of Flight.

Other

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The following titles are not available in book form.

  • The Sky Chart: A Book of Quint (2014) (Available in digital form only)
  • Weird New Worlds (2009-2011) (Story in blog form spanning 66 posts).

Chronology

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The Edge Chronicles books are not always released in chronological order. The following table summarizes the stories to date:

Order Chronologically Story Title Main Protagonist Order Released Year Released Book Number
1 Cloud Wolf* Quintinius Verginix 4 2001 Side Story
2 Curse of the Gloamglozer Quintinius Verginix 5 2001 04
3 The Winter Knights Quintinius Verginix 9 2005 08
4 The Stone Pilot* Maugin 10 2006 Side Story
5 Clash of the Sky Galleons Quintinius Verginix 11 2006 09
6 The Sky Chart: A Book of Quint Quintinius Verginix 15 2014 Maps
7 Beyond the Deepwoods Arborinus Verginix (Twig) 1 1998 01
8 Stormchaser Arborinus Verginix (Twig) 2 1999 02
9 Midnight Over Sanctaphrax Arborinus Verginix (Twig) 3 2000 03
10 The Slaughterer's Quest* Keris Barkwater 12 2006 Side Story
11 The Last of the Sky Pirates Rook Barkwater 6 2002 05
12 Vox Rook Barkwater 7 2003 06
13 Freeglader Rook Barkwater 8 2004 07
14 The Blooding of Rufus Filatine* Rufus Filatine 13 2006 Side Story
15 The Immortals Nate Quarter 14 2009 10
16 The Nameless One Cade Quarter 16 2014 11
17 Doombringer Cade Quarter 17 2015 12
18 The Descenders Cade Quarter 18 2019 13

* Part of The Lost Barkscrolls (Also marked by "Side Story" in book number column). Cloud Wolf and The Stone Pilot were also released separately as individual novellas previously.

The Stone Pilot is told from the narrative of Maugin reminiscing on her past. Content of this story falls chronologically fourth while the story is told by Maugin at a later point in time, likely around the end of The Last of the Sky Pirates.

The Edge Chronicles Maps Detail 'The Edge' during the first and second age of flight covering a time period from before Cloud Wolf until some point in time between The Blooding of Rufus Filatine and The Immortals.

Family tree

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The Edge Chronicles family tree
Orlis
“Wind Jackal”		Hirmina Verginix
(née Lintrax)		Yena Pallitax
(née Vespius)		Linius Pallitax
(Most High Academe of Sanctaphrax)
Lucius VerginixCentix VerginixMurix VerginixPellius VerginixMartilius VerginixQuint
“Cloud Wolf”
(Quintinius Verginix)		Maris Verginix
(née Pallitax)
Tem BarkwaterCal BarkwaterNoll Barkwater
(née Hammelherd)		Loess
Sinew Verginix
(née Tatum)		Twig
(Arborinus Verginix)		Maugin
“The Stone Pilot”
Shem BarkwaterKeris Barkwater (née Verginix)
Magda BurlixRook Barkwater
Multiple Generations
Hermia LentisAbe QuarterPhasia Hexatine
Eudoxia PradeNate QuarterThadeus QuarterSensa Huth
Cade Quarter

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Ten Best: Books for ages 8-12". The Independent. 26 July 2006. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  2. ^ Riddell, Chris; Drabble, Emily (9 June 2015). "The best work of Chris Riddell, new children's laureate – in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Riddell, Paul Stewart and Chris. "The Edge Chronicles - Edge Chronicles book order". The Edge Chronicles. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Children's Book Review: BEYOND THE DEEPWOODS: The Edge Chronicles, #1 by Paul Stewart, Author, Chris Riddell, Illustrator . Random/Fickling $12.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-385-75068-4". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  5. ^ Riddell, Paul Stewart, Chris. "The Edge Chronicles 13: The Descenders". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b Middleton, Christopher (4 July 2008). "Family bookclub: The Edge Chronicles: Beyond the Deepwoods". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  7. ^ Riddell, Chris; Stewart, Paul. "The Edge Chronicles - The Three Ages Of Flight". The Edge Chronicles. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  8. ^ "Edge Chronicles: The Immortals by Paul Stewart, Chris Riddell | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Over the Edge". Varsity Online. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  10. ^ "The Curse of the Gloamglozer (Edge Chronicles, book 4) by Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart". www.fantasticfiction.com. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  11. ^ Riddell, Paul Stewart and Chris. "The Edge Chronicles - Edge Chronicles book order". the. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
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