The Book of Dead Days
Marcus Sedwick
The book I read was 'The Book of Dead Days' by Marcus Sedwick. This story was about the Dead Days, the time between Christmas and New Years. The story is set "somewhere in the second half of the eighteen century" in "an old city, once magnificent..." A magician, Valerian, is a desperate man. He needs to find the key to his survival after 15 years of searching, before midnight on New Year's Eve. The key is a book that Valerian hopes will give him the information he needs to hold back the demonic forces that are pursuing him as a result of a deal that was made based on a greedy love and at a cost too great for him to face now. Valerian uses his servant boy, known throughout the book only as "Boy", and Willow, an orphan, to help him search for the book. Mystery and intrigue are at the every turn in this engaging story.