Friendship and loyalty
Hark tries to save his best friend Jelt, but the attempt creates a difficult choice about whether loyalty can justify further risk.
Book details
Frances Hardinge - Author
This is a dark fantasy about a boy trying to save his friend with a dead god’s living heart. Its appeal lies in underwater mythology, dangerous power and difficult choices about loyalty.
**THEY SAY THAT THERE IS A DARK REALM OF NIGHTMARES THAT LIES BENEATH THE TRUE SEA. WHEN THE UNDERSEA ARCHES ITS BACK, THE UPPER SEA IS STIRRED TO FRENZY.** **THEY SAY THAT THE UNDERSEA WAS THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE GODS.** **THEY SAY MANY THINGS OF THE MYRIAD, AND ALL OF THEM ARE TRUE.** The gods are dead. Fifty years ago, they turned on one another and tore each other apart. Nobody knows why. Now, even coin-sized scraps of dead god are worth a fortune because of the strange powers they're said to possess. But few are brave to dive and search for them. When fifteen-year-old Hark finds the still-beating heart of one of these deities, he'll risk everything to keep it out of the hands of the smugglers, scientists, and cults who would kill for its power. Because Hark needs to heart if he wants to save the life of his best friend, Jelt. But the power of a god was not meant for human hands. With the heart, Jelt begins to eerily transform, and Hark will have to decide if he can stay loyal to his friend--or what he's willing to sacrifice to save him.
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Sign in for personalised guidanceThis is a dark fantasy about a boy trying to save his friend with a dead god’s living heart. Its appeal lies in underwater mythology, dangerous power and difficult choices about loyalty.
Hark tries to save his best friend Jelt, but the attempt creates a difficult choice about whether loyalty can justify further risk.
Expect peril, menace and disturbing supernatural imagery around dead gods, valuable body fragments and a still-beating heart.
This is a grounded book brief while Suitabook strengthens the analysis: the current material supports only a cautious reading; another book-specific source is still needed.
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