Deerheart - by Eoin Colfer (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Storytelling at its epic best." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Best-selling author Eoin Colfer and award-winning illustrator P.J. Lynch deliver a beautifully rendered, original myth about a shapeshifting witch who must save the love of her life and defend her magical woodland home from a cunning enemy.

In the heart of an ancient forest, three fairy witches guard the Creedon Stone, the source of all magic. Crow-like Scrawb leads the birds, and sharp-toothed Hackle the wolves. The youngest witch, Deerheart, who can shapeshift into a speckled red deer, has been charged with killing dangerous humans. She has never seen a human--until she sets eyes on young Halvar and can't look away. Love sparks between the two, interfering with Deerheart's duty to eliminate humans to protect the forest. When Lord Vollug's shadowy plans come to light, their love is imperiled, along with the entire Creedon Wood. Now Deerheart must discover fierce inner strength if she is to save her love and her home. Eoin Colfer's narrative, shimmering with witch power and a reverence for the forest and its inhabitants, together with P.J. Lynch's inviting illustrations, bring to life this brand-new story that is as mythical and spellbinding as a centuries-old legend.

Review Quotes

Colfer layers this rich story with evocative details. . . . His wordplay calls to mind ancient tales of romance and valor, all culminating in a single larger-than-life showdown. Lynch's art conjures up men, witches, and beasts with equal aplomb. . . . Storytelling at its epic best.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The splendid story reads like an ancient epic, despite the wholly original storytelling, replete with memorable, magical moments and a truly chilling villain. Its sophisticated text and occasionally macabre details lend a wonderfully old-fashioned air, and the exquisite black-and-white illustrations cement the style even further; text and artwork intertwine on nearly every spread. A fantastically fresh fairy tale that feels like a classic.
--Booklist (starred review)

Eerie charcoal illustrations of woodland fauna and battle-worn characters enrich the magic, action, and dash of romance that permeate this dreamy fairy-tale adventure. Readers will be enchanted.
--Publishers Weekly

A good old-fashioned fantasy in the vein of The Princess Bride. . . . Magic ah-plenty, an excellent villain, and lots of great language. . . . Plus those incredible visual illustrations by P.J. Lynch don't hurt matters either. Put another way, badass witch ladies doing badass witch lady stuff.
--Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production

About the Author

Eoin Colfer is the New York Times best-selling author of the children's fantasy series Artemis Fowl. His other notable works include Half Moon Investigations, Airman, and The Supernaturalist as well as his previous collaborations with P.J. Lynch, The Dog Who Lost His Bark and Three Tasks for a Dragon. The recipient of many awards, he lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

P.J. Lynch has won numerous awards, including the Mother Goose Award, the Christopher Award three times, and the Kate Greenaway Medal twice, first for The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and again for When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest. More recently, he illustrated David Almond's Kevin and the Blackbirds and Eoin Colfer's Three Tasks for a Dragon, and he is the author-illustrator of The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower and The Haunted Lake. P.J. Lynch lives in Dublin.