''Corydon and the Island of Monsters'' is the first instalment of the Corydon Trilogy, penned by

Tobias Druitt Tobias Druitt is an author of fantasy novels. Tobias Druitt is the pseudonym of two authors who write together, Diane Purkiss and Michael Dowling. Diane Purkiss is a tutor in English at Keble College, Oxford University, and she is the first Oxfo ...

; a pseudonym for a mother-son writing combination. It was published in the United Kingdom by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

in 2005, and in the United States by A. A. Knopf in 2006, and distributed by

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

. According to

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

, almost 500 libraries have copies of the book. It appears on numerous library and school reading lists. ''Corydon and the Island of Monsters'' has been translated into Czech as ''Corydon a ostrov příšer'' (Millennium Publishing, 2008) and into French as ''Corydon et l'île aux monstres'' (Tourbillon, 2009).

Plot summary

The book draws on classical Greek mythology and follows Corydon, an outcast boy, neglected because of his goat foot.

Reception

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

found that "Reading this witty, profoundly sapient take on the old tales will leave readers impatient for the sequels."

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

called it "a good introduction to some famous stories, and it can be a treat for parents, too." but stated that "The pacing is erratic, as is the tone .... Even more annoying are references to events that haven't happened yet." yet "the story is surprisingly moving, especially a mother-son relationship."

References

2005 British novels Young adult fantasy novels British young adult novels British fantasy novels Classical mythology in popular culture {{2000s-ya-fantasy-novel-stub