''Runelight'' is a 2011 children's

fantasy novel Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

Joanne Harris Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris (born 3 July 1964) is an English-French author, best known for her novel '' Chocolat'' (1999), which was adapted the following year for the film '' Chocolat''. Early life Harris was born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, t ...

and is the second in her RUNE series, following her previous novel, ''

Runemarks ''Runemarks'' is a 2007 children's fantasy novel by Joanne Harris Joanne Michèle Sylvie Harris (born 3 July 1964) is an English-French author, best known for her novel '' Chocolat'' (1999), which was adapted the following year for the fi ...

''. The book centers on Maddy Smith, and her twin sister, Maggie Rede, both on opposing sides of a war between the new gods and the old, who must both face powerful forces in order to save everything they hold dear. Harris began working on the sequel due to feeling "that it wasn't finished as a story, that there was one chapter in the story that might continue".

Description

Three years after the events in ''

'', the Middle World has changed again. After the destruction of the Order, the surviving gods, having rescued their friends from the Black Fortress of Netherworld, have regrouped in the village of Malbry. The General is dead and chances of rebuilding Asgard seem remote. But a prophecy, coupled with the appearance of unnatural creatures in the Middle Worlds, reveal a breach in Chaos, which may lead to another Apocalypse. Once more, Maddy and her friends are forced to confront an enemy. This time, the enemy is one of their own, a renegade from World's End - Maddy's twin sister. They are both the daughters of

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

Reception

Critical reception for the book has been mixed, with the Express panning ''Runelight'' while a reviewer for the Guardian praised it.

Monsters and Critics Monsters and Critics is an online entertainment news website focusing on TV, movies and celebrities. It publishes news, reviews, recaps, interviews, feature articles, explainers, blogs and commentary. The website has been owned by Digital Minef ...

wrote that while the book was "not an easy read ... it is worth persevering".

References

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External links

Joanne Harris' websiteRunemarks website
2011 British novels 2011 children's books Children's fantasy novels British children's novels British fantasy novels Norse mythology in popular culture Norse mythology in art and literature Novels by Joanne Harris Doubleday (publisher) books