Uki and the Outcasts

Book excerpt: From bestselling author and winner of the Blue Peter Best Story Book Award, Uki and the Outcasts is the first in a new trilogy set in the world of Podkin One-Ear.'EXCELLENT,' says the bard. 'It's probably a good idea for you to know about him.''Wait . . . him? Who's him?' said Rue.'Uki,' says the bard. 'Uki Patchwork. The Magpie Demon. Uki of the Two Furs.'From the Ice Wastes beyond the Cinder Wall emerges an unlikely hero. Rejected by his village and left to die, young Uki is given life and unique powers by a long-buried spirit from the time of the Ancients . . . and a life or death mission.Joined by two other outcasts - a trained assassin who refuses to kill people and a very short rabbit who rides the fastest jerboa on the plains - Uki must capture Valkus, the Spirit of War, before rabbitkind destroys itself in conflict.A thrilling new book set in the Five Realms of Podkin One-Ear.'Storytelling perfection.' Sophie Anderson'One of my sons very favourite authors.' Romesh Ranganathan'Superb.' Max Porter