Beast Quest
 Cover of Ferno the Fire Dragon, the debut novel in the series. | |
Multiple Series | |
| Author | "Adam Blade", a pseudonym for various ghostwriters |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | David Wyatt, Steve Sims. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's fantasy |
| Publisher | Orchard Books |
| Published | 2007–present |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) E-book |
| No. of books | 154 |
Beast Quest is a best-selling British series of children's fantasy–adventure novels produced by Working Partners Ltd and written by several authors all using the house name Adam Blade.[1] As of October 2024, the main series had achieved a total of 154 books published, and over 20 million copies of the books have been sold altogether since March 2007.[2][3]
An editorial team at Working Partners first creates the storyline for each book and "then approaches a number of writers whose experience and style we think might suit the project and ask them to write a sample – usually the first three chapters of the book". The editorial team picks the sample with the voice that we think works best for the project."[4]
The series is published by Orchard Books in the UK and by Scholastic Corporation in the US and is aimed largely at boys and girls aged 7 and over.[5][6] The novels have been described as "clearly and simply written, [striking] the right balance between adventure and story telling" and a "great series to get kiddies, who normally wouldn't be, interested in reading."[7] The books take place in a world called Avantia, and focus on a young boy named Tom and his friend Elenna as they attempt to restore peace to the land by stopping beasts from causing destruction.[8][9] Kathryn Flett, writing in London's The Observer, has called the books "almost certainly a work of publishing (if not quite literary) genius...Narnia meets Pokémon via Potter."[9] The books are among the most-borrowed from UK lending libraries.[10][11]
There is also a companion science fiction series called Sea Quest.[12] From 2021 to 2023, Adam Blade also created a short spin-off series called Space Wars, consisting of only four books. There is also a 2015 mobile video game based on the Beast Quest book series, and a 2018 version for Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PS4 (Maximum Games). A new mobile version was released in May 2020 by Animoca.
Characters
[edit]- Tom - The main protagonist of the Beast Quest series, Tom was a normal boy who lived in Errinel in the kingdom of Avantia and the son of Taladon. But when strange things occur in the kingdom, he enters the Palace of King Hugo. He meets Aduro the wizard and was given a sword and shield. He has a noble steed named Storm, he meets Elenna and her wolf friend named Silver. He begins his first quest to free the six good Beasts of Avantia who are cursed by Malvel. While there's blood in his veins, it does not matter how dangerous it would be, Tom will continue his quests. Tom is the bravest boy in Avantia.
- Elenna - a girl who is the best friend of Tom and the deuteragonist of the Beast Quest series. When her parents are killed in the fire ever since she was young, she lives on and befriends with a wolf named Silver and nearly lives in the middle of the Forest of Fear, but she lives with Uncle Leo. She meets Tom on his first quest and become friends and partners. Armed with a trusty bow and arrows, Elenna is brave with Tom on her side in the quests.
- Storm - Storm is a black horse who is Tom's steed. He was born in one of King Hugo's stables, at first he was nervous and jumpy, but he grows up to be noble and brave. Tom tames Storm respectfully and rides on him and goes to long distances.
Spin-off series
[edit]See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Stroud, Clover (12 January 2014). "Rainbow Magic: loathed by parents, loved by children". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Coolabi".
- ^ "Coolabi Group unleashes brand new 'Beast Quest' mobile game". coolabi. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ "How We Work". Working Partners. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ "Nicholas Clee on the library charts". The Times. London. 4 February 2012. p. 19. ProQuest document ID 919738907.
- ^ "Beast Quest: Creta the Winged Terror". Booktrust. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ^ Mountford, Janet (15 March 2008). "Vedra And Krimon Twin Beasts of Avantia". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. p. 6. ProQuest document ID 426828385.
- ^ "Ferno The Fire Dragon Beast Quest 1 by Adam Blade - review". The Guardian. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
- ^ a b Flett, Kathryn (6 December 2009). "Dragons, wizards and a mother in search of a glass of red... At last, a boys' own bedtime story they actually want to read". The Observer. London. p. 5. ProQuest document ID 250388970.
- ^ Flood, Alison (8 February 2013). "Woman of Steel: US writer in most-borrowed list for 30 years". The Guardian. London. p. 18. ProQuest document ID 1285161231.
- ^ Evans, Sophie (8 March 2013). "Kids get dead excited about author's new horror story". Hull Daily Mail. Hull. p. 20. ProQuest document ID 1315222469.
- ^ Williams, Charlotte (24 August 2012). "Orchard to launch Sea Quest in 2013". The Bookseller: 7.