wyrmeweald: A world where only the hardy Kith survive. A world barren of much life beyond that of dodgy dealings, strange tradings and skies full of Wyrmes be they Carrion, snake or other. The Weald is no place for someone young and virgin to such ways of living. Someone exactly like Micha, a teenage boy who takes to the Weald in order to find wealth beyond needs; Returner's Wealth. and take it back to his childhood sweetheart who must take the richest offer.

However out in the Weald, Micha unknowingly trespasses a nesting ground for the greatest of Wyrmes, the Whitewyrme and is speared by the Kin that protect the eggs and the Wyrmes. Left for dead he is later found by a crag climber Eli who takes him under his -metaphorical- wing and teaches him the way of the Weald.


Paul Stewart has created a fantastic world with this trilogy and his style of writing is fast paced, fun and not taken to serious. His use of made up words worked perfectly and he did well in creating vivid if slightly harsh settings in which Wyrmes were abused, traded and seen at their wildest.

An enthralling read and cant wait to get my hands on the next one!

( )

Ploughboy Micah departs the plains for the wyrmeweald in order to find returner's wealth with which to claim back his love, but his plans – and indeed his life – take a different turn when he meets and teams up with Eli Halfwinter, a seasoned traveller, and they make the acquaintance of Thrace, a fierce kingirl. Together they must stay alive not only through the approaching winter in the high country, but also escape the kith on their trail.

This first volume in a YA fantasy trilogy explores the deep-standing enmity between the kin, humans bonded with wyrmes who are sworn to protect all wyrmekind, and the kith, those humans who enter the wyrmeweald in search for riches by trapping, hunting, killing and exploiting wyrmes. What reads at first as a fairly straightforward adventure story with dragons set in a frontier landscape quickly becomes something deeper and more meaningful as the reader can draw parallels between modern-day trophy hunters and animal traffickers and even white settlers, driven by greed, pushing the frontier further and further back while slaughtering and enslaving the native peoples (as shown in the history of America, Australia and Africa, for example).

Paul Stewart manages to evoke a harsh and unforgiving landscape, even though the pace felt slightly neglected and I wouldn't exactly describe the book as a page turner; the characterisations, on the other hand, are spot on and it is those that drew me into the narrative; it is interesting to follow Micah's journey from naive and innocent ploughboy to a young man and weald traveller, though the most intriguing character, because her character isn't easily definable as good or evil, is Thrace. There isn't much dialogue to be found in the novel and the reader is mostly told about character traits and plot developments, but then the people who inhabit the wyrmeweald are for the most part loners and not used to talking, so to me this felt true to character. The finale of the book foreshadows some plot developments in the second volume, which promise to raise the stakes higher. Owing to a certain amount of fairly graphic descriptions of violence and slaughter, and sexual references, this book is not suitable for younger readers.

The book is enhanced no end by Chris Riddell's distinctive intricate drawings in the forms of small vignettes at the beginning of each chapter, and page-sized drawings in the appendix.

The second volume, Bloodhoney, is already lined up. ( )

Paul Stewart definitely has a way with words.

I love his use of language - the way he throws around words that don't exist, but should exist and are easy to figure out the meaning of - words like "hackdagger" and "shatterrock". I love the way in which he creates his world as you journey through it, introducing you to its detailed and intricate nature as you join the heroes on their intrepid adventures.

Throughout, the lyrical text is illustrated with Chris Riddell's unique and utterly endearing (if slightly ctreepy) art. This text is littered with various wyrme species - the demented carrionwyrme, the charming manderwyrme, the formidable lakewyrme... and the narrow panels at the start of each chapter also enhance the mood and the theme.

Of course, there is a darker edge, a bloody, slightly macabre tang to the air. The wyrmeweald is a brutal place, and the people are divided between the scummy dragon slayers - the kith, and the aloof and deadly dragon friends - the kin. Kith and kin can never unite, can never be friends.

Or can they?

I received an ARC of this book way back in 2010 and have finally gotten around to reading it. Now I look forward to delving further into this world. ( )

If you've read anything by these authors in the past, chances are that it's the Edge Chronicles. That was an incredible series, beautifully illustrated, which is still one of my favourite sequences. Wyrmeweald however, is completely different.

The first, and most striking point is that there is a considerably smaller number of illustrations than I was expecting. There is still at least one per chapter, but they are Narrow Borders to the page, and there ARE some full page drawings of the dragons, but I would have liked to see more.

The reason for this reduced number of drawings is that the book is clearly aimed at an older audience, it's a little more violent, and quite a bit more sexual. And I thought that the more sexual parts were done quite well, not actually describing anything in detail, but hints of adult activities are found across the book.

But as a more adult book, it seems that the authors have taken a completely different style. While the penchant for made up words remains, they are often complicated and I gave up trying to figure out what they meant after a while. But what is even more confusing is the non-linear narrative of the story. Chapter one sees the main character thirsty in the Wyrmeweald. The second, with no warning whatsoever, finds him in his home village. Then back to the desert in the third. This continues for a while, irregularly, and happens less and less as the book goes on. But it's really quite annoying. For the first half of the book I was convinced I would have to give the book a score of around 1/10. But fortunately it got better after the character Eli was introduced properly (not counting his encounter with the seemingly pointless character Ichabod).

And that's the strong point of this book, the characters. Thrace, introduced fairly late in the book, is probably my favourite character, although something happens with her wyrme that was extremely underdeveloped. And that's the main thing with this book I think, underdevelopment. There is too much that needs more explanation, or at least familiarisation.

Overall, while the story was interesting, it style was choppy and confusing. The characters were good, but interactions between them not always the best. Anyone who has read the Edge Chronicles should be warned that this is completely different, but should maybe give it a go. ( )

This book is set in the Wyrmeweald – a bleak and desolate land inhabited by lots of different species of Wyrme (dragon-like creatures). Micah travels there in the hope of making enough money to win the girl of his dreams and has all sorts of perilous adventures. Along the way he meets up with Eli, who becomes his guide, and Thrace, a girl who has bonded with a great Whitewyrme.
This is the first book in a trilogy written by the authors of the popular Edge Chronicles. Although the world in Returner’s Wealth is as detailed and interesting as that in the Edge Chronicles, this book lacks their humour. With plenty of violence and some sex, this book is more suited to older teen readers. ( )