Utterly Dark and the Face of the Deep

'UTTERLY,' the waves were whispering, 'UTTERLY...'


It was always at sundown they were seen. In that twilight hour, when the walls between the worlds grew thin, strange things might slip through the cracks. Sometimes then, so the stories went, enchanted islands would appear in the empty ocean to the west of Wildsea.
When Utterly Dark was a baby, she was washed up on the shores of the Autumn Isles and taken in by the Watcher of Wildsea. But everything changes when her guardian suddenly drowns. Now who will keep the Watch, and make sure Wildsea stays safe from the strange forces teeming in the deep ocean around them?


The bestselling author of the Mortal Engines series spins another enchanting story of fantastical adventure as a young orphan girl defends the coast of Wildsea from a mysterious, unseen threat.

Philip Reeve is an exceptional writer . . . A dark and deep adventure encompassing peril and self-discovery that will carry you away on its tide The Times Best Children's Books of 2021
Magnificent . . . This is magical storytelling Jenny McLachlan
Absolutely extraordinary writing, like Charles Dickens writing Ursula K Le Guin . . . I can't think of anyone who does worldbuilding the way Philip Reeve does Ross Montgomery
An absorbing, brilliant book. A glorious read. I loved my journey to Wildsea Lisa Thompson
A gutsy and gusty story of powerful old magic LoveReading

Philip Reeve grew up in Brighton. He has been writing stories since he was five years old, but the first one to be published was Mortal Engines which won the Nestle Smarties Book Prize and Blue Peter Book Award, and was made into a blockbuster film. Philip has also provided cartoons and jokes for many books, including Horrible Histories, and co-created young fiction with illustrator Sarah McIntyre including the Roly-Poly Flying Pony series and Oliver and the Seawigs.

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