The Dark Horse

A boy destined to lead his clan; a girl raised by wolves; a stranger with a sealed box. These are the elements of this powerful novel, set on a rocky northern coast in a distant time, in a small community who lives in dread of the coming of the legendary warrior tribe, the Dark Horse. Told in part by the boy, Sigurd, himself, it is a dark and dangerous story of conflict and betrayal.

Short-listed for Carnegie Medal 2003
Short-listed for LA Carnegie Medal 2003

“"Told in two voices, The Dark Horse weaves stories of old magic and forgotten powers into a highly charged, timeless mystery...Sparely told, rich in imagination, this conjures up a barren country , unnatural isolation and the struggle between powerful individuals to find humanity."”

'imaginative and gripping' -- Becca Pennicott THANET FOCUS

Marcus Sedgwick is a full time author. His first novel, Floodland, won the Branford Boase Award for the best debut children's novel of 2000. Since then his books have been shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, the Costa Book Award, the Carnegie Medal and the Edgar Allan Poe Award. He lives near Cambridge.

A girl snatched from the wolves, a sealed box that can only be opened by one person, a sinister stranger with black-palmed hands nearing the end of his quest, and a boy destined to lead his clan are woven together in this riveting story of betrayal and ancient magic.Set in a distant time, in a distant place, the Storn live quietly, fishing and farming, eking what living they can. But on the day of the wolf hunt their lives will change forever. That's the day Sig rescues a small, ragged, howling child, more like the wolves she came from than a human being. They call her Mouse, but who is she really? What is her secret? Years later they find out. The shocking discovery of her true identity brings to life a terrifying legend and plunges them all into treachery and a cruelty from which there is no escape.Mystery, intrigue and danger blaze through the darkness of Marcus Sedgwick's third extraordinary novel.'Marcus Sedgwick shows the potential of a young Alan Garner'Dinah Hall, Daily Telegraph"a highly charged, timeless mystery. Sparely told, rich in imagination"Guardian

A boy destined to lead his clan; a girl raised by wolves; a stranger with a sealed box. These are the elements of this powerful novel, set on a rocky northern coast in a distant time, in a small community who lives in dread of the coming of the legendary warrior tribe, the Dark Horse. Told in part by the boy, Sigurd, himself, it is a dark and dangerous story of conflict and betrayal.With its strong sense of time and place and the magic of a primitive people, THE DARK HORSE again confirms the exceptional talent of Marcus Sedgwick.

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