Sixteen years have passed since Pearl from Company and Hari from Blood Burrow defeated the tyrant Ottmar. Now their children, Xantee and Lo, face an even more dangerous foe. Hari lies gravely ill with a fragment of a strange creature wrapped around his throat, draining his life. The beast is called gool, meaning unbelonger. It is one of many, destroying the mountains and jungles of the world. Somewhere a hidden mother nourishes her brood - she must be found and destroyed to save Hari and the world they know. Kantee, Lo and the brave and practical youth Duro set out on a perilous mission that will take them to the ruined city of Belong and on to Ceebeedee, where terrifying clashes with the cruel rival leaders and lurking gool await them.
Author Biography
Maurice Gee is one of New Zealand's best-known writers for adults and children. He has won a number of literary awards, including the Wattie Award, the Deutz Medal for Fiction, the New Zealand Fiction Award, the New Zealand Children's Book of the Year Award and the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement. Maurice Gee's children's novels include Salt, The Fat Man, The Fire-Raiser, Under the Mountain and the O trilogy. Maurice lives in Nelson with his wife Margareta, and has two daughters and a son.
