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Sean Williams
 
Book List

Kids

  • Broken Land: The Dust Devils
    released 2008
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee

    Adi′s body has been borne away across the desert by her Clan, but her spirit remains Ros′s constant companion. If he can′t find the travellers in time, Adi will be presumed dead and her body cremated, leaving her a ghost forever.

    But Ros is not prepared for the dangers lurking in the shifting sands. Rescued from bandits and Dust Devils by a boy named Yury, he takes refuge in Yury′s home - an extensive network of tunnels known as Dunetown - and learns that Yury in turn needs Ros′s help. His family has been kidnapped by the sand bandits, a ruthless gang led by a psychopath obsessed with treasure and power.

    Ros must learn to trust again, and to overcome those who cannot ever be trusted. Darker things lurk in the desert than Dust Devils and sand bandits. And, all the while, Adi′s voice is a constant reminder that time is running out ...

    2008
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee

    "a master-piece of speculative fiction... [Williams'] skill is as limitless as the universe." (Aurealis)

    “something special indeed, as readable by adults as it is by younger people. ... riveting and one not to be missed." (West Australian)

    Age: 10+
  • Her Perilous Mansion
    released April 2020
    Allen & Unwin
    Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book Nominated for the Patricia Wrightson Prizen for Children' Literature Nominated for the Aurealis Award, Best Children's Fiction
    A middle-grade fantasy novel about two children trapped in a mysterious house - out now from Allen & Unwin.
    April 2020
    Allen & Unwin
    Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Book Nominated for the Patricia Wrightson Prizen for Children' Literature Nominated for the Aurealis Award, Best Children's Fiction
    Age: 10+
  • Let Sleeping Dragons Lie
    released October 2018
    Allen & Unwin
    The sequel to Have Sword, Will Travel, co-written with Garth Nix. Out soon in the UK, US and Australia!
    October 2018
    Allen & Unwin
    Age: 10+
  • Have Sword, Will Travel
    released October 2017
    Scholastic (US)
    “A true-blue errant-knight tale, complete with dragons, sassy enchanted objects, and a destiny that comes before anyone is ready ... Hand to just about any middle-grader looking for a swashbuckling adventure.” - Booklist
    The first in a new series co-written with Garth Nix, this book has it all: talking swords, adventure, dragons! Out now! More info here.
    October 2017
    Scholastic (US)
    “A true-blue errant-knight tale, complete with dragons, sassy enchanted objects, and a destiny that comes before anyone is ready ... Hand to just about any middle-grader looking for a swashbuckling adventure.” - Booklist
    "Odo and Eleanor did not set out to find their destiny. At best, they were hoping for eels."
    Age: 8+
  • Escape From Thorngate Hall
    released February 2016
    A collaboration between me and the schoolkids of South Australia! Art by Stephen Stanley. Chapter one here. More info here.
    February 2016
    EXPLORING the creepy old house that is their new home, four children stumble into a room full of secrets. Acclaimed Adelaide author Sean Williams has written the first chapter in our progressive story, Escape From Thorngate Hall, with illustrations by cartoonist Stephen Stanley.
    Age: 8+
  • Spirit Animals: Blood Ties
    released March 2014
    Scholastic (US)

    The adventure continues in this third book of the epic multiplatform fantasy series.

    Erdas is a land of balance. A rare link, the spirit animal bond, bridges the human and animal worlds. Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan each have this gift-and the grave responsibility that comes with it.

    But the Conquerors are trying to destroy this balance. They're swallowing whole cities in their rush for power-including Meilin's home. Fed up with waiting and ready to fight, Meilin has set off into enemy territory with her spirit animal, a panda named Jhi. Her friends aren't far behind . . . but they're not the only ones.

    The enemy is everywhere.

    March 2014
    Scholastic (US)
    Age: 8+
  • Troubletwisters: The Missing (Missing, Presumed Evil)
    released April 2014
    Egmont (UK)

    Jack and Jaide Shield finally learn what it really means to be a warden in training as they pit their wits and their gifts against a rival - who is also a troubletwister! But as they explore the forbidden dark of the Evil dimension, they also have to come to terms with the truth about Grandma X's twin sister and face their greatest challenge ever...

    April 2014
    Egmont (UK)
    Age: 8+
  • Troubletwisters: The Mystery
    released May 2013
    Egmont (UK)

    When Grandma X is put out of action by an accident that may or not have been caused by The Evil, it’s up to Jack and Jaide Shield to help their father recover a lost Golden Card from Portland’s strangest landmark: The Rourke Castle.

    Negotiating secret passages, talking parrots and animated suits of armour is all in a day’s work for the troubletwisters, whose Gifts are steadily coming under control. But agents for The Evil are everywhere, including one apparently masquerading as an old and trusted friend. Soon the race is on. Whoever gets the card first will gain access to a Gift more terrible than any other--if only the twins knew what it was.

    Their quest takes them deep into the hidden spaces of Rourke Castle, exposing secrets kept safely from them, until now. In the process they gain a deeper understanding of The Evil, the Wardens, their father and grandmother--and themselves.

    May 2013
    Egmont (UK)
    Age: 10+
  • Troubletwisters: The Monster
    released May 2012
    Egmont (UK)

    Last time, twins Jaide and Jack defeated the evil with luck and intuition. This time they must truly master their powers as Troubletwisters. The second exciting, mysterious instalment in the series, from fantasy masters Garth Nix and Sean Williams.

    After The Evil's assault on Portland, everything returns to relative normality...for the moment. The twins continue to work hard to control their Gifts, and at school they make a new friend, Tara. But then the instruments in Grandma X's antique store begin registering Evil activity, and Tara's dad turns out to be the suspicious big-city property developer working on the house next door. Matters turn from bad to worse when the twins discover that Grandma's cats are fighting an important battle of their own. Can the twins solve the mystery of the living Ward before it's too late?

    May 2012
    Egmont (UK)
    Age: 10+
  • Troubletwisters
    released May 2011
    Egmont (UK)

    Twin siblings Jack and Jaide discover they are pivotal to a secret supernatural organisation that protects the earth from marauding Evil! Portland might seem like a quiet coastal town, and their grandmother is perhaps no dottier than anyone else's, but it soon becomes apparent that the strange things going on around them are anything BUT ordinary.

    It's all very well discovering that you suddenly have magical powers, but when you don't know exactly what they are, or how to use them, then facing impending peril doesn't seem like a very good idea at all...

    May 2011
    Egmont (UK)

    "Troubletwisters is a collaboration between two of Australia’s finest authors. Garth Nix and Sean Williams have both created some of the most memorable fantasy series in recent times (Sabriel, Keys to the Kingdom, Broken Lands Trilogy), so I couldn’t wait to see what these two brilliant minds have come up with together. Troubletwisters certainly didn’t disappoint, and the result is a fast-paced adventure complete with talking cats, bloodthirsty crocodile skulls and fantastic powers. This is a cracking start to a highly original series that will really appeal to fantasy fans aged nine and up." (Readings)

    Age: 10+
  • Fixers: Curse of the Vampire
    released 2011
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    Ollie is lost. The world he came from is just one of many. Some of them are almost identical to his. Others contain cyborg pirates, living castles, talking cats - and now, hungry vampires too. Getting back home is proving surprisingly difficult.

    Fleeing from the eerie Fixers, Ollie lands in a village cursed by blood-sucking neighbours. It's easy to take sides. But does Ollie choose the wrong one, this time? And if so, how can he possibly put it right?

    2011
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    "...a thrilling, imaginative read, perfect for ages seven and up. Paired with comic-book-style illustrations from the brilliant Nial O’Connor, [the] Fixers series is sure to be a hit with younger readers who like their adventures with a bit of a fantastic bent." (Readings)

    Age: 8+
  • Fixers: Invasion of the Freaks
    released 2011
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    Ollie really has his work cut out for him this time. Getting safely to the Fixers' home world is just the first step. Then he has to find out what their plan is, seal up the holes in the multiverse, and get home again, all before his parents wake up and find him gone.

    Psychic typewriter - check. Telepathic TV - check. Wicked widget - check.

    He needs every advantage imaginable-and all the help from himself he can get.

    2011
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    "...a thrilling, imaginative read, perfect for ages seven and up. Paired with comic-book-style illustrations from the brilliant Nial O’Connor, [the] Fixers series is sure to be a hit with younger readers who like their adventures with a bit of a fantastic bent." (Readings)

    Age: 8+
  • Fixers: Castle of the Zombies
    released 2010
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    Ollie Jolson has stumbled across a secret so big no one will ever believe him. He's fallen into a world where walls can literally have ears - and eyes, and brains, and stomachs too. The despicable Lord Wight wants to take over everything and everyone, and only a couple of kids stand in his way. One of them is still in his pyjamas.

    When you're lost in a space-time continuum, getting home is much harder than it sounds.

    2010
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    "...a thrilling, imaginative read, perfect for ages seven and up. Paired with comic-book-style illustrations from the brilliant Nial O’Connor, this first book in the Fixers series is sure to be a hit with younger readers who like their adventures with a bit of a fantastic bent." (Readings)

    Age: 8+
  • Fixers: Planet of the Cyborgs
    released 2010
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    Eo's Castle was just the beginning of Ollie's troubles. Armed with nothing but a psychic typewriter, Ollie resumes his quest to get back home to the street where nothing works quite right, and the sinister Fixers are breaking holes in much more than the sidewalk.

    Instead he finds himself on a rescue mission in deep space, fighting pirates who are more machine than human, with a cat who wishes he was human . . .

    2010
    Omnibus/Scholastic (Australia)

    "...a thrilling, imaginative read, perfect for ages seven and up. Paired with comic-book-style illustrations from the brilliant Nial O’Connor, [the] Fixers series is sure to be a hit with younger readers who like their adventures with a bit of a fantastic bent." (Readings)

    Age: 8+
  • Broken Land: The Scarecrow
    released 2009
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee

    Ros is heading for the coast with Adi and Know-it-All the camel, hoping to drop the crystal containing the Golem of Omus to the bottom of the ocean.

    Arriving in Samini, a small town on the outskirts of the Strand, the friends meet Quirk, who tells them outrageous stories about Ros's 'heroic' adventures. Ros doesn't suspect Quirk's treachery until he disappears - along with Varis, Adi's kinsman and bodyguard.

    Ros and Adi use the Change to track Varis down, but now they're up against the Scarecrow, a lethal amalgamation of man and material who will do anything to get hold of the power contained in the crystal Ros holds.

    2009
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee

    "This is speculative fiction of the highest quality." (West Australian)

    Age: 10+
  • Broken Land: The Changeling
    released 2008
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee (twice)

    Ros is in real danger. His family are so desperate to save their drought-stricken farm that they′ll sacrifice anything - even him - for rain. His only friend is Escher, an unseen entity with a voice that whispers in Ros′s head, continuously warning him to leave before it′s too late.

    Escaping from his vengeful family astride a stolen camel, Ros decides to try his luck in the desert, discovering along the way a power he never knew he had. Through Escher, Ros learns to control the Change, a magical force that taps into the land, the water, fire and the air. He also meets Adi, a girl from a travelling clan of nomads, who asks him to save her from a future she′s desperate to avoid.

    When tragedy strikes, Ros seeks help from a powerful Stone Mage, but when even she can′t save him, he starts to question everything that has happened on his journey. He must decide who is telling the truth, and who his real friends are.

    2008
    HarperCollins (Australia)

    Aurealis Award Nominee (twice)

    "In a smashed and parched land so reminiscent of the back-slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges in summer, the beautifully grim and driving narrative had me hooked, deeply anxious to learn Ros’ fate. Sean Williams is an acknowledged master of adult stories, and in The Changeling he proves that wonderful and terrible tales for younger folk are well within the ambit of his prodigiously talented and prolific pen." (David Cornish)

    Age: 10+
 
Book Contents

Adi′s body has been borne away across the desert by her Clan, but her spirit remains Ros′s constant companion. If he can′t find the travellers in time, Adi will be presumed dead and her body cremated, leaving her a ghost forever.

But Ros is not prepared for the dangers lurking in the shifting sands. Rescued from bandits and Dust Devils by a boy named Yury, he takes refuge in Yury′s home – an extensive network of tunnels known as Dunetown – and learns that Yury in turn needs Ros′s help. His family has been kidnapped by the sand bandits, a ruthless gang led by a psychopath obsessed with treasure and power.

Ros must learn to trust again, and to overcome those who cannot ever be trusted. Darker things lurk in the desert than Dust Devils and sand bandits. And, all the while, Adi′s voice is a constant reminder that time is running out …

HarperCollins (Australia)