Who or what is Endymion Spring? A power for good, or for evil . . . A legendary book that holds the secret to a world of knowledge . . . A young boy without a voice - whose five-hundred-year-old story is about to explode in the twenty-first century . . .
Blake is visiting Oxford with his academic mother and his kid sister. While their mum immerses herself in olde worlde volumes, Blake feels trapped in the dusty air of the college library. Until one day, Blake is running his finger along the shelf and feels something pierce his finger, drawing blood - like a bite. The book responsible is a battered old volume, with a strange clasp like a serpent's head - with real fangs. Printed on its front are two words: Endymion Spring. Its paper is almost luminous - blank, wordless, but with a texture that seems to shine, and fine veins running through it. The paper quivers, as if it's alive. And as Blake looks, words begin to appear on the page - words meant only for him; words no one else can see. The book has been waiting five-hundred years for the right boy; now it must fulfill its destiny . . .
Matthew Skelton was born in the UK but spent most of his childhood in Canada. He started writing while working as a teaching assistant at the University of Mainz, continued when he came back to Oxford to work as a research assistant. In 2002 he won Richard and Judy's short story competition. Endymion Spring is his first novel.