As an airline pilot, Rob Stevens's first novel, The Cartographer's Monsters, was written during train and taxi rides across Europe and in hotel rooms in Stockholm, Oslo, Istanbul, and Paris. And the debut couldn't have gone better: it became a bestseller and was nominated for the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. In the 15th century, when a prominent sea captain decides to set sail in search of a new land, Walter Bailey and his twelve-year-old nephew, Hugo, are hired as the ship's cartographers. They are the two of them, in fact, the ones who analyze every mysterious island the fleet encounters along the way. Upon reaching a purple-sand beach, the cartographer duo believes they have found paradise. But this initial notion is dashed when Walter is captured by a gigantic flying rat. With the help of strange and wonderful creatures, Hugo will have only one chance to save his uncle and put his cartography training to the test. To make matters worse, he'll have to face never-before-seen creatures like flying pigs, talking rats, and the dreaded buffaloes. Despite being an adventure and fantasy story set in the 15th century, The Cartographer's Monsters is also a moving tale of overcoming adversity and a coming-of-age story that will appeal to readers of all ages. This is what happened in England, when soon after its release, it became required reading among high school and university students.
