Obernewtyn
core novel 1987 The Obernewtyn Chronicles
Record
| First published | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.96 (12,538 ratings, collected 2026-10-09) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780140322316 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
Generations after the Great White, the holocaust that destroyed the Beforetime civilisation and left much of the world poisoned Blacklands, the Land is ruled by a totalitarian Council and the fanatical Herder Faction, who burn as Misfits anyone born with mutations or strange mental powers. Elspeth Gordie, an orphan who hides that she is both a farseeker, able to read minds, and a beastspeaker, able to talk with animals, is discovered and sent to Obernewtyn, a remote mountain compound said to be seeking a cure for Misfits. There, under the eye of the sinister Madam Vega and Doctor Seraphim, she finds other Misfits with hidden talents, an apparently gentle young man named Rushton, and evidence that the compound's real purpose is a hunt for the Beforetime weapons that caused the Great White, and that someone means to use Elspeth's own gift to find them.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Obernewtyn Chronicles
- Series: The Obernewtyn Chronicles core; position 1 of 7 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Isobelle Carmody
Awards (verified)
- Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (Older Readers), 1988: nominated; Shortlisted.
Notes
- From the series record (The Obernewtyn Chronicles): Isobelle Carmody's seven-book young-adult saga (1987-2015) of Elspeth Gordie, a telepathic Misfit in the post-apocalyptic Land, and the secret community of Misfits at the mountain compound of Obernewtyn. Registered in its Australian seven-volume form; North American and UK editions split The Stone Key (adding Wavesong) and The Sending (adding The Waking Dragon).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Obernewtyn Chronicles: position 1 of 7: next The Farseekers (1990)
Sources
← The Obernewtyn Chronicles dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.