CloudWorld at War

by David Cunningham

"Thrillingly dramatic, a heart-pumping tale set in a vividly-imagined world." - William Nicholson, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Gladiator and Shadowlands .

CloudWorld At War completes the story begun in CloudWorld , which received widespread acclaim and was nominated for the 2007 Manchester Book Award. In a world entirely covered in clouds, huge citadels stand on fertile mountains peaks. Having returned to their citadel, Heliopolis, Marcus and his comrades must find a way of persuading its oppressed population to rise up and defeat Titus, the dictator whose Kabal has seized control of it. The stage is set for an epic conflict. But will Marcus be able to face the man who killed his father? And will he be reunited with Breah, the young woman he left behind in Daldraidh, the sun-starved world beneath the clouds?

Genres: Fantasy

213 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

David McAlpine Cunningham has written two well-received children's fantasy novels: "CloudWorld" (Faber & Faber, 2006), which was nominated for the 2007 Manchester Book Award, and "CloudWorld At War" (2008). The CloudWorld story has been acclaimed as "a heart-pumping tale set in a vividly-imagined world" by the best-selling author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter William Nicholson ("Shadowlands", "Gladiator", "The Wind Singer"). David was born in Ayrshire and educated at Glasgow University, from which he has an M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. in Scottish Literature. His short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies (most recently the "London Magazine") and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 4. He has also written and reviewed for "The Scotsman", "The Herald" and "The Spectator". At various times he has worked as a University tutor, a bookseller, an administrative assistant, a literary editor and a web developer.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I first read CloudWorld (to which this is the sequel) years ago, and remember liking it but thinking it wasn't terribly well-written.

Cloudworld at War felt much the same: there's a certain charm to David Cunningham's world and characters, but the writing is fairly clunky and doesn't really do his imagined world justice.

I did enjoy the addition of Breah as a second viewpoint character, especially because it prevents her from being simply the Love Interest Who Motivates The Hero To Do Heroic Stuff. The switching between the story of the Eihlans and the remaining Cloudfarers in Daldriah, and the returning Cloudfarers in Heliopolis, is also moderately effective at creating cliffhangers as the action shifts from one world to the other, though ultimately the prose slows the story down too much for me to find it genuinely exciting.

Gave this two stars based on Goodreads' definition of two stars as meaning "it was ok" (and because while I have a certain fondness for these books, I can't honestly say that they're well-written).

In some ways, the Cloudworld books remind me of The Wind Singer, which I would heartily recommend as either a complement or an alternative to these.

[Milo · Rating 5 out of 5]

And at last, I got to read it!(can you imagine,the local library was soooo kind, they bought it!THANK YOU!!!). But it was worth to wait so long.

"Cloudworld at war" was the second and last book I think, of the "Cloudworld" story.
It stared of good and ended great, whit tears and laughs.I think it "expressed" and "went deeper" , I don't want to reveal tooo much because its a sequel of the the book "Cloudworld". Read the first and you will understand this one, that's my tip. "Cloudworld at war" was a very fine finishing touch indeed.

I really REALLY hope some rich awesome film maker notices it,I think it would be a great motion picture!

For you who have read Cloudworld will not get disappointed! The "real deal" is happening in this one, really!

Have a nice day Goodreaders!

Milo,over and out.