The Afterdark Princess

Afterdark #1

by Annie Dalton

AFTERDARK has been invaded. Only weedy, whining Joe Quail can rescue the last Princess of Afterdark, imprisoned in the Palace of Nightfall. Joe doesn't like Kit and Maisy. But his mother's having a rare evening out, and Joe shares their babysitter Alice Fazackerly. No sooner than his mother leaves, Joe is whirled a desperate rescue operation. Alice, last Princess of Afterdark, is taken hostage by the Mighty Cosmo, Emperor of Nightfall and King of Afterdark. A magical map shows the obstacles which Joe must overcome to save them. Joe fears failure at each challenge on his journey to the Palace of Nightfall. With luck and gradually increasing confidence, he begins to realise he 'wasn't the wrong kind of boy but only needed the right kind of adventure to sort him out'. Joe finally meets the Mighty Cosmo to realise that as ever, his fear is out of proportion. He uncovers the local bully, Kevin, who admits he'd prefer company to power. Together they release Alice, leaving Afterdark and Nightfall united.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Annie grew up as an only child in the English countryside during the 1950s. Her father was not always around but when he was, he would tell her fantastical stories, often with her as the principal character. Annie missed him and his stories, which led her to the fantasy section at her local library, thus sparking life-long love of fiction.

After undertaking jobs such as waitressing, cleaning and factory work, Annie went on to study at University of Warwick and soon started writing.

Annie lives in Norfolk. She has three children, Anna, Reuben, and Maria (the inspiration for the first “Angels Unlimited” book, “Winging It”) and two grandchildren, Sophie and Isabella.

Reviews

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourites as a kid.

[Tania]

quotes#396888 from my notebook ...

Alice Fazackerly was not the kind of girl to give anyone a nasty surprise. She was as sensible as brown bread and butter. p1


quotes#516008

And Joe Quail wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh and laugh until his sides split like baked apples. p95

"Of course," said Alice. "And once you have put on your moonglasses on you never forget. It's just that most people think there's only what they see wth their ordinary eyes. They don't realise that even the name, Forest Street, is a clue to the magic world secretly tucked inside the ordinary one lie a pea in a pod. They don't know about the Street Forest and they wouldn't want to. It's a funny thing, I don't know why, most people don't care for sorcery and danger." p22

[Hh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had some good ideas but not enough editing, and there were enough rough bits that I couldn't just enjoy reading it.

[Laiba · Rating 5 out of 5]

good