The first book in The Trilogy of the Sleeping Child.
Ciaran and the Crystal Spheres is the first book of a planned trilogy, The Trilogy of the Sleeping Child. It is set in a harsh, northern, post-apocalyptic world, where clan groups huddle in caves and have to hunt seal and deer for survival. In the very distant past, to the lands of the south, thirty-eight Sleepers awoke in glass survival pods. They were all adults, and they all awoke at the same time, not knowing or remembering how many years had passed since they were put in the pods, or what had happened to their world.
The four children in the four smaller pods did not wake up, and when the adults tried to open the pods and get them out, three of the children died at once. It was decided to leave the last sleeping child, a little girl of about eight, to sleep on and not open the pod. She sleeps on still, many generations later, in the lands to the south, in a special cave, where sometimes pilgrims go to gaze upon her and marvel.
As the people married and multiplied, they formed into clan groups. There was a violent falling out over belief in the Little People, and those who held this belief were banished to the north of the river Ezra, where the climate was even harsher.
Ciaran, the protagonist of this first book of the series, belongs to the Five Clans of this northern group. He is chosen as an Exchanger to the Little People, and his life changes forever after his encounter with them. He has to make difficult decisions, which will have far-reaching consequences for him, and for the people of the Five Clans.
ABOUT KATHY
My name is Kathleen Nelson, and I enjoy writing books for older children. I grew up in rural Dumfriesshire, in southern Scotland. Whilst walking our dog, or playing outside with brother, cousins or friends, I loved to create fantasy worlds and characters amidst the burns and gentle hills that surrounded us.
At University I studied French and German, and I spent a lot of time travelling in these countries, and in the rest of Europe. A country which inspired me to write about the post-apocalyptic world in my current book, Ciaran and the Crystal Spheres, was Iceland, with its volcanoes, geysers, dramatic waterfalls and hot springs.
I have written two other books in the past. One is for younger children, The Most Beautiful View in the World, and one is for age 11 and older, The Summer of the Mourning Cloak.
For many years I lived in London and Buckinghamshire, but currently live in Northumberland, not far from Hadrian’s Wall, with my husband, Marc, and our two Boxers. We have two sons, and two granddaughters.
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