'A new series by Cressida Cowell is always an event.... a highly imagined roller-coaster of a fantasy, written with the author's familiar panache...The story - illustrated with Cowell's familiar, scratchy sketches - has everything that her fans have come to expect...[A]s with all the best fantasy there is skilled balance between humdrum drama and high thrills...a joyously anarchic story which addresses the theme of childhood loss with real psychological acuity. And at the heart of this modern fantasy a very modern message: that those who appear to be worlds apart often have more in common than they assume.'
- The Telegraph
'Wild magic, Cowell's trademark bonkers humour, rich environmentalism and the complexities of family love are woven deftly through the first book in a fabulous new series'
- Imogen Russell Williams, The Guardian
'A new Cressida Cowell series lifts the spirits as autumn damp descends...A witty, rip-roaring battle of good and evil, secrets and lies, monsters and magic ensues, illustrated with Cowell's signature black and white sketches, and underpinned by an ecological message. FAB-U-LOUS.'
- Sally Morris, The Daily Mail
'A pacey, thrill-packed, highly imaginative new series that should pull in the most reluctant readers'
- The Times Children's Book of the Week
'This rollicking story never lets up in energy, inventiveness and...good humour... Cressida Cowell is a genuine one-off.... Started 25 years ago, this story now forms the cornerstone for what looks likely to be yet another wildly popular series still to come.'
- Books for Keeps
'[T]his thrilling, past-paced adventure will whisk you away on a fascinating journey of imagination.'
- The Week Junior
'Embraces the philosophical while also being huge fun. It has laughs, silliness, seriousness, a diverse blended family, a shy boy with a secret gift, an environmental message, magical maps of other worlds, monstrous beasts, a robot assassin, a pacey plot and Cowell's trademark riotous drawings.'
- The Sunday Times