In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen

Unlock a magic that could save the world ... or destroy it. From bestselling, award-winning author Kiran Millwood Hargrave comes an epic new fantasy: 'This tale of adventure and magic is as brave as it is exciting' Independent


When her sister vanishes after a mysterious earthquake, Ysolda sets off on a rescue mission. But these are dangerous times, and soon she is forced to strike a deadly bargain with the wolf queen herself.

Join Ysolda and her loyal sea hawk as they embark on an epic quest to save her sister and unlock the earth's most powerful magic ...

From the author of The Girl of Ink and Stars, Julia and the Shark and The Mercies, the Geomancer trilogy is a new modern classic for readers young and old.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is winner of the Wainwright Prize, the Waterstones Book Prize, and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year.

*Kiran Millwood Hargrave was a top 5 bestseller in the UK Nielsen Bookscan chart, 18 February 2025

Review

The kind of fantasy adventure I have always loved: evocative and imaginative and destined to be a classic ― Garth Nix

A stunning adventure story - masterly storytelling from Kiran Millwood Hargrave ― Cressida Cowell

Fierce, lyrical and compulsively readable; an earth-shattering fantasy ― Piers Torday

The Wolf Queen herself is majestically ambiguous, sometimes magnetic and inspiring, sometimes chilling. And every adventure is better with giant sea wolves ― Frances Hardinge

Bold, breathtaking and unbelievably beautiful fantasy ― A.F. Steadman, author of the Skandar series

A truly epic fantasy adventure, full of wild magic, fierce bravery and the incredible power of love. I was utterly swept away by this masterpiece! ― Catherine Doyle

Kiran Millwood Hargrave has crafted a wholly original world full of wild magic and thrilling adventure. The story sings and soars with her gorgeous, lyrical prose. This is a book to treasure ― Katie Tsang

Lyrical and engrossing from the first line ― Lizzie Huxley-Jones

This is a lyrical masterwork - an epic adventure woven from myth and magic, friendship and darkness. I loved it! ― Struan Murray

The award-winning Kiran Millwood Hargrave is a class act embarking on an engrossing fantasy trilogy with In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen. Unlikely heroine Ysolda is made homeless by an earthquake and the arrival of the Wolf Queen's feared Ryders. Catapulted into a quest to rescue her imprisoned healer sister, she has to connive and plot to get near the answer to why everything is dying. Nuanced and varied female characters power this gripping, evocative plot about power-lust and the natural world in disarray. ― The Observer

The first in an epic fantasy trilogy from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, In the Shadow of the Wolf Queen celebrates magic, nature and adventure ― The Guardian

About the Author

Kiran Millwood Hargrave is an award-winning, bestselling novelist. Her debut story for children The Girl of Ink & Stars won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year. Her work has been short- and long-listed for numerous major prizes including the Costa Award and the CILIP Carnegie Award, and her novel Julia and the Shark, illustrated by Tom de Freston, was named Waterstones Children's Gift of the Year, and Leila and the Blue Fox won the Wainwright Prize. She's a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and lives in Oxford with her husband, daughter and cats, in a house between a river and a forest.