The Inkberg Enigma

Author(s): Jonathan King

Children's & YA Graphic | Read our reviews! | Detective | Adventure | Gecko Press

A graphic-novel mystery adventure for eight- to twelve-year-olds in which a girl and boy uncover the secret that has corrupted their seaside town.


"Haven't you always thought there's something WEIRD about this town, Miro?" Miro and Zia live in Aurora, a fishing town nestled in the shadow of an ancient castle. Miro lives in his books; Zia is never without her camera. The day they meet, they uncover a secret. The fishing works, the castle, and the town council are all linked to an ill-fated 1930s Antarctic expedition. But the diary of that journey has been hidden, and the sea is stirring up unusual creatures. Something has a powerful hold over the town.


With Zia determined to find out more, Miro finds himself putting aside his books for a real adventure. The Inkberg Enigma is an exciting adventure with a strong filmic narrative.

A VOLUME FAVOURITE!
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STELLA'S REVIEW:
Miro lives with his Dad in Aurora — a small fishing town — and it’s the school holidays. He loves adventures — the ones in books — and spends his days happily lying on the sofa hidden in fantastic and amazing worlds. But he's a bookworm and needs to feed his book stack. Luckily, the house they have recently moved to has an attic of treasures — and some of these treasures are sought after. Miro is a regular at the antique shop and is a dab hand at bartering. His trade done, it’s off to get a stack of books at the second-hand bookshop. While in the village, he’s keeping an eye out for Dad — he doesn’t want to run into him (Miro’s book collection is growing — some may think too large) — and for the town bullies. Yet buried in anticipation of reading his new stash, he doesn’t notice the bullies, but someone else does: Zia, equipped with her camera and an eye for trouble, easily frightens them off. Miro and Zia make the perfect duo — one smart and thoughtful, the other curious and fearless, and they both love adventures — Miro’s in books and Zia’s in real life. And something fishy is happening in their small town. Jonathan King has created a brilliant world. It’s Aotearoa, but could be a fishing town along the American coast or Canadian isles, loosely based on Lyttelton and Diamond Harbour, complete with the ferry and the fish works. There are recognisable buildings — the mysterious mansion is Larnach Castle and the ship stuck in the ice is a classic Antarctic explorer territory, and the sea, as in many New Zealand stories is never far from the action. When Zia pulls Miro into a real-life adventure, the weird underbelly of the town comes to the surface in more ways than expected. Yes, as you would expect, there is a creature from the depths, but how and why it is surfacing in little Aurora is a mystery from the past, with strange rituals, shady characters, and an unusual book. Why is the mayor so keen on keeping a secret? What’s really happening at the fish works? And why are Miro and Zia being warned to keep their noses out of it? With the help of the museum’s archives, a marine biologist (Miro’s Dad’s girlfriend), and Zia’s insatiable curiosity, the duo will find the key to the mysterious happenings in the harbour and unlock the secrets of the Inkberg — while just keeping their heads above water!  A brilliant graphic novel illustrated in the style of 'Tintin 'for 7 to 12-year-olds, Jonathan King’s The Inkberg Enigma is a wonderful adventure with plenty of twists and just enough scares to please. Here’s hoping for more adventures with this excellent duo from the pen of this comic artist.  




30.00 NZD

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Product Information

Finalist - 2021 NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults - Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction and the Best First Book Award

Jonathan King’s comics have featured online and in anthologies. King is a prominent filmmaker whose debut feature Black Sheep remains one of New Zealand’s biggest-selling feature films. Its international awards include the Audience Award at the Gérardmer Fantastic Film Festival, the Silver Raven at the Brussels Fantastic Film Festival and the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. King co-wrote, produced and directed a film adaptation of New Zealand children’s classic Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee, starring Sam Neill, which has been released worldwide. The Inkberg Enigma is his first children’s book.

General Fields

  • : 9781776572663
  • : Gecko Press
  • : Gecko Press
  • : 45359200.0
  • : April 2020
  • : .5 Inches X 7.5 Inches X 10 Inches
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Jonathan King
  • : Paperback
  • : 2005
  • : English
  • : 741.5
  • : 128