The Summer King

The Summer King

“Readers will be easily caught by the continuous, heart-pounding suspense; the twists and romances; and the heroine, who is both a grieving, contemporary teen and an invincible rescuer of worlds.”
—Booklist

“A story that is lyrical and mesmerizing in subject and scope. An essential purchase for fantasy collections in which Tamora Pierce is popular.”
—School Library Journal

“Fans of
The Hunter’s Moon
will enjoy this next installment … a story about duplicity in many guises, the fight between good and evil, right and wrong, honor and fidelity …”
—Kirkus

“Compelling fantasy.”
—The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The Hunter’s Moon

A
Booklist
Editors’ Choice, 2005
A
Booklist
Top Ten Fantasy selection

“Thrilling action … opulent and mystical, realistic and contemporary … timeless legends and modern teen emotions. Shimmering with magic, myth, and romance …”
—Booklist
, starred review

“The opportunity to immerse oneself in a sensation-loaded celebration of Ireland and Faerie will be a powerful draw for many readers.”
—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A compelling blend of Irish mythology and geography. Characters that breathe and connect with readers, and a picturesque landscape that shifts between the present and the past, bring readers into the experience. Melling’s taut plotting, with its unexpected turns, moves the story quickly to a climax and leaves readers wanting more.”
—School Library
Journal
, starred review

“Kudos to Melling … she brings the Irish countryside to vivid life and makes even the fantastic feel rooted and real.”
—Time Out New York Kids

Also by O.R. Melling

The Druid’s Tune

The Singing Stone

My Blue Country

In
The Chronicles of Faerie

The Hunter’s Moon

The Summer King

The Light-Bearer’s Daughter

The Book of Dreams

Adult Fiction

Falling Out of Time

Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Melling, O.R.
The Summer King / by O.R. Melling.
p. cm.—(Chronicles of Faerie ; bk. 2)
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Laurel returns to her grandparents’ home in Ireland,
where she encounters “the roly-poly man,” a cluricaun who sets Laurel on a quest to
free her twin sister, thought to be dead, to live with her lover in the legendary world
of Faerie.
hardcover ISBN 0-8109-5969-0 (alk. paper)
paperback ISBN 978-0-8109-9321-1
[1. Fairies—Fiction. 2. Ireland—Fiction. 3. Folklore—Ireland.] I. Title II. Series:
Melling, O.R. Chronicles of Faerie.
PZ7.M51625Su 2006
[Fic]—dc22
2005015083

Text copyright © 2006 O.R. Melling
Map illustration by Rick Britton

Book design by Jay Colvin

Originally published by Amulet Books in hardcover in 2006

Published in 2007 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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New York, NY 10011
www.abramsbooks.com

For Findabhair,
this was always yours

Many thanks to Georgie Whelan, mum and supporter extraordinaire; Patricia Burns, sister and fellow climber on Achill; Sheila Pratschke and the wonderful staff of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig; John Duff and Brian Levy (for a bed in New York!); Marcus McCabe and Kate Mullaney of the Ark; Brenda Sutton, Weird-Sister on the Web; Sandy Burns for the poker game; Michael Scott for writerly advice and friendship, as always; Piers Dillon-Scott (Webmaster); Dr. Nena Hardie, intrepid fellow traveler to Orkney and the Western Isles; Professor Dáibhí ó Cróinín for help with the Irish (any errors are mine); Joe Murray, computer guardian angel; the Arts Council of Ireland and Cultural Relations Committee for travel grants; agents Lynn and David Bennett of the Transatlantic Literary Agency Inc.; all at Abrams, especially my editor, Susan Van Metre, and Jason Wells and Samantha Sizemore. Last but not least,
Na Daoine Maithe
, for their generous permission and assistance.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh!