The Fire Eaters

By: David Almond

Narrated by: David Almond

There he was, below the bridge, half-naked, eyes blazing. He had a pair of burning torches. He ran them back and forth across his skin. He sipped from a bottle, breathed across a torch, and fire and fumes leapt from his lips. The air was filled with the scent of paraffin. He breathed again, a great high spreading flag of fire. He glared. He roared like an animal.

That summer, life had seemed perfect for Bobby Burns. But now it's autumn and the winds of change are blowing hard. Bobby's dad is mysteriously ill. His new school is a cold and cruel place. And worse: nuclear war may be about to start. But Bobby has a wonder-working friend called Ailsa Spink. And he's found the fire-eater, a devil called McNulty. What can they do together on Bobby's beach? Is it possible to work miracles? Will they be able to transform the world?

A stunning novel from the author of the modern children's classic Skellig - winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. David Almond is also winner of the 2010 Hans Christian Andersen award.

(P) Hodder Children's Books 2003©2001 David Almond

Critic reviews

An affecting meditation on pain, cruelty, class, belonging and the redeeming power of love.

A beautiful and brilliant novel. There really is nobody quite like Almond.

This is beautifully written and polished to a lapidary gloss.

A wonderful novel.

An astonishing, beautiful tale. Almond at his best.

A tale so marvellously told it seems a shame to label it as only for children.

Stays with you long after the book is closed.

Almond makes familiar issues fresh; his characters are finely drawn and his depiction of place perfectly realised.

Lyrical and atmospheric.

A near-perfect piece of fiction.

Luminous prose...every character is perfectly served by this fearless writer.

Subtle and energetic...a powerful and evocative study of loss.

[A] strange and haunting story.

Once in a while a book comes along that takes over your head and your heart. [This is] such a book.

Almond's best book yet...masterful in every aspect.

Gripping doesn't do it justice - it sweeps you up and wraps itself around you.

An uplifting, beautifully written story.

A beautifully written, warm-hearted book. Almond's poetic, though gritty, prose avoids the pitfalls of sentimentality.

Almond's books are always moving, uplifting tributes to the human spirit.