For full details and translation samples, please contact me, claire@cslanguages.co.uk
Spotlight on Catalan Fantasy
The Silver Wolf
by Maite Carranza (Catalonia | Spain)
For YA fantasy lovers everywhere, Maite Carranza’s The Silver Wolf weaves together witchcraft and Greek mythology, following Demetor’s role in the battle between the witch clans of the Omar and the Odish. Growing up, Demetor is famed for her ability to read the future in the waters, but is unaware of where she gets her powers from – in an attempt to protect her daughter from her own traumatic past, her mother has concealed her true identity. All that begins to change when her fame draws the curiosity of Thea, one of the most powerful of the Odish witches, the opposing clan to her Omar heritage. Their rivalry stirs up the hatred against witchcraft and women that has been simmering beneath the surface among the inhabitants on the small Greek island where Demetor lives, destroying her childhood and forcing her to confront the realities of an age-old prophecy. The novel also tackles relevant themes of misogyny, jealousy, betrayal and the complex relationships between women.
Eodhum’s Children
by Roger Tarrés (Catalonia | Spain)
Winner of the Premi Llibreter 2023
The first part of an epic high fantasy trilogy set in medieval times. A young warrior seeks justice and confronts her enemies amid fierce power struggles
Astrid lives in the Frozen Mountain Range, a place far from other civilisations, with her father and her sister. Long ago, her world was ruled by gods and magic, but now only a single power remains: an indestructible and ever-transforming power, possessed by only few, and that since its creation has only caused suffering, sadness, war, and death. Astrid has blue eyes that give her the gift of slowing down time. What’s more, she is skilled with a bow, an ability that makes her the best defender of her village. The peace is interrupted the day that some green-eyed assassins annihilate her people, ravage the city, and kidnap her sister Dalia. Although she has never gone further than the surrounding forests, Astrid decides to embark on an adventure to find her sister. On her journey, Astrid meets Runuc, a red-eyed Niburesh militant with the gift of immortality, and Yagon, a former commander of Hímdor, to whom she soon becomes attracted.
The Assassin of Venice
Written by Pol Castellanos (Catalonia | Spain)
Winner of the Premi Ramon Muntaner 2021
Venice, 1914. Carla Herzog, about to turn fourteen, discovers that she has the power to foresee misfortunes shortly before they occur. Her father, a very rich and powerful man who is very strict and conservative, accuses her of witchcraft and locks her up in a reform school. One night, Carla manages to escape with two companions. The three of them will travel to various places in Europe in search of a mysterious book that contains the explanation of her powers, while the Venice police search for Carla, falsely accusing her of murder. Meanwhile, the First World War breaks out…
By the same author, The Imposter of Vienna, the winner of the Premi Alba 2020 for the Best Catalan Book for Young People
For full details and translation samples, please contact me claire[at]cslanguages.co.uk
Don’t forget to check out my other recommendations from around the world
Claire Storey 