The Clockill and the Thief
Gareth Ward
Walker Books
Pub. 2022

March 29, 2022

Poisoned blood, death’s door, a Covert Operation Group (COG) trying to stop the next world war, and a traitor escaped from custody.

The Clockill and the Thief is a sequel to the book The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward. It tells the story of Sin, who is part of COG, and his friend Zonda Chubb and their frenemy Velvet Von Darque. They are tasked with capturing a traitor among the ranks of COG. Sin, who is dying from his blue blood, has to battle sky pirates and Clockill, the part man part machine creations.  Read more

The Rise of the Remarkables: The Thaumagician’s Revenge
Gareth Ward
Walker Books
Pub. 2021

March 7, 2022

My questions have been answered and new questions have been sparked! The Thaumagician’s Revenge is the thrilling sequel to the Rise of the Remarkables: Brasswitch and Bot, set in 1874.

The star in this book is Wrench, a stubbornly independent character with an amazing power; the ability to control mechanical objects with her mind, which is an interesting and unusual power called Brasswitching.

In the previous book, Wrench was betrayed by a friend and her powers were drained. I was constantly wanting to reach in and help her as she tirelessly endeavoured to get them back in The Thaumagician’s Revenge.  Read more

The Traitor and the Thief
Gareth Ward
Walker Books
Pub. 2017

October 12, 2021

The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward was published by Walker Books in 2017. Ward won the Storylines Tessa Duder Award for this book. This award goes to a New Zealand author for a book for kids 13 and over.

Sin has lived on the street for most of his life, stealing jewelry and expensive items from the people around his town; that is, until he is chased down and asked to work at a secret spy agency for kids called COG (Covert Operations Group).  Read more

Brasswitch and Bot (#1 The Rise of the Remarkables)
Gareth Ward
Walker Books
Pub. 2020

September 08, 2021

“Until today, being called Brasswitch would have got you killed. Now, it might save your life…”

Brasswitch and Bot (#1 The Rise of the Remarkables) by Gareth Ward tells the tale of an orphaned girl called Wrench who is forced to show her magical powers to stop a steam train from a fatal crash.

The only problem is that those powers have got many like her killed by the infamous Regulators. Saved from an untimely death by the mechanical Bot, they must work together to stop the threat of a mysterious aberration.  Read more

The Traitor and the Thief
Gareth Ward
Walker Books Australia
Pub. 2017

August 24, 2021

“If you join us, you too may die, but your sacrifice will save the lives of millions. COG [Covert Operations Group] does not fight for the Empire; it fights for humanity.”

In The Traitor and the Thief by Gareth Ward, 14-year-old Sin lives on the streets of Coxford, picking pockets for a living. He is an orphan, and the closest thing he’s ever had to family is the rough gang he steals for and their mean leader, the Fixer. He didn’t even know that a secret organisation like COG existed, that is, until he met the scar-faced Eldritch Moons.  Read more

The Clockill and the Thief
Gareth Ward
Walker Books
pub. 2019

September 6, 2020

“Tick-tock, chip-chop, cut out your heart and replace it with a clock, stitch it and sew it and stitch it again, heartless, invincible, with cogs for a brain.”

This is a description of the terrifying Clockill given in the form of a chilling nursery rhyme as featured in the sequel to the award-winning The Traitor and the Thief. Gareth Ward has achieved our high expectations once again. Ward has produced a breathtaking, fast-paced, well-written sequel to his equally stunning first novel. The Clockill and the Thief has not failed in enticing, entrapping, and entertaining the audience.  Read more