The Fire Eaters

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.