Corbenic
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
It starts when Cal gets off the train at the wrong stop in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. He's stranded.
Following a muddy path leads him to a castle that appears to be deserted. But inside is Corbenic, a magnificent hotel filled with rich people preparing for a banquet—and Cal is their guest of honor. During the meal, he experiences a disturbing vision, but when he is asked to talk about what he has seen, he denies it. What if he's becoming crazy, like his mother?
When Cal wakes the next morning, the elegant castle turns out to be nothing more than an abandoned ruin. But something inside him has changed—he now knows he needs to right the wrongs in his life. It will be a difficult journey, and if Cal achieves his goal, it will not be without cost. The first step—he must return to Corbenic.
Catherine Fisher
Catherine Fisher's acclaimed works include Darkhenge, Snow-walker, and The Oracle Betrayed, which was a finalist for the Whitbread Children's Book Award. She lives in Newport, Wales.
Read more from Catherine Fisher
Related to Corbenic
Related ebooks
All Hallows’ Eve Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Rose and the Ring Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Peculiarities of Yearning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe House of Discarded Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Monthly Giving Made Easy: A How-To Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRise of the Sky Pirate: The Adventures of Captain Keenan, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmily Brontë: The Complete Works (The Greatest Novelists of All Time – Book 9): Complete Fiction and Poetry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBicycles & Broomsticks: Fantastical Feminist Stories about Witches on Bikes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsParadise Lost Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCatriona Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dream Days Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lightspeed Magazine, Issue 134 (July 2021): Lightspeed Magazine, #134 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIncidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mayor of Casterbridge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When the Goddess Wakes: Book 3 of the Ring-Sworn Trilogy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections: On the Magic of Writing: On the Magic of Writing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Online Magazine, Year One Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGorracula: a Tale of Science Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Nature of Summer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5They Stole Our Hearts: The Teddies Saga, Book 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsToward the Gleam: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Last Refuge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rubik Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLegends of the Middle Ages - Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Consumed by a Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Essential Peter S. Beagle, Volume 2: Oakland Dragon Blues and Other Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLike Flies from Afar: A Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
YA Fairy Tales & Folklore For You
Cress Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Let the Sky Fall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Serpent & Dove Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Woven Kingdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Soul as Cold as Frost: The Winter Souls Series, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scarlet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Once Upon a Broken Heart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hobbit Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gallant Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Children of Blood and Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Compulsion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cinderella Is Dead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Legendborn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dust: Heirs of Neverland, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Sleeper and the Spindle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood & Honey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Siren Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kingsbane Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sabriel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Other Lands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cursed Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Furyborn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Splintered: A Splintered Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Persuasion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Heart as Red as Paint: The Winter Souls Series, #2 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lady Rogue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Thieves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tiger's Curse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Corbenic
40 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I've been meaning to read this for a while. I did start it, and then I stopped, and didn't get back to it until today. But it's a quick read, really: I think it took me less than an hour, altogether. It's a reworking of the story of Percival, in a modern setting, where you're never quite sure whether it's all delusion or reality -- or some weird mix of the two. It poses more questions than it answers, and I'm not entirely sure I liked it. But I definitely found it interesting.
I wouldn't say that you should read it for amazing characters -- I found most of them bland -- or for stunning drama or whatever, but if you're interested in reworkings of Arthurian stories, and especially of grail stories, then this is worth picking up. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cal leaves home to work for his uncle, believing he has left the squalor and his alcoholic mother’s psychotic visions behind him. However, he accidentally gets off at the wrong train station, and finds himself with no option but to stay at Castle Corbenic with its elaborate medieval décor. The people he meets are perplexing, and the castle's owner, Bron, claims that Cal can heal him. When Cal is shown things which remind him of his mother's visions, he denies what he sees. The following morning, the castle is a ruin, and Cal is left with a sword and the feeling he has failed more than just himself.Cal resolves to dispose of the sword, and in the process meets Arthur’s Company, an odd medieval-battle re-enactment group. They confuse Cal with their talk of being immortal, and the extent to which they have embraced a life of medieval legends, but they are also prepared to help him. Cal realises that his mistakes have hurt people, including himself and as he attempts to distance himself from his past, he finds that it has more to do with his future then he ever imagined. His quest becomes more than a simple search for the Holy Grail; it is an emotional quest for self discovery which challenges his values and forces him to confront his fears. I love the way Corbenic ingeniously merges modern-day British life with the centuries-old legends surrounding King Arthur, the knights of the round table and the Holy Grail. The characters, especially Arthur’s Company, are vivid and intriguing, with believable depth and humanity. I am frustrated by things regarding minor characters which are alluded to and left unexplained, but I love how I am left free to wonder. It makes them seem real. Cal is not always an easy character to relate to, but his motivations and experiences are well explained. Even when his determination turns to desperation, I felt sympathetic, and he really grows throughout the novel.Corbenic is wonderful and slightly unusual story about about growing up, family bonds, human endurance, forgiveness, the waste land and the Holy GrailSome years ago, I said that it was "mature and complex, suspenseful and heart-warming". I have since read other books which have been all of these things and more so, yet Corbenic is still something I want to read again. It stills feels like an original retelling of familiar legends, and continues to makes me wonder. It remains my favourite novel by Catherine Fisher.