The Secret of the Moonshard

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What to expect

Brought to you by Puffin.

The breathtakingly imaginative new fantasy novel from Branford Boase winner Struan Murray.


Domino is an eleven-year-old girl with a strange affliction: if she goes anywhere near magic, it will kill her.

All her life she's been trapped in a floating laboratory, safe from magic but not from the cruel children and the crueler Science Barons who live there. Domino believes the Barons are trying to invent a cure for her magic allergy, but when a mysterious wizard arrives and unleashes total chaos, she discovers that everything she's been told is a lie.

Domino escapes to the wondrous city of Abzalaymon, its streets filled with marvels she's never seen, from automobiles to televisions to hulking thunder lizards. But the Science Barons are on her trail, and Domino must brave a hidden realm of magic if she is to defeat their sinister plot, and uncover a secret that might just save the world: the Secret of the Moonshard.

'This is a perfect fantasy adventure' - Katya Balen, author of October, October.

'Sensational storytelling' - AF Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief.


©2024 Struan Murray (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Critics Review

  • The Secret of the Moonshard has everything you could wish for in a fantasy book and more. Exceptional worldbuilding, characters that feel both fresh and familiar, genius twists impeccably executed and an endlessly imaginative story that will have readers turning pages late into the night. Sensational storytelling.

    AF Steadman, author of Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
  • Struan Murray is a world-building genius. Immersive, imaginative and thrilling, this is a perfect fantasy adventure. Outstanding.

    Katya Balen, author of October, October
  • A kaleidoscopic, rollicking adventure full of wit and warmth and breathtaking imagination. I loved it!

    Ross Montgomery, author of Spellstone
  • The Secret of the Moonshard is absorbing and imaginative magical fantasy at its very best. Struan’s wonderful storytelling gave me the spellbinding feeling of Howl’s Moving Castle mixed with Nevermoor plus a dash of Jurassic Park. Beautiful, original world-building and enticing characters entwined with a thrilling plot. I absolutely loved it!

    Vashti Hardy, author of Brightstorm
  • A rollicking, full-hearted fantasy adventure full of marvellous invention and wild imagination. I love Domino 4eva!

    Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Girl of Ink and Stars

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