The Silver Arrow · #1
The Silver Arrow
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians comes a must-read, wholly original middle-grade debut perfect for fans of The Chronicles of Narnia and Roald Dahl
Dear Uncle Herbert,
You've never met me, but I'm your niece Kate, and since it is my birthday tomorrow and you are super-rich could you please send me a present?
Kate and her younger brother Tom lead dull, uninteresting lives. And if their dull, uninteresting parents are anything to go by, they don't have much to look forward to. Why can't Kate have thrilling adventures and save the world the way people do in books? Even her 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane - that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert, whom she's never even met before, surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating, inappropriate birthday present of all time: a colossal steam locomotive called the Silver Arrow.
Kate and Tom's parents want to send it right back where it came from. But Kate and Tom have other ideas - and so does the Silver Arrow - and soon they're off to distant lands along magical rail lines in the company of an assortment of exotic animals who, it turns out, can talk. With only curiosity, excitement, their own resourcefulness and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime... and who knows? They just might end up saving the world after all.
This thrilling fantasy adventure will not only entertain young readers but inspire them to see the beautiful, exciting, and precious world around them with new eyes.
The series
On an ordinary birthday, Kate receives an extraordinary gift: a sleek old steam train that isn’t just for show—it’s a ticket to a hidden world where talking animals, endangered species, and magical railways intersect.
Read full series description
The Silver Arrow series invites readers into a quiet kind of magic—not the kind born of spells or sorcery, but of wonder, courage, and unexpected responsibility. This isn’t a story that barrels through fantasy tropes. Instead, it glides along winding tracks through a world that feels tender, strange, and just a little bit wild. At its heart is a train ride like no other, where every stop introduces a new creature with a story to tell and a truth to confront.
As Kate and her younger brother Tom take on the mantle of conductors, the journey becomes something more than a whimsical adventure. It’s a mission to protect what’s been overlooked, to listen when the world whispers rather than shouts. With quiet humor and a deep reverence for nature, the story explores the balance between curiosity and care—between discovery and responsibility.
What makes this middle-grade fantasy stand out is its gentle urgency. Wrapped in accessible prose and threaded with environmental themes, the series taps into the same veins of imagination and moral clarity that classics like The Chronicles of Narnia or His Dark Materials once did—but with a voice uniquely its own.
The Silver Arrow isn’t just a ride through magical landscapes. It’s an invitation to see the real world through new eyes—and maybe, just maybe, to protect it a little more fiercely.
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