Emily Bearn

Katherine Rundell's The Neverfear, the third book in the Impossible Creatures series, follows Christopher and Anya as they attempt to rescue their kidnapped friend Irian by completing a series of dangerous tasks for the villain Astor Morax. The review praises the novel's tightly constructed plot, convincing internal logic and richly researched bestiary, arguing that its precise fantasy details become part of the story rather than an interruption. Rundell's work is presented as an increasingly significant contribution to children's literature, with the book receiving five stars.

Modern children’s literature increasingly casts wealthy characters as morally suspect, contrasting with earlier works where affluent figures could be benevolent or neutral. Recent books often depict rich individuals as villains driven by greed, environmental harm or exploitation, reflecting contemporary cultural attitudes toward privilege. Classic authors such as Ransome, Blyton and Goudge treated wealth more neutrally, while older villain archetypes used riches as a theatrical embellishment rather than a moral indictment. New retellings of Robin Hood reinforce this shift by highlighting rich antagonists. The article questions how iconic characters like Dickens’s Mr Brownlow might be reinterpreted within today’s narrative expectations.