Books like 'The Ringmaster's Daughter'
Readers who enjoyed The Ringmaster's Daughter by Jostein Gaarder also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy mystery 20th century action / adventure europe scandinavia magical-realism philosophical drama
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 88 ratingsHarry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...Categorized as:
children classics europe 20th-century action-adventure audiobook boarding-school book -
![Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges]()
Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsJorge Luis Borges has been called the greatest Spanish-language writer of our century. Now for the first time in English, all of Borges' dazzling fictions are gathered into a single volume, brilliantly translated by Andrew Hurley...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magical-realism myths philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges]()
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsThe seventeen pieces in Ficciones demonstrate the whirlwind of Borges's genius and mirror the precision and potency of his intellect and inventiveness, his piercing irony, his skepticism, and his obsession with fantasy...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Momo by Michael Ende]()
Momo by Michael Ende
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsMomo is very intelligent and is not easily fooled by the two men who come to town telling people to save time and deposit it in the bank. With the help of her friend, Professor Hora, and a turtle, she is determined to find out what they are doing with time.Previously published in English by Burke as "The Grey Gentlemen...Categorized as:
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![Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling]()
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 86 ratingsThe Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.And strike it does...Categorized as:
children classics magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook boarding-school book -
![Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges]()
Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsAlthough his work has been restricted to the short story, the essay, and poetry, Jorge Luis Borges of Argentina is recognized all over the world as one of the most original and significant figures in modern literature. In his preface, Andre Maurois writes: "Borges is a great writer who has composed only little essays or short narratives... -
![The Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges]()
The Aleph and Other Stories by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsFull of philosophical puzzles and supernatural surprises, these stories contain some of Borges's most fully realized human characters. With uncanny insight, he takes us inside the minds of an unrepentant Nazi, an imprisoned Mayan priest, fanatical Christian theologians, a woman plotting vengeance on her father’s “killer,” and a man awaiting his assassin in a Buenos Aires guest house...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism myths philosophical 20th-century action-adventure -
![The BFG by Roald Dahl]()
The BFG by Roald Dahl
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 79 ratingsCaptured by a giant! But the BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, the Fleshlumpeater, the Bonecruncher, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast...Categorized as:
children classics europe family literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure -
![This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti]()
This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 40 ratings"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12Ashton is just a typical small town... -
![Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski]()
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 62 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup and, in the uproar, Geralt was seriously injured. The Witcher is supposed to be a guardian of the innocent, a protector of those in need, a defender against powerful and dangerous monsters that prey on men in dark times... -
![The Waste Lands by Stephen King]()
The Waste Lands by Stephen King
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsSeveral months have passed, and Roland’s two new tet-mates have become proficient gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But while battling The Pusher in 1977 New York, Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s where and when—has already died... -
![Wizard and Glass by Stephen King]()
Wizard and Glass by Stephen King
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsRoland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Jake’s pet bumbler survive Blaine the Mono’s final crash, only to find themselves stranded in an alternate version of Topeka, Kansas, one that has been ravaged by the superflu virus. While following the deserted I-70 toward a distant glass palace, they hear the atonal squalling of a thinny, a place where the fabric of existence has almost entirely worn away...Categorized as:
classics drama 20th-century action-adventure apocalyptic audiobook book contemporary -
![The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster]()
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsLibrarian's Note: For an alternate cover edition of the same ISBN, click here.This beloved story -first published more than fifty years ago- introduces readers to Milo and his adventures in the Lands Beyond. For Milo, everything’s a bore. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through only because he’s got nothing better to do. But on the other side, things seem different...Categorized as:
children classics drama family literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure -
![Swan Song by Robert McCammon]()
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsThe trade paper reissue of Robert McCammon's New York Times bestselling Swan Song.An ancient evil roams the desolate landscape of an America ravaged by nuclear war.He is the Man with the Scarlet Eye, a malevolent force that feeds on the dark desires of the countless followers he has gathered into his service. His only desire is to find a special child named Swan -- and destroy her... -
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![The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King]()
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsWhile pursuing his quest for the Dark Tower through a world that is a nightmarishly distorted mirror image of our own, Roland, the last gunslinger, encounters three mysterious doorways on the beach. Each one enters into the life of a different person living in contemporary New York... -
![The Refuge by John A. Heldt]()
The Refuge by John A. Heldt
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom the author of THE LANE BETRAYAL, THE FAIR, and SEA SPRAY comes the fourth novel in the Time Box saga.Months after stealing two time machines, the Lanes, a modern family of seven, make a stand against the unhinged software mogul who wants them back. They travel to 1941 Oahu to eliminate the billionaire's mercenary, an assassin who has chased them through time... -
![Hogfather by Terry Pratchett]()
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 64 ratingsSusan had never hung up a stocking . She'd never put a tooth under her pillow in the serious expectation that a dentally inclined fairy would turn up. It wasn't that her parents didn't believe in such things. They didn't need to believe in them. They know they existed. They just wished they didn't.There are those who believe and those who don't. Through the ages, superstition has had its uses... -
![Echo Moon by Laura Spinella]()
Echo Moon by Laura Spinella
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA past life, a past war, and a past love. Peter St John can’t foresee a future until he confronts his past sins.When photojournalist Peter St John returns home after a two-year absence, the life he’s been running from catches up. For years his mother’s presence, coupled with Pete’s own psychic gift, has triggered visits to 1917...Categorized as:
magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult alpha-mc audiobook book contemporary -
![The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies]()
The Deptford Trilogy by Robertson Davies
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe complete volume of Robertson Davies's acclaimed trilogy, featuring Fifth Business, The Manticore, and World of Wonders, with a new foreword by Kelly Link Fifth Business Ramsay is a man twice born, a man who has returned from the hell of the battle-grave at Passchendaele in World War I decorated with the Victoria Cross and destined to be caught in a no man's land where memory, history, and...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism myths 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder]()
The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHans Thomas and his father set out on a car trip through Europe, from Norway to Greece—the birthplace of philosophy—in search of Hans Thomas's mother, who left them many years earlier. On the way, Hans Thomas receives a mysterious miniature book—the fantastic memoir of a sailor shipwrecked in 1842 on a strange island where a deck of cards come to life...Categorized as:
children classics drama family literary-fiction magical-realism philosophical 20th-century -
![Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges]()
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsHere is a handsome edition of one of Borges' "ficciones," in a translation first published in "Labyrinths" in 1962. It's an important story in the Borges' canon, incorporating most of the author's philosophical and esthetic preoccupations in a typically brief compass...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult book contemporary -
![Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach]()
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders..Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism philosophical 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Witches by Roald Dahl]()
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 73 ratingsThis is not a fairy-tale. This is about real witches. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies...Categorized as:
children classics europe family magical-realism scandinavia 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny]()
The Hand of Oberon by Roger Zelazny
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe fourth in the Amber series reveals two surprising answers… Family blood has been spilled on the Pattern that created Amber, throwing the entire kingdom in chaos. In a desperate effort to save themselves, the princes and princesses of Amber—led by Lord Corwin—search for answers... -
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![Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien]()
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsMrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse with four small children, must move her family to their summer quarters immediately, or face almost certain death. But her youngest son, Timothy, lies ill with pneumonia and must not be moved. Fortunately, she encounters the rats of NIMH, an extraordinary breed of highly intelligent creatures, who come up with a brilliant solution to her dilemma...Categorized as:
children classics drama family literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure -
![Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami]()
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 66 ratings'A narrative particle accelerator that zooms between Wild Turkey Whiskey and Bob Dylan, unicorn skulls and voracious librarians, John Coltrane and Lord Jim. Science fiction, detective story and post-modern manifesto all rolled into one rip-roaring novel, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is the tour de force that expanded Haruki Murakami's international following...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult asia -
![Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman]()
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 86 ratingsUnder the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks.Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London... -
![The Grey King by Susan Cooper]()
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 42 ratings"Fire on the Mountain Shall Find the Harp of Gold Played to Wake the Sleepers, Oldest of the Old..." With the final battle between the Light and the Dark soon approaching, Will sets out on a quest to call for aid. Hidden within the Welsh hills is a magical harp that he must use to wake the Sleepers - six noble riders who have slept for centuries... -
![The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsBook Three of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea CycleDarkness threatens to overtake Earthsea: the world and its wizards are losing their magic. Despite being wearied with age, Ged Sparrowhawk -- Archmage, wizard, and dragonlord -- embarks on a daring, treacherous journey, accompanied by Enlad's young Prince Arren, to discover the reasons behind this devastating pattern of loss... -
![The October Country by Ray Bradbury]()
The October Country by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRay Bradbury's second short story collection is back in print, its chilling encounters with funhouse mirrors, parasitic accident-watchers, and strange poker chips intact. Both sides of Bradbury's vaunted childhood nostalgia are also on display, in the celebratory "Uncle Einar," and haunting "The Lake," the latter a fine elegy to childhood loss...Categorized as:
classics drama europe literary-fiction magical-realism myths scandinavia 20th-century -
![Imajica by Clive Barker]()
Imajica by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsImajica is an epic beyond compare: vast in conception, obsessively detailed in execution, and apocalyptic in its resolution. At its heart lies the sensualist and master art forger, Gentle, whose life unravels when he encounters Judith Odell, whose power to influence the destinies of men is vaster than she knows, and Pie 'oh' pah, an alien assassin who comes from a hidden dimension... -
![The Talisman by Stephen King, Peter Straub]()
The Talisman by Stephen King, Peter Straub
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsOn a brisk autumn day, a twelve-year-old boy stands on the shores of the gray Atlantic, near a silent amusement park and a fading ocean resort called the Alhambra. The past has driven Jack Sawyer here: his father is gone, his mother is dying, and the world no longer makes sense. But for Jack everything is about to change...Categorized as:
classics drama magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure alternate-universe audiobook book -
![Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino]()
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 53 ratings"Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his." So begins Italo Calvino's compilation of fragmentary urban images...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism myths philosophical 20th-century action-adventure -
![Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl]()
Tales of the Unexpected by Roald Dahl
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsA wine connoisseur with an infallible palate and a sinister taste in wagers. A decrepit old man with a masterpiece tattooed on his back. A voracious adventuress, a gentle cuckold, and a garden sculpture that becomes an instrument of sadistic vengeance. Social climbers who climb a bit too quickly. Philanderers whose deceptions are a trifle too ornate...Categorized as:
children classics drama 20th-century action-adventure anthologies audiobook children-books -
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![The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch]()
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHarry Mulisch's magnum opus, is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes—friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil—suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.The Discovery of Heaven begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny]()
Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsHe who rules Amber rules the one true world. He who thwarts Amber invites the wrath of Amber betrayed. An unseen enemy of immense strength has seized a Prince of the Blood, and now threatens the perfect kingdom by striking at the very core of its power - the secret knowledge of Shadow... -
![The Castle of Adventure by Enid Blyton]()
The Castle of Adventure by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat is the secret of the old castle on the hill, and why are the locals so afraid of it? When flashing lights are seen in a distant tower, Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack decide to investigate—and discover a very sinister plot concealed within its hidden rooms and gloomy underground passages...Categorized as:
children classics 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books contemporary -
![Weaveworld by Clive Barker]()
Weaveworld by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsClive Barker has made his mark on modern fiction by exposing all that is surreal and magical in the ordinary world --- and exploring the profound and overwhelming terror that results... -
![Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper]()
Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThe Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. And Will Stanton -- last-born of the immortal Old Ones, dedicated to keeping the world free -- must join forces with this ageless master Merriman and Bran, the Welsh boy whose destiny ties him to the Light. Drawn in with them are the three Drew children, who are mortal, but have their own vital part in the story... -
![The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, Martin Jarvis]()
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith, Martin Jarvis
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhen the Dearly's Dalmatians have their first litter of puppies - fifteen in all - everyone is delighted...Categorized as:
children classics family literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals anthropomorphism -
![Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn]()
Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsBeware of Helen... Heather is such a whiny little brat. Always getting Michael and me into trouble. But since our mother married her father, we're stuck with her ... our "poor stepsister" who lost her real mother in a mysterious fire. But now something terrible has happened...Categorized as:
children classics family 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children-books -
![Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, Tim White]()
Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny, Tim White
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsAmber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne...Categorized as:
classics family 20th-century action-adventure alternate-universe audiobook book children-books -
![The Magus by John Fowles]()
The Magus by John Fowles
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis daring literary thriller, rich with eroticism and suspense, is one of John Fowles's best-loved and bestselling novels and has contributed significantly to his international reputation as a writer of the first degree. At the center of The Magus is Nicholas Urfe, a young Englishman who accepts a teaching position on a remote Greek island, where he befriends a local millionaire...Categorized as:
classics drama literary-fiction magical-realism myths 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Jade City by Fonda Lee]()
Jade City by Fonda Lee
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 57 ratingsJADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities... -
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![The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams]()
The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsWhen a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God... -
![The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket]()
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 52 ratingsDear Reader,I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe... -
![Les aventures de Johnny Dixon: Le crâne du sorcier by John Bellairs]()
Les aventures de Johnny Dixon: Le crâne du sorcier by John Bellairs
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen Johnny Dixon and his friend Professor Childermass discover an old heirloom clock, the terror begins. The professor suddenly vanishes, and Johnny is left to solve the mystery--alone.Inside the clock Johnny discovers a miniature room, a room exactly like the one in which a murder took place long ago. And from the inside the little room Johnny pockets a tiny skull with magical powers...Categorized as:
children classics 20th-century action-adventure book children-books contemporary dark -
![Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsRupert Venables is a Magid.It's a Magid's job to oversee what goes on in the vast Multiverse. Actually, Rupert is really only a junior Magid. But he's got a king-sized problem. Rupert's territory includes Earth and the Empire of Korfyros. When his mentor dies Rupert must find a replacement. But there are hundreds of candidates...Categorized as:
children myths 20th-century action-adventure alternate-universe audiobook book comedy -
![Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones]()
Archer's Goon by Diana Wynne Jones
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe trouble started when Howard Sykes came home from school and found the "goon" sitting in the kitchen. He said he'd been sent by Archer. But who was Archer? It had to do with the 2,000 words that Howard's author father had failed to deliver...Categorized as:
children family magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure book children-books comedy -
![The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper]()
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThis night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining.It's Midwinter's Eve, the day before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. This will be a birthday like no other. Will discovers that he has the power of the Old Ones, and that he must embark on a quest to vanquish the terrifyingly evil magic of the Dark...Categorized as:
children classics family magical-realism myths 20th-century action-adventure arthurian
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