Mooncussers - (Oddity) by Eli Brown (Hardcover)

About the Book

With the help of magical Oddities, like a Pistol that never misses, Clover and her friends face a new danger, the ravenous Underking, in this riveting sequel to Oddity. Despite Clover's victory over the destructive Seamstress, war continues to rage between the fledgling Unified States and Napoléon Bonaparte. Clover and Nessa, former snake-oil salesgirl, join the Women's Service League expecting to dole out soup and socks to invalids and orphans. Instead, under the direction of the wealthy and mysterious Miss Yamada, they're tasked with rooting out the last of the pestilential Vermin--vicious creatures animated by magic, such as squirrel skins stuffed with nails, who have been terrorizing the countryside. But when the group is attacked by a new kind of monster--a sharp-toothed harehound with bloodshot eyes--they discover a much greater threat lurks: the grotesque Underking and his army of twisted creatures. With the help of a Paper-Doll Witch, an elegantly dressed skeleton, a girl bearing a Quilt with threatening properties, and Susanna the bad-tempered Doll, Clover and Nessa must defeat the Underking before he conquers the whole land."--

Book Synopsis

With the help of magical Oddities, like a Pistol that never misses, Clover and her friends face a new danger, the ravenous Underking, in this riveting sequel to Oddity.

Despite Clover's victory over the destructive Seamstress, war continues to rage between the fledgling Unified States and Napoléon Bonaparte. Clover and Nessa, former snake-oil salesgirl, join the Women's Service League expecting to dole out soup and socks to invalids and orphans. Instead, under the direction of the wealthy and mysterious Miss Yamada, they're tasked with rooting out the last of the pestilential Vermin--vicious creatures animated by magic, such as squirrel skins stuffed with nails, who have been terrorizing the countryside. But when the group is attacked by a new kind of monster--a sharp-toothed harehound with bloodshot eyes--they discover a much greater threat lurks: the grotesque Underking and his army of twisted creatures. With the help of a Paper-Doll Witch, an elegantly dressed skeleton, a girl bearing a Quilt with threatening properties, and Susanna the bad-tempered Doll, Clover and Nessa must defeat the Underking before he conquers the whole land. This follow-up to Oddity is a wildly imaginative and engrossing dark fantasy set in an alternate American past.

Review Quotes

The glories of this tumultuous yarn are both the array of rousingly creepy creatures and the diverse cast of doughty girls facing them. Readers will be hard-pressed to pick a favorite character. . . . Inventively original, as well as strong both in shivers and in characterization.
--Kirkus Reviews

Brown's imagination and voice-y character work are in fine form in this feisty sequel to Oddity (2021), and his latest villain is one for the history books. An ideal series for those not quite ready for the Miss Peregrine books.
--Booklist

The magically detailed text paired with Rytter's swirling black-and-white linocut illustrations brings the enchanted world of oddities to life. Readers will have no trouble visualizing this dark, alternate history and the fantastical creatures that inhabit it. . . . A charming and original sequel that will take readers on a ­magical adventure in an alternate 19th century.
--School Library Journal

About the Author

Eli Brown is an acclaimed writer of adult novels. The Oddity series is his first for young readers. He lives with his family in California.

Karin Rytter is a Scandinavian printmaker and illustrator. She lives with her family in Denmark.