About This Book

Winner of the 2009 Batchelder Award  
An ALA Notable Children's Book

It looks like an accident: a suspension bridge, its cables snapped, a boy tumbling from a carriage into the river. But the wandering moribito Balsa recognizes it for what it is: no less than an attempt at assasination. For the boy is the second Prince Chagum, and the secret he carries could destroy the foundation of the empire. Now Balsa must protect the prince as he delivers that secret - the great egg of the Water Spirit — to its source in the northern sea. But they will find themselves hunted by two deadly enemies: the egg-eating monster Rarunga...and the prince's own father.

This extraordinary new fantasy (soon to be a major anime TV series on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim) merges the deep well of Eastern myth with the Western fantasy tradition, for a novel that's as rich in place and culture as it is hard to put down.

"Balsa and Chagum’s story will win many new fans for this series." — Kirkus Reviews