Brilliantly funny adventure, featuring magic, dragons and knights. For Fans of Shrek.

Odo (seventh child of the village miller) and Eleanor (always looking for adventure) stumble upon a sword in a dried-up river outside their village. Eleanor (strong and able) tries to extract the sword but is unable to, and it is Odo who is surprisingly successful. It is even more surprising that the sword,once pulled out, starts to talk. And rather annoying when the talking sword turns out to be rather grumpy, stubborn, and, at times, catastrophically wrong.

Odo and Eleanor have unearthed Biter, a famous knightly sword from earlier times. By finding Biter, Odo instantly becomes a knight -- a role he is exquisitely unsuited for. Eleanor, however, is desperate to become and would be the perfect knight -- but she's not the one with the sword.

Finding Biter is only the start - reluctant knight, reluctant squire, and determined sword must go on a quest to save their kingdom from threats in both human and dragon form, in this new very funny fantasy triumph from Garth Nix and Sean Williams.