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Catherine Fisher
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Corbenic Kindle Edition

by Catherine Fisher (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 20 ratings
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It starts when Cal gets off the train at the wrong stop in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. He's stranded.

Following a muddy path leads him to a castle that appears to be deserted. But inside is Corbenic, a magnificent hotel filled with rich people preparing for a banquet—and Cal is their guest of honor. During the meal, he experiences a disturbing vision, but when he is asked to talk about what he has seen, he denies it. What if he's becoming crazy, like his mother?

When Cal wakes the next morning, the elegant castle turns out to be nothing more than an abandoned ruin. But something inside him has changed—he now knows he needs to right the wrongs in his life. It will be a difficult journey, and if Cal achieves his goal, it will not be without cost. The first step—he must return to Corbenic.

Previous page
  1. Reading age
    12 - 18 years
  2. Print length
    232 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Grade level
    6 - 12
  5. Lexile measure
    660L
  6. Publisher
    Greenwillow Books
  7. Publication date
    January 31, 2012
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  12. ISBN-13
    978-0060724702
  13. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–Seventeen-year-old Cal abandons his alcoholic, schizophrenic mother and shabby English town. On the train to his uncle's house in a posh suburb, he gets off at Corbenic, which he later learns is nonexistent. He makes his way to the court of the crippled Fisher King, who knows Cal is really Percival, the last hope to restore the king's wasteland to its former glory. When the teenager fails to identify a vision of the Holy Grail, he is banished back to modern England. Then, as the legend goes, he searches for Corbenic, but can only return when he comes to terms with the mother he's rejected. Along the way he meets Shadow and Hawk, Arthurian reenactors who may or may not be the real thing. The blurring of fantasy and reality is sometimes confusing but helps to sustain the mood of wonder and mystery. Both the real and surreal settings are lushly rendered, and Fisher's physical descriptions are especially evocative. The dialogue is sharp, but while Cal's conversations with Shadow and Hawk are natural and engaging, his inner monologue is repetitive and boring. Cal is drawn with a heavy hand as a materialistic, pretentious whiner, and while this portrait keeps to the myth, he's impossible for readers to care about. Minor characters are portrayed with subtle wit and sweetness and are unfortunately more compelling than the narrator or his quest. Though the plot moves steadily, those unfamiliar with the myth may find the journey tedious.–Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. In this dense, mystical quest story, the author of the Oracle Prophecies trilogy interweaves a teen's coming-of-age struggles with an archetypal legend. Cal is leaving his pathetic, alcoholic mother to start a new life with his uncle. On the train toward his future, he falls into an uneasy sleep from which he awakens disoriented but certain he is at his stop. After scrambling to the platform, Cal discovers that he is not where he thought he was. After wending his way through preternaturally quiet hedges and pathways, and past a strange pair of fishermen, he finds himself at an old castlelike building called Corbenic. Presiding within is a wounded king--the Fisher King himself--whose fate overlaps with Cal's and who must be healed to restore balance to the world. Not every reader will know the Fisher King myth but the story's Arthurian trappings are familiar, and many teens will relish the immersion in Cal's complex relationships, choices, and fantasy-fueled journey toward adult understanding. Holly Koelling
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006FOHOPY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Greenwillow Books (January 31, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2469 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 20 ratings

About the author

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Catherine Fisher

Catherine Fisher

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Catherine Fisher is the New York Times best-selling author of Sapphique and Incarceron. She is "one of today’s best fantasy writers," according to the London Independent. An acclaimed novelist and poet, she has written many fantasy books for young people, including The Oracle Prophecy series, Corbenic, Darkhenge, The Snow-Walker Trilogy, Darkwater Hall, and The Relic Master series.

Her recent series The Chronoptika Quartet mixes folklore and dark fairies with time travel and sf.

Catherine's new adventures for 7 up are The Clockwork Crow, The Velvet Fox, and The Midnight Swan, published by Firefly Press. The trilogy is a mix of magic and folklore, set in Victorian Wales, telling the story of the orphan Seren Rhys and herb adventures with the tetchy, brilliant and powerful Clockwork Crow. It was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Prize and the Carnegie Meday and won the Tir na n'og Prize.

Catherine has recently published The Red Gloves and Other Stories (Firefly Press), a collection of nine spooky and dark tales for children.

Catherine's latest poetry collection is The Bramble King, Seren 2019

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
20 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

mary
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book in every way
Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2022
Verified Purchase
It’s a difficult story, but so psychologically true—one of the best from Fisher, and she’s an author I truly admire. The seller was excellent, too. The book’s in like-new condition and came very promptly.
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S. Phillips
3.0 out of 5 stars Stylized but Unlikable
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2008
Corbenic is, on the whole, a good book. It's not a great book, but it doesn't fall to the depths of terrible either. The writing is highly stylized and filled with symbolism that can be hard to catch for those uninitiated into the Arthurian mythology.

The biggest failure of the book is the lack of sympathy generated by Cal (who is, if you aren't familiar with the myths, a modern day Percival [...] Despite his rotten childhood of hiding in closets from his drunken mother, his attitude is selfish, degrading, and overall grating on the nerves for most readers. He ACTS the victim, and almost plays it up, without displaying any sort of redeeming qualities that would make us feel sorry for him. Even later on, after some changes, we're still left with the feeling that he hasn't switched his focus away from himself. The reader is left feeling bad for Cal's mother, not the protagonist.

The book isn't all bad though. If you like deciphering symbolism and comparing the modern day plot with the mythos it is based on, it can be an enjoyable read. It would, in my opinion, make a good movie because of the visuals it invokes. Just don't go looking for characters to like, and you'll be fine.
One person found this helpful
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Msgt George C. Murray
4.0 out of 5 stars Another good boob by Catherine
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2016
Verified Purchase
It started a bit slow but by 1/3 of the way in it started to keep me going.
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Sheila Ruth
5.0 out of 5 stars A deep and intense retelling of the Grail legend
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2006
After a childhood spent taking care of his alchoholic mother, Cal finally gets a chance to leave home. He's going to live with his uncle, a successful accountant who has offered Cal a job and a place to live. But Cal gets off the train at the wrong stop, and finds himself in the middle of nowhere, in a place called Corbenic. In Corbenic, Cal stays at a mysterious hotel called the Castle, and dines with the proprietor, a handicapped man named Bron who appears to be the Wounded King or Fisher King of the Grail legend. At the dinner, Cal sees a vision, but denies having seen it, a denial which dooms him to a path of suffering. Before Cal can find peace, he must learn to confront the pain in his life, to forgive and to seek forgiveness, and to make choices about the life he wants to lead.

Corbenic is an intense, dark, and deeply emotional book. Catherine Fisher does a remarkable job of juxtaposing the ancient with the modern in unusual ways, such as the bohemian reenactors who may or may not be the knights of King Arthur's court. Cal is not a very likeable character, at least not at first; he seems shallow and selfish and even cruel to his mother. But as the book progresses and the layers are peeled back, you see the deep emotional scars that Cal tries to hide, and the pain that he copes with by trying to control everything in his life.

As with Fisher's other books, the writing is highly poetic and full of symbolism. For example, in some ways, Cal is the wounded king, although his wounds are internal rather than external. In fact, the whole internal/external dichotomy is never resolved, leaving open the question of whether Corbenic is real or an internal symbol of Cal's pain and healing. But in the long run, it doesn't matter, and Corbenic makes the Grail legend real and relevant, and not just some dusty story about ancient knights.

Corbenic is probably too intense for most children. There's nothing overly frightening, but there is tragedy, and the emotions, particularly in Cal's relationship with his mother, will be disturbing to those not developmentally ready to deal with them. But the dark, emotional nature of the book will probably appeal to many teens.
4 people found this helpful
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Michelle Boytim
4.0 out of 5 stars A retelling of the Grail myth
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2018
Cal is on his way to a job, courtesy of his uncle. He has to leave behind his mother, who has a mental illness and struggles with life. On his way by train, he accidentally gets off at the wrong stop, and finds himself stuck for the evening. He finds his way to a lone hotel, and is stunned by the people there, preparing for a banquet. There, he turns down the offer that his made to him, disappointing those attending, and in the morning awakes in a ruin. Cal returns to his life, but is haunted by his choices and the sword given to him. He falls in wit a group of medieval reenactors and begins to wonder what is real and what is imagined and if he can redeem himself. This is a compelling and at times, dark retelling of the Grail myth.
One person found this helpful
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Paul Purman
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2008
I picked this book up from the library based on an award it received from the Mythopoeic Society ([...]). It is a well written retelling (apparently) of the Grail/Graal story. (remembering so little of the Grail story, I'm no judge of whether it's faithful to the tradition, but it has an authentic feel to it...and it's inspired me to pick up my copy of Howard Pyle's Grail story again after many years).

The reviewer who gave this story one star confuses a shallow character, on the one hand, with the shallowness that we all carry and are tested to grow out of. Cal is an unappealing character (he is supposed to be) who is severely tested, and he does grow through his callous turning away from the Fisher King, his mother, the character Shadow, and others. He finds that his selfishness is a betrayal of friendship, sonship, and finds a way through despair to hope and victory, with much help.

The reviewer who said this was probably too intense for younger children is correct. There are lengthy passages in which Cal is losing touch with reality, entering into a dark, scary world with no bearings. Yes for teens, no for those younger, would be my assessment.

There is some beautiful use of language in this story. Well worth a read.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Nostalgic to the end
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2017
Verified Purchase
I first bought this book in 2008 my last year of primary school at a book fair, I was far to young to understand what I was reading and never finished it, I kept trying for years and only a few things stuck with me such as the castle, the Fisher king and shadow, always this book has been in the back of my head, a few years ago I remembered the tittle and but not the Author and I searched tirelessly on Google for the author, I found her and my mind got moved on else where until I got a kindle, and I remembered, so almost 10 years later I finally finished the book, this book has many many important lessons, I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone younger than 11, the languages and some themes are bit dark for anyone younger to understand but it is definitely a worth while read.
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Bettina
5.0 out of 5 stars Great gripping story
Reviewed in Germany on January 25, 2017
Verified Purchase
Wonderful story. Mixture of fantasy and grubby realism. Very much recommended. For young and older fans of a good story
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Olivia London
4.0 out of 5 stars Okay
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
Its a boring start and then it starts being better but u get bored after a while...
Too much description
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