The Hound at the Gate

Publisher: Spencer Hill Middle Grade

Autumn: the season of endings. And beginnings.

Especially for one young apprentice.

At the annual Festival of the Hunt, thirteen-year-old apprentice goblin hunter Finn MacCullen and his master, Gideon Lir, join other Tuatha De Danaan to honor their people’s heritage. But Finn soon realizes that there are some who denounce his right to attend due to his half-human bloodline.

While he struggles to keep his place by his master’s side, he finds himself embroiled in a decades-old grudge between Gideon and another Knight, bewildered (and beguiled) by a female apprentice with a temper as explosive as his own, and battling a pack of goblins determined to wipe out the entire camp in a surprise attack.

It’s going to take some fancy knife work, the help of a female Knight with a lethal bow, and one old pick up truck to defeat the goblins and prove to his people that his blood runs true-blue Tuatha De Danaan.

Award-winning author Darby Karchut has long been fascinated by mythology and hero stories from around the world. Drawing from extensive knowledge of world cultures, she blends ancient myths with modern urban life to write stories that relate to young teens today--snark and all. She currently lives in Colorado Springs with her husband, where she teaches at a junior high school. She enjoys running, biking, and skiing the Rocky Mountains in all types of weather, and owns more backpacks than purses.