<b>* THE INSTANT <i>SUNDAY TIMES </i>BESTSELLER *</b><b>''An enthralling read'' </b><i>GUARDIAN</i><b>''A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed'' </b><i>SFX</i><b>''Terrific . . . A book that creeps up on you, wearing brass knuckles''</b> CONN IGGULDEN<b>_______________</b><b>The first in a captivating new historical fantasy series, ORDINARY MONSTERS introduces the Talents with a catastrophic vision of the Victorian world, and the gifted, broken children who must save it.</b><i>There in the shadows was a figure in a cloak, at the bottom of the cobblestone stair, and it turned and stared up at them as still and unmoving as a pillar of darkness, but it had no face, only smoke . . .</i><b>1882.</b> North of Edinburgh, on the edge of an isolated loch, lies an institution of crumbling stone, where a strange doctor collects orphans with unusual abilities. In London, two children with such powers are hunted by a figure of darkness ¿ a man made of smok