Shadow Creatures (32 page)

So – here we are. Calum, Natalie, Gecko and Tara have changed and developed a little (Rhino not so much) and the plot has thickened in interestingly unpredictable ways. And we have two new
potential characters to think about – Evan Chan and Tom Karavla. How will they change the relationships within the group of friends? Will they be there in the next book? Will there even
be
a next book? Only time will tell.

I’m off now to work on the next Young Sherlock Holmes book, and some other projects that I have been thinking about. Hopefully I’ll be able to talk to you again in a few
months’ time. I’m looking forward to it already.

Andrew Lane

I
would like to express my thanks, as ever, to a trio of remarkable people: my agent, Robert Kirby; my editor, Polly Nolan; and my
publicist, Sally Oliphant (now departed for foreign places that, hopefully,
don’t
have cryptids anywhere in the vicinity). I would also like to thank Octavia Karavla, of the wonderful
Octavia’s Books in Cirencester, for allowing me to use her name. There are lots of lovely Croatians, and she is one of them. Two of the three Croatians in this book are
not
so nice.
Thanks also to Linda Wilson and Liz Watson, for reading and criticizing an early draft of the book, and thanks to the gentlemen I will call ‘Mark’ and ‘Duncan’ for, between
them, providing the inspiration for the character of Rhino Gillis.

A
ndrew Lane is the author of the bestselling Young Sherlock Holmes books. These have been published around the world and are available in
thirty-seven different languages. Not only is he a lifelong fan of Arthur Conan Doyle’s great detective, he is also an expert on the books and is the only children’s writer endorsed by
the Sherlock Holmes Conan Doyle estate.
Lost Worlds
is inspired by another famous Conan Doyle novel,
The Lost World.
Andrew’s main character, Calum Challenger, is the grandson
of Conan Doyle’s protagonist, Professor George Edward Challenger.

Andrew writes other things too, including adult thrillers (under a pseudonym), TV adaptations (including
Doctor Who
) and non-fiction books (about things as wide-ranging
as James Bond and Wallace & Gromit). He lives in Dorset with his wife and son and a vast collection of Sherlock Holmes books, the first of which he found in a jumble sale over forty years
ago.

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, CALUM’S LIFE CHANGED. IN THE CLICK OF A MOUSE, IT WILL CHANGE AGAIN . . .

Partially paralysed in the crash that killed his parents, teenager Calum Challenger lives alone, searching the net for proof that ‘extinct’
creatures exist. He believes that, if they do, their DNA could cure him.

When something that looks like a yeti is spotted in the Georgian mountains, Calum springs into action – but so does a corporation called Nemor. Calum
wants to harvest the creature’s DNA and then protect it. Nemor wants to harvest its DNA and then kill it.

From his high-tech apartment, Calum uses cutting-edge technology to direct a group of misfit friends on a deadly chase in the harshest of environments. As
danger mounts, fear starts to spread: can the team really trust the boy on whom they are dependent for survival? And how can they save a creature already on the brink of extinction?

Books by Andrew Lane

The Lost Worlds series

Lost Worlds

Lost Worlds: Shadow Creatures

www.thelostworlds.co.uk

The Young Sherlock Holmes series

Death Cloud

Red Leech

Black Ice

Fire Storm

Snake Bite

Knife Edge

Stone Cold

www.youngsherlock.com

First published 2014 by Macmillan Children’s Books

This electronic edition published 2014 by Macmillan Children’s Books
a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Basingstoke and Oxford
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-2804-2

Copyright © Andrew Lane 2014

Cover illustration by Sam Hadley

The right of Andrew Lane to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital,
optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be
liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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