The Witch's Boy

A wondrous journey though the realms of magic. They call him Lump. Ugly, misshapen -- more goblin than human child -- abandoned as an infant and taken in by a witch, he is nursed by a bear, tutored by a djinn; his only playmates are the creatures of the forest, whose languages he learns to speak. But when Lump inevitably stumbles into the human world, his innocence is no match for the depths of people's cruelty, which turns Lump's heart to stone, and fuels a vengeance that places him and his witch mother in deadly peril. Yet these disasters also send Lump on a journey of self-discovery to realms deep within the earth and far beyond mortal imagination. In this stunning fantasy debut, Michael Gruber has created a world of cruelty, beauty, legend, truth, and above all, wonder. Michael Gruber is the author of the widely praised literary thriller Tropic of Night. He has a Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of Miami. Virtually all of the jobs he has held have involved writing, usually anonymously. He lives in Seattle and is currently at work on another novel. Denis O'hare, with one Tony Award and another nomination for best featured actor, is a much-admired performer with numerous TV credits, including Law and Order, and many films, such as Garden State and Sweet and Lowdown.