* THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER *''An enthralling read'' GUARDIAN''A thrilling blend of fantasy and horror, richly imagined and masterfully executed'' SFX''Terrific . . . A book that creeps up on you, wearing brass knuckles'' CONN IGGULDEN_______________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.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 . . .1882. 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
