Lionboy
Lionboy is a children's and young adult's fantasy trilogy written by Zizou Corder (the shared pen-name of English novelist Louisa Young and her daughter Isabel Adomakoh Young). The series. The book series is about a young boy named Charlie Ashanti who can speak the language of cats, after accidentally swapping blood with a leopard cub. Charlie is on the run on a floating circus, with six lions in tow, aiming to return them to the wild of Morocco and to rescue his parents who have been kidnapped by a sinister corporation known as the Corporacy. The  first book is known simply as "Lionboy". The sequel, "Lionboy: The Chase", continues the story of Charlie and the lions, with most of the story set in Venice. It was published by Puffin in the summer of 2004. The final instalment of the trilogy, "Lionboy: The Truth", concludes the story and was published in January 2006. Setting. The series is set at an unspecified time in the Earth's future. The world in the books mostly resembles the modern day world, with a few key differences. These differences are hinted at rather than explained outright. Firstly, most of the world 's oil has been used up, and petrol cars are now only used by the very rich, elite and powerful. Aeroplanes are not flown at all – sea travel is once again the dominant form of overseas travel. The world (at least, the parts seen in Charlie's journey) now seems to run efficiently on solar and wind power. The major world superpower in the series is known only as the Empire, and the text contains hints that this is actually the United States. Europe seems to be under this Empire's control. The world has been changed by global warming  and other environmental influences; the most notable example is the ruin of Venice, which is now half sunken under rising waters, and otherwise decayed from pollution. The Corporacy, a pharmaceutical megacorporation, is a major economic power that has "Gated Communities" all over the world. Plot summaries. Lionboy. Charlie is a young child who is able to speak to cats (and all felines) due to an incident involving a leopard cub's blood when he was a baby. He lives in London with his parents, Dr. Aneba Ashanti and Professor Magdalen Start, both of whom are scientists working on a cure  for asthma and other allergies caused by contact with the family Felidae, or referred in the books as allergies. His parents, as a result of their scientific discoveries, are kidnapped by a pharmaceutical company known mysteriously as the Corporacy. Charlie, closely avoiding being kidnapped himself, sets out to find them and ends up on board Circe, a circus ship making its way to Paris. On board he befriends most of the circus performers as well as (using the ability) a pride of beautiful performing lions who seek the boy's help to escape their cruel trainer, Maccomo. Meanwhile, the vicious  criminal Rafi Sadler, who is employed by the Corporacy, is hot on his heels, going to any lengths to get his hands on Charlie. The circus ship arrives in Paris and Charlie escapes with the lions. They make their way to Gare d'Austerlitz where they hide on the Orient Express which is destined for Venice, the place Charlie's parents are rumored to have been taken. While traversing from the Circe to the train station, Charlie and the lions meet a strange and mysterious lion-like creature. Larger, stronger and older but not as lively as the lions, a prehistoric  ancestor of lions, a Smilodon fatalis finds his way into their party. The book ends with Charlie and the lions being discovered by the train's most regal passenger, the King of Bulgaria, who surprisingly offers to help Charlie with his quest. Lionboy: The Chase. Charlie and the lions reach Venice and seek refuge at the Palazzo Bulgaria, the King himself travelling onwards and leaving the runaways in the trust of his right-hand man Edward. Edward however has other plans for the lions than letting them journey onwards. He keeps them along with Charlie prisoner and plans to present  him to the corrupt ruler of Venice, the Doge. However this plan is foiled with the help of local cats and a conspiracy of gondoliers. Venice is liberated from the Doge's rule, and so Charlie journeys from Venice by boat, taking the lions back to their home in Essaouira, Morocco but leaving the Smilodon fatalis with a trusted gondolier in Venice. Narrowly escaping drowning, they arrive there and are met by a few surprises: Maccomo, the cruel lion trainer, who is looking for revenge on Charlie for stealing his lions; and his parents, who have escaped the clutches of  the Corporacy and have come to find him. Lionboy: The Truth. After only a few blissful days reunited with his parents, Charlie is captured by the revenge-seeking Maccomo, who puts him on a ship and takes him (along with Rafi) to the Corporacy headquarters on the island of San Antonio near Haiti. His parents are in hot pursuit, and following them is his parents, Claudio, King Boris, the Young Lion and Elsina. Charlie, due to his cat blood, is immune to the tainted, brainwashing air of the island, and with the help of a multilingual chameleon named Ninu, and  the cat Sergei, he single-handedly puts a stop to the Corporacy's deeds and rescues the brainwashed employees and prisoners of the island. Other works by the same author. Zizou Corder's other publications are: Louisa Young's other publications are: Multimedia. The music printed in the book and available to purchase from Faber was written by composer Robert Lockhart. The illustrations are by Fred van Deelen. Theatre company Complicite created a stage show touring the UK 29 May – 21 July 2013.