12-year-old Dany lives with his father, the scholarly Rob Judah, and his
silent mother Rachel in the Stoon ghetto on the outskirts of Gottika.
Under the ruthless Count Pol, the Stoon community are subject to
military raids, prejudicial laws and restrictions on their culture and
freedom. When Pol marries Dany's cousin Dalil, stoking further tension
between Gottikans and Stoons, life gets harder still. Urged on by Dany,
Rob Judah finally runs out of patience. Something must be done.
One night, Rob Judah breaks curfew and goes down to the river. Dany
follows and secretly watches as his father invokes illegal Stoon magic
to raise a creature, in human form, from the mud. The Gol comes to live
with the family and becomes the invincible protector of the Stoons. He
foils plots, prevents violence against them, and starts to bring hope
and happiness back to Dany's family. But then Rob Judah is framed for a
brutal murder and thrown in Pol's dungeon. Now it is Dany's time to
act.
With the help of Moishe, Dalil and a wolf-dog hybrid named Khan, Dany
sets out to save his father and defeat Pol once and for all. Along the
way, he uncovers shocking family secrets, learns where Pol's vicious
hatred of the Stoons comes from and is gifted with an understanding of
the sacred mysteries of life itself.
Compelling, clever and full of twists and turns, Gottika reimagines
the powerful Golem legend as a futuristic fantasy with a universal
message.
