As an apprentice to his physician father, fourteen-year-old Garth Baxtor accompanies him on the healer's annual journey to the mines of Escator. Deep below the earth in the Veins, scores of hardened, criminals work endlessly in darkness and despair, harvesting a precious commodity known as gloam. Garth is gifted with the Touch, an ability to sense sickness and encourage healing. Laying his hands on a prisoner, Garth discovers a horrifying secret that could shake the kingdom of Escator to its foundations.

 

 

This book is part of a book series called H Fantasy .

There are 352 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2006 by St Martin's Press .

Sara Douglass is the author of The Wayfarer Redemption series, the most successful fantasy series in Australian history. Born in South Australia and trained as a nurse before switching careers and taking a Ph. D. in early modern English history, Douglass is a winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel. Set in the same world as the Redemption books, the tale that unfolds in "Beyond the Hanging Wall" was inspired in part by a battle that took place in a mine outside Paris during the Hundred Years' War as well as by Sara Douglass's own excursions into the mines of Bendigo, Australia, where she lives.