Book excerpt: Ash isn’t the biggest giant living in Haven-Home. He’s not even as big as his twin brother, Oak, who’s on the path to taking over from their father as village chief one day. Unlike the warriors in his family, Ash wants to learn incantation: the magic of wood, stone, water and fire. Now that they’re twelve, Ash and Oak must go on a dangerous trek to prove themselves giant warriors, and they must each bring back something with which to defend Haven-Home from the prowling wolves that threaten all who live there. Will Ash’s quest for incantation serve him well on the trek? Or will it bring even greater danger to Haven-Home? A Giant’s Trek is a vividly imagined adventure about courage and following your true path. Nick Stella lives in Sydney, where he works as a public servant. A Giant’s Trek, which started out as a bedtime story for his children, is his first novel.