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Tales of Alderley #1
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, they are saved by the Wizard. He takes them into the caves of Fundindelve, where he watches over the enchanted sleep of one hundred and forty knights. But the heart of the magic that binds them - Firefrost, also known as the Weirdstone of Brisingamen - has been lost. The Wizard has been searching for the stone for more than 100 years, but the forces of evil are closing in, determined to possess and destroy its special power. Colin and Susan realise at last that they are the key to the Weirdstone's return. But how can two children defeat the Morrigan and her deadly brood?
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
About the author
Alan Garner
73 books691 followersAlan Garner OBE (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist who is best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. His work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of Cheshire, North West England, being set in the region and making use of the native Cheshire dialect.
Born into a working-class family in Congleton, Cheshire, Garner grew up around the nearby town of Alderley Edge, and spent much of his youth in the wooded area known locally as 'The Edge', where he gained an early interest in the folklore of the region. Studying at Manchester Grammar School and then Oxford University, in 1957 he moved to the nearby village of Blackden, where he bought and renovated an Early Modern building known as Toad Hall. His first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, was published in 1960. A children's fantasy novel set on the Edge, it incorporated elements of local folklore in its plot and characters. Garner completed a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath (1963), but left the third book of the trilogy he had envisioned. Instead he produced a string of further fantasy novels, Elidor (1965), The Owl Service (1967) and Red Shift (1973).
Turning away from fantasy as a genre, Garner produced The Stone Book Quartet (1979), a series of four short novellas detailing a day in the life of four generations of his family. He also published a series of British folk tales which he had rewritten in a series of books entitled Alan Garner's Fairy Tales of Gold (1979), Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales (1984) and A Bag of Moonshine (1986). In his subsequent novels, Strandloper (1996) and Thursbitch (2003), he continued writing tales revolving around Cheshire, although without the fantasy elements which had characterised his earlier work. In 2012, he finally published a third book in the Weirdstone trilogy.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garner
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Born into a working-class family in Congleton, Cheshire, Garner grew up around the nearby town of Alderley Edge, and spent much of his youth in the wooded area known locally as 'The Edge', where he gained an early interest in the folklore of the region. Studying at Manchester Grammar School and then Oxford University, in 1957 he moved to the nearby village of Blackden, where he bought and renovated an Early Modern building known as Toad Hall. His first novel, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, was published in 1960. A children's fantasy novel set on the Edge, it incorporated elements of local folklore in its plot and characters. Garner completed a sequel, The Moon of Gomrath (1963), but left the third book of the trilogy he had envisioned. Instead he produced a string of further fantasy novels, Elidor (1965), The Owl Service (1967) and Red Shift (1973).
Turning away from fantasy as a genre, Garner produced The Stone Book Quartet (1979), a series of four short novellas detailing a day in the life of four generations of his family. He also published a series of British folk tales which he had rewritten in a series of books entitled Alan Garner's Fairy Tales of Gold (1979), Alan Garner's Book of British Fairy Tales (1984) and A Bag of Moonshine (1986). In his subsequent novels, Strandloper (1996) and Thursbitch (2003), he continued writing tales revolving around Cheshire, although without the fantasy elements which had characterised his earlier work. In 2012, he finally published a third book in the Weirdstone trilogy.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Garner
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 656 reviews
April 22, 2020
Classic mg fantasy. The names in this book are outrageous! Gowther. Fenodyree. There's a part where the evil morthbrood calls on Rimthur the giant to summon a fimbulwinter. I loved all that. The language is general was very specific and great.
It was fascinating to get a fantasy story like this that's also so fully grounded in a very particular place in England. Even with dwarves and elves and ladies of the lake and warlocks all on a big chase, it felt totally grounded in the gullies and caves and old mines of the area.
My favorite part was the really intense 30 pages where the two sorta blank kids (with totally average names) have to escape from deep underground. There's a series of serious feats of climbing and horrifying descriptions of bodies barely able to pass through space.
It was fascinating to get a fantasy story like this that's also so fully grounded in a very particular place in England. Even with dwarves and elves and ladies of the lake and warlocks all on a big chase, it felt totally grounded in the gullies and caves and old mines of the area.
My favorite part was the really intense 30 pages where the two sorta blank kids (with totally average names) have to escape from deep underground. There's a series of serious feats of climbing and horrifying descriptions of bodies barely able to pass through space.
March 29, 2012
This is a book of my childhood. I remember the first few chapters of it being read to me during the library sessions at school when I was seven and it was the first fantasy book I ever checked out all by myself (I had to know what happened!).
Unlike a lot of fantasy books for children, I remember being quite genuinely frightened during parts of this which was thrilling. I still re-read this occasionally and each time am transported back to that sense of wonder and adventure I felt when I was a very young girl. A testament to the skill of Alan Garner I think.
Unlike a lot of fantasy books for children, I remember being quite genuinely frightened during parts of this which was thrilling. I still re-read this occasionally and each time am transported back to that sense of wonder and adventure I felt when I was a very young girl. A testament to the skill of Alan Garner I think.
October 9, 2019
Susan possesses a magical jewel - the Weirdstone.
Now Susan and her brother are in danger from the followers of the High Magic.
image:
This story is set in Alderley Edge - a place in which magic and ordinary life mix together.
They are hunted by a shape-shifting witch - the Morrigan and her band of evil creatures.
image:
The Wizard Cadellin needs the Weirdstone to protect the world from evil.
image:
We meet all manner of evil creatures, even ordinary humans can be bad, but when least expected the children are rescued by the good folk; dwarves, foxes, the Lady and their own uncle and aunt.
This story hints at an older world that will be here long after modern man has disappeared.
Enjoy!
Now Susan and her brother are in danger from the followers of the High Magic.
image:
This story is set in Alderley Edge - a place in which magic and ordinary life mix together.
They are hunted by a shape-shifting witch - the Morrigan and her band of evil creatures.
image:
The Wizard Cadellin needs the Weirdstone to protect the world from evil.
image:
We meet all manner of evil creatures, even ordinary humans can be bad, but when least expected the children are rescued by the good folk; dwarves, foxes, the Lady and their own uncle and aunt.
This story hints at an older world that will be here long after modern man has disappeared.
Enjoy!
January 10, 2013
This is one of my treasured classics. I recently re-read it in the 50th anniversary edition. I was nervous about approaching it again, since I haven't read it in years and I was afraid it might not hold up as well to adult eyes. It performed miraculously.
I first read the book when I was, oh, 12? I was home sick and read it cover to cover. I couldn't put it down and was completely swept away. It was the first book I'd ever encountered where magic and myth were still alive in the contemporary world. This genre has since been dubbed "urban fantasy", although there's nothing urban about Alderley Edge, the very real place in which this tale takes place.
Garner's writing is wonderfully concise and yet perfectly ample at the same time. He gives exactly the amount of description the reader needs and no more. This allows the reader to fill in the details on his own. It's actually a relief to read this style of writing these days. I'm rather tired of over-descriptive passages and infinite details about a character's facial features. While it's important to "appeal to the senses," it's also important to get out of the way and "appeal to the imagination" (i.e., let the reader do the work). Garner's story is so well grounded in its place (Alderley Edge) that he doesn't need to constantly describe his character's gestures or features. The dialogue communicates all it needs to for the reader to fill in the facial expressions and physical stances of the speakers.
Excuse me for dwelling on craft there, when the story is the star here, and an excellent, thrilling, wondrous story it is. I won't give spoilers -- just read it. Read it, however, with the soul of a child (or young adult, whichever publishing term you prefer). Don't bring the modernist's deconstructive mentality here, although I suspect it wouldn't long stand against the simple charm of a well-told tale.
I can't wait to re-read its sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, and then the new, final book in what has become a trilogy, Boneland.
I first read the book when I was, oh, 12? I was home sick and read it cover to cover. I couldn't put it down and was completely swept away. It was the first book I'd ever encountered where magic and myth were still alive in the contemporary world. This genre has since been dubbed "urban fantasy", although there's nothing urban about Alderley Edge, the very real place in which this tale takes place.
Garner's writing is wonderfully concise and yet perfectly ample at the same time. He gives exactly the amount of description the reader needs and no more. This allows the reader to fill in the details on his own. It's actually a relief to read this style of writing these days. I'm rather tired of over-descriptive passages and infinite details about a character's facial features. While it's important to "appeal to the senses," it's also important to get out of the way and "appeal to the imagination" (i.e., let the reader do the work). Garner's story is so well grounded in its place (Alderley Edge) that he doesn't need to constantly describe his character's gestures or features. The dialogue communicates all it needs to for the reader to fill in the facial expressions and physical stances of the speakers.
Excuse me for dwelling on craft there, when the story is the star here, and an excellent, thrilling, wondrous story it is. I won't give spoilers -- just read it. Read it, however, with the soul of a child (or young adult, whichever publishing term you prefer). Don't bring the modernist's deconstructive mentality here, although I suspect it wouldn't long stand against the simple charm of a well-told tale.
I can't wait to re-read its sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, and then the new, final book in what has become a trilogy, Boneland.
July 10, 2016
Alan Garner is widely considered one of England’s most beloved children’s authors, so naturally I had to investigate what the fuss was about. The problem with beloved children’s authors is that a lot of people love them because they were raised on them, and if you come onto the scene decades later as an adult, you may fail to see what the appeal is, only to be met with wintry glares from everybody else, trying to enjoy their nostalgia binge.
That’s certainly how I feel about The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Garner’s first novel, and the first part of a trilogy. Cardboard cut-outs Susan and Colin (I just finished the book and still had to check their names) are sent to live in rural Cheshire with friends of their parents, who have gone overseas on business. In the habit of rural London children throughout the annals of fantasy, they soon find themselves embroiled in a magical adventure involving wizards, dwarves, goblins and magic stones.
Obviously this is a children’s book, but I feel capable of judging children’s books based on their own merits (see – The Neverending Story and The Thief of Always), and I feel that The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is deeply flawed however you judge it. It starts off promisingly enough, with a well-realised rural setting and a sense of rustic mystery and adventure, but as soon as the monsters and warlocks get involved it goes off the rails. There are multiple antagonists with no particular characteristics to separate them from each other bar their weird names, and the children are assisted in their quest by a pair of interchangeable, stereotypical dwarves who speak in a grating “prithee” and “well met” and “mine eyes” fantasy argot, which reads as though Garner had just finished The Lord of the Rings. The problem with such hollow characters, of course, is that it’s impossible for the readers to care about the world you’ve created for them or the difficult circumstances you’ve put them in. I was bored by The Weirdstone of Brisingamen halfway through, and doubt I would have been any more interested if I were fifteen years younger.
Interestingly, however, Garner wrote the second book in the trilogy, The Moon of Gomrath, in 1963; but he then became bored with his creations and later disassociated himself from them, saying he had moved on and developed as an author, and had no intention of finishing the trilogy. But eventually he did write a third book after all, Boneland, published in 2012 – a staggering fifty-two years after the original. By all accounts, and as you’d expect, it’s a very different book. I find that fascinating, and despite not enjoying The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, I plan to push on with the trilogy purely out of curiosity to see what Boneland is like.
That’s certainly how I feel about The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, Garner’s first novel, and the first part of a trilogy. Cardboard cut-outs Susan and Colin (I just finished the book and still had to check their names) are sent to live in rural Cheshire with friends of their parents, who have gone overseas on business. In the habit of rural London children throughout the annals of fantasy, they soon find themselves embroiled in a magical adventure involving wizards, dwarves, goblins and magic stones.
Obviously this is a children’s book, but I feel capable of judging children’s books based on their own merits (see – The Neverending Story and The Thief of Always), and I feel that The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is deeply flawed however you judge it. It starts off promisingly enough, with a well-realised rural setting and a sense of rustic mystery and adventure, but as soon as the monsters and warlocks get involved it goes off the rails. There are multiple antagonists with no particular characteristics to separate them from each other bar their weird names, and the children are assisted in their quest by a pair of interchangeable, stereotypical dwarves who speak in a grating “prithee” and “well met” and “mine eyes” fantasy argot, which reads as though Garner had just finished The Lord of the Rings. The problem with such hollow characters, of course, is that it’s impossible for the readers to care about the world you’ve created for them or the difficult circumstances you’ve put them in. I was bored by The Weirdstone of Brisingamen halfway through, and doubt I would have been any more interested if I were fifteen years younger.
Interestingly, however, Garner wrote the second book in the trilogy, The Moon of Gomrath, in 1963; but he then became bored with his creations and later disassociated himself from them, saying he had moved on and developed as an author, and had no intention of finishing the trilogy. But eventually he did write a third book after all, Boneland, published in 2012 – a staggering fifty-two years after the original. By all accounts, and as you’d expect, it’s a very different book. I find that fascinating, and despite not enjoying The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, I plan to push on with the trilogy purely out of curiosity to see what Boneland is like.
August 23, 2022
Wonderfully addictive re-reading to rival Lewis, Tolkien, White et al. The original review below still stands:
I always meant to read ‘The Owl Service’ and never did, so finding it alongside three other classic Garner tales in one slipcase means that I can finally add Mr. G to my long list of brilliant authors for grown up children.
Sense of place, atmosphere and pace are so beautifully and compellingly developed throughout that it’s hard not to devour ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ in one sitting. At sixty years young, an outstanding achievement.
I always meant to read ‘The Owl Service’ and never did, so finding it alongside three other classic Garner tales in one slipcase means that I can finally add Mr. G to my long list of brilliant authors for grown up children.
Sense of place, atmosphere and pace are so beautifully and compellingly developed throughout that it’s hard not to devour ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ in one sitting. At sixty years young, an outstanding achievement.
November 8, 2011
Purportedly written for children but with a strong appeal for adults as well, Alan Garner's first novel, "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen," is a swashbuckling heroic fantasy set in the present day, and one that conflates elements of Welsh, Nordic and English mythology into one very effective brew. Though now deemed a classic of sorts, I probably would never have heard of this work, had it not been for Scottish author Muriel Gray's article about it in the excellent overview volume "Horror: Another 100 Best Books." In her article, Gray describes the book with expressions such as "truly gripping," "beautifully crafted" and "a young person's introduction to horror." And now that I have finally read the book, I can heartily concur.
In the novel, we meet a brother and sister named Colin and Susan (their last name is never given, nor are their ages), who, when we first encounter them, are going to stay with their mother's old nurse and her husband, Bess and Gowther Mossock, while the kids' parents are abroad for six months. The Mossocks' farm in (real-life) Alderley, in Cheshire, seems initially idyllic, but trouble soon looms. As it turns out, the heirloom pendant that Susan wears on her wrist is nothing less than the titular Weirdstone, essential for protecting the sleeping warriors in underground Fundindelve from the depredations of Nastrond, the Spirit of Darkness. Delivering the Weirdstone safely to the good wizard Cadellin Silverbrow, however, aided by Gowther and by two Viking-like dwarves, Fenodyree and Durathror, embroils the two children in the adventure of their young lives.
At this point, you may be wondering why a seemingly adolescent fantasy novel was chosen for inclusion in a listing of some of the best adult horror books, but trust me, those horror elements are present in abundance. Besides featuring witches, warlocks, the svart-alfar (goblins), the mara (a sort of monstrous, 20-foot-high, walking female statue of green stone), the Fenris wolf, giant eyeless dogs, malevolent scarecrow creatures et al., the book also throws in horrors of a more subtle variety. All the birds in the county seem to be in league with the forces of evil, and are used as both aerial spies in the story and as beaked and taloned fighters; indeed, the scene in which Durathror goes up against a swarm of these birds cannot help but bring to mind the famed Hitchcock film of three years later. No one in Garner's book is to be trusted, either; even a neighbor who one has known for decades may turn out to be a warlock or abettor of evil. An aura of real paranoia is thus engendered by the author, similar almost to the one encountered in the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Garner's story also features some extended bravura set pieces, including the children's exploration of sorceress Selina Place's abode, the 50-page sequence in which they explore the underground caverns of Cheshire (a sequence that will most assuredly prove disagreeable to anyone who suffers from claustrophobia), and the lengthy section in which our five heroes flee across a wintry countryside from all the forces of evil ranged against them. Garner writes very well, simply but movingly, although his powers of description regarding geography and terrain can be a bit shaky; young (and old) readers might have to exercise their gift of imagination fully to envision some of these sections (not that there's anything wrong with that!).
Though supposedly a children's book, I wonder how many ADULTS out there will be familiar with such words as "shippon," "withy," "mithered" and "nesh," not to mention the heaps of mythical references and names that Garner casually dishes out! Having said that, I will admit that the book offers some nice words of wisdom to the youngsters, such as when Fenodyree tells the children, "The deed is nothing. It is the thought that breeds fear; and we achieve little by lingering," or when Gowther shows us all the perfect way to apologize: "Ay. I spoke out of turn. You're reet, and I'm wrong. I'm sorry." Another plus for this chilling fantasy novel: the inclusion of a pair of charming maps, drawn by one Charles Green, that greatly aid in visualizing the odyssey that the children and their allies make. Bottom line: "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" should NOT be ignored by adult readers, especially if they happen to be horror buffs. The book was followed by a direct sequel, 1963's "The Moon of Gomrath," and I cannot imagine any reader of the first volume not curious to find out what happens next to Colin and Susan....
In the novel, we meet a brother and sister named Colin and Susan (their last name is never given, nor are their ages), who, when we first encounter them, are going to stay with their mother's old nurse and her husband, Bess and Gowther Mossock, while the kids' parents are abroad for six months. The Mossocks' farm in (real-life) Alderley, in Cheshire, seems initially idyllic, but trouble soon looms. As it turns out, the heirloom pendant that Susan wears on her wrist is nothing less than the titular Weirdstone, essential for protecting the sleeping warriors in underground Fundindelve from the depredations of Nastrond, the Spirit of Darkness. Delivering the Weirdstone safely to the good wizard Cadellin Silverbrow, however, aided by Gowther and by two Viking-like dwarves, Fenodyree and Durathror, embroils the two children in the adventure of their young lives.
At this point, you may be wondering why a seemingly adolescent fantasy novel was chosen for inclusion in a listing of some of the best adult horror books, but trust me, those horror elements are present in abundance. Besides featuring witches, warlocks, the svart-alfar (goblins), the mara (a sort of monstrous, 20-foot-high, walking female statue of green stone), the Fenris wolf, giant eyeless dogs, malevolent scarecrow creatures et al., the book also throws in horrors of a more subtle variety. All the birds in the county seem to be in league with the forces of evil, and are used as both aerial spies in the story and as beaked and taloned fighters; indeed, the scene in which Durathror goes up against a swarm of these birds cannot help but bring to mind the famed Hitchcock film of three years later. No one in Garner's book is to be trusted, either; even a neighbor who one has known for decades may turn out to be a warlock or abettor of evil. An aura of real paranoia is thus engendered by the author, similar almost to the one encountered in the 1956 film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." Garner's story also features some extended bravura set pieces, including the children's exploration of sorceress Selina Place's abode, the 50-page sequence in which they explore the underground caverns of Cheshire (a sequence that will most assuredly prove disagreeable to anyone who suffers from claustrophobia), and the lengthy section in which our five heroes flee across a wintry countryside from all the forces of evil ranged against them. Garner writes very well, simply but movingly, although his powers of description regarding geography and terrain can be a bit shaky; young (and old) readers might have to exercise their gift of imagination fully to envision some of these sections (not that there's anything wrong with that!).
Though supposedly a children's book, I wonder how many ADULTS out there will be familiar with such words as "shippon," "withy," "mithered" and "nesh," not to mention the heaps of mythical references and names that Garner casually dishes out! Having said that, I will admit that the book offers some nice words of wisdom to the youngsters, such as when Fenodyree tells the children, "The deed is nothing. It is the thought that breeds fear; and we achieve little by lingering," or when Gowther shows us all the perfect way to apologize: "Ay. I spoke out of turn. You're reet, and I'm wrong. I'm sorry." Another plus for this chilling fantasy novel: the inclusion of a pair of charming maps, drawn by one Charles Green, that greatly aid in visualizing the odyssey that the children and their allies make. Bottom line: "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" should NOT be ignored by adult readers, especially if they happen to be horror buffs. The book was followed by a direct sequel, 1963's "The Moon of Gomrath," and I cannot imagine any reader of the first volume not curious to find out what happens next to Colin and Susan....
December 26, 2013
Reading this at the end of the sixties, fresh from the enjoyment of The Lord of the Rings, I felt confused and slightly underwhelmed. Despite its nod to Arthurian legend (sleeping king, Wild Hunt, sage wizard) and genuine sense of menace I missed the complexity of Tolkien’s saga, with its multiple locations, characters and interweave of plots. Nor did it share the light touch of The Hobbit despite featuring two youngsters in their early teens. Perhaps the book’s misfortune was to be of its time, partly satisfying a hunger for epic fantasy but appearing, in contrast, as a pale imitation of The Lord of the Rings. Garner, whose first novel this was – he wrote it in his mid-twenties – recognised such weaknesses by first providing a revised edition for Puffin Books and later virtually disavowing it as “a fairly bad book”.
To dismiss it, especially now, would be unfair. For all the similarity of motifs – dwarfs, elves, underground mines, wizard, evil lord, powerful talisman, trolls, a final near-hopeless battle – what strikes me more on this re-reading four decades on are the differences. This is set in a corner of Garner’s native Cheshire, not in a secondary world like Middle Earth; the names and figures draw not on an invented mythology but directly from native traditions and languages, from Welsh, Manx, Irish and Norse folklore and literature (for example Angharad, Fenodyree, Morrigan and Grimnir, respectively); the main protagonists are not adult halflings but two, as it turns out, not-so-ordinary children; and the story is set not in some faraway land many millennia ago but in a here-and-now mid-twentieth century, with trains, waterproof macs, bikes, electric torches and ramblers. Even if the past is never far away, beginning with the milk-white steeds of the legendary but unnamed king…
Colin and Susan go to stay with their mother’s former nanny near Alderley Edge while their parents are abroad – the classic set-up where youngsters have a chance to mature without parental interference. Susan has inherited, via her mother, an heirloom from the nanny’s family, a teardrop crystal that we gather is the weirdstone of the title. There is something special about this stone because strangers, some very sinister, show strong interest in it, drawing the two children into a supernatural world that has little that’s fey about it. The episodes that lingered long in my memory are still in evidence – the claustrophobic journey through the old copper workings under the Edge (I’d recently read Tom Sawyer, with a similar sequence), the chilling female trolls called the Mara, the brief vision of sleeping warriors in their cavern – along with many equally terrifying incidents and arresting images that I’d somehow forgotten.
Susan and Colin’s ages are never here stipulated but they are clearly around thirteen. Their portraits have been criticised as somehow being like cardboard cut-outs, but not only are they easy for young readers to identify with (although Garner claims not to write with a young audience in mind), they’re also resourceful and courageous, especially Susan who — despite the odd scream – is often prepared to take the lead over the twin. I find it fascinating that Garner, despite never being explicit, has gone for twin siblings as his protagonists: twins are notoriously often self-contained, as these two are, requiring just each other as companions; and to outsiders they sometimes lack individuality, as these two can do, barely conforming to male and female stereotypes of activity and passivity. We are given no visual clues as to their appearance so just occasionally they come across as shadowy and interchangeable, like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
This can’t be said for their companions. The genial but bluff Gowther Mossock, husband of Nanny Bess, comes across as a real person, not surprising as Garner acknowledges in the sequel that he’s truly drawn from life, “straight and undiluted”. The two dwarfs — Fenodyree (inexplicably portrayed on George Adamson’s cover as carrying a goblet for his first appearance) and Durathror — are more easily differentiated, one cautious, the other more reckless. Finally, Cadellin, as the legendary wizard and guardian of the sleeping king is here called, does what wizards do, which is to go their mysterious ways while still aiding and abetting the forces for good.
This is an enthralling immersive read, well paced and often un-put-down-able. The set pieces – in the Morrigan’s mansion, in the mines, the cross-country flight, the final conflict with its unexpected revelations – are thrillingly handled. The novel does, however, end rather abruptly; this revised Puffin edition (a new 50th-anniversary edition was issued in 2010 with additional material) appeared in 1963 just as The Moon of Gomrath was published, and so one has to assume that the cataclysmic climax, wrapped up in less than half a page, was deliberate, to anticipate the action continued in the sequel (which, incidentally, had never been originally planned). As we have had to wait half a century for the trilogy to be completed — Boneland was only published in 2012 – we must be thankful that Garner stayed faithful to his creations, and to his readers.
The author’s ancestor Robert Garner was a local stone mason who, we are told elsewhere, is said to have built the stone circle which puts in an appearance in this story and to have also carved the inscription below the stone face at the Wizard’s Well:
DRINK OF THIS | AND TAKE THY FILL |
FOR THE WATER FALLS | BY THE WIZHARDS WILL
Whether literally true or not, it’s in such ways that Garner establishes personal investment in the land, the people and their lore. But it’s also a area which, though I’ve never visited, is full of other resonances, like a cave full of whispered echoes. I’ve wandered through the prehistoric copper mines of Great Orme’s Head in North Wales and so have some understanding of the antiquity and conditions of the Edge’s mines. Further forward in time we encounter what this story calls Llyn Dhu, the Black Lake in Welsh, modern Lindow Moss near Wilmslow, where several bog bodies from around the Iron Age were discovered in the 1980s, probably deposited as ritual sacrifices. And even closer in time, but paradoxically looking further back into time, the area is home to Jodrell Bank observatory with its radio telescope. This confluence of vistas of different eras has all added to the cauldron of ideas from which Garner continues to draw the elements in his tight-knit and individual stories.
http://wp.me/s2oNj1-teardrop
To dismiss it, especially now, would be unfair. For all the similarity of motifs – dwarfs, elves, underground mines, wizard, evil lord, powerful talisman, trolls, a final near-hopeless battle – what strikes me more on this re-reading four decades on are the differences. This is set in a corner of Garner’s native Cheshire, not in a secondary world like Middle Earth; the names and figures draw not on an invented mythology but directly from native traditions and languages, from Welsh, Manx, Irish and Norse folklore and literature (for example Angharad, Fenodyree, Morrigan and Grimnir, respectively); the main protagonists are not adult halflings but two, as it turns out, not-so-ordinary children; and the story is set not in some faraway land many millennia ago but in a here-and-now mid-twentieth century, with trains, waterproof macs, bikes, electric torches and ramblers. Even if the past is never far away, beginning with the milk-white steeds of the legendary but unnamed king…
Colin and Susan go to stay with their mother’s former nanny near Alderley Edge while their parents are abroad – the classic set-up where youngsters have a chance to mature without parental interference. Susan has inherited, via her mother, an heirloom from the nanny’s family, a teardrop crystal that we gather is the weirdstone of the title. There is something special about this stone because strangers, some very sinister, show strong interest in it, drawing the two children into a supernatural world that has little that’s fey about it. The episodes that lingered long in my memory are still in evidence – the claustrophobic journey through the old copper workings under the Edge (I’d recently read Tom Sawyer, with a similar sequence), the chilling female trolls called the Mara, the brief vision of sleeping warriors in their cavern – along with many equally terrifying incidents and arresting images that I’d somehow forgotten.
Susan and Colin’s ages are never here stipulated but they are clearly around thirteen. Their portraits have been criticised as somehow being like cardboard cut-outs, but not only are they easy for young readers to identify with (although Garner claims not to write with a young audience in mind), they’re also resourceful and courageous, especially Susan who — despite the odd scream – is often prepared to take the lead over the twin. I find it fascinating that Garner, despite never being explicit, has gone for twin siblings as his protagonists: twins are notoriously often self-contained, as these two are, requiring just each other as companions; and to outsiders they sometimes lack individuality, as these two can do, barely conforming to male and female stereotypes of activity and passivity. We are given no visual clues as to their appearance so just occasionally they come across as shadowy and interchangeable, like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.
This can’t be said for their companions. The genial but bluff Gowther Mossock, husband of Nanny Bess, comes across as a real person, not surprising as Garner acknowledges in the sequel that he’s truly drawn from life, “straight and undiluted”. The two dwarfs — Fenodyree (inexplicably portrayed on George Adamson’s cover as carrying a goblet for his first appearance) and Durathror — are more easily differentiated, one cautious, the other more reckless. Finally, Cadellin, as the legendary wizard and guardian of the sleeping king is here called, does what wizards do, which is to go their mysterious ways while still aiding and abetting the forces for good.
This is an enthralling immersive read, well paced and often un-put-down-able. The set pieces – in the Morrigan’s mansion, in the mines, the cross-country flight, the final conflict with its unexpected revelations – are thrillingly handled. The novel does, however, end rather abruptly; this revised Puffin edition (a new 50th-anniversary edition was issued in 2010 with additional material) appeared in 1963 just as The Moon of Gomrath was published, and so one has to assume that the cataclysmic climax, wrapped up in less than half a page, was deliberate, to anticipate the action continued in the sequel (which, incidentally, had never been originally planned). As we have had to wait half a century for the trilogy to be completed — Boneland was only published in 2012 – we must be thankful that Garner stayed faithful to his creations, and to his readers.
The author’s ancestor Robert Garner was a local stone mason who, we are told elsewhere, is said to have built the stone circle which puts in an appearance in this story and to have also carved the inscription below the stone face at the Wizard’s Well:
DRINK OF THIS | AND TAKE THY FILL |
FOR THE WATER FALLS | BY THE WIZHARDS WILL
Whether literally true or not, it’s in such ways that Garner establishes personal investment in the land, the people and their lore. But it’s also a area which, though I’ve never visited, is full of other resonances, like a cave full of whispered echoes. I’ve wandered through the prehistoric copper mines of Great Orme’s Head in North Wales and so have some understanding of the antiquity and conditions of the Edge’s mines. Further forward in time we encounter what this story calls Llyn Dhu, the Black Lake in Welsh, modern Lindow Moss near Wilmslow, where several bog bodies from around the Iron Age were discovered in the 1980s, probably deposited as ritual sacrifices. And even closer in time, but paradoxically looking further back into time, the area is home to Jodrell Bank observatory with its radio telescope. This confluence of vistas of different eras has all added to the cauldron of ideas from which Garner continues to draw the elements in his tight-knit and individual stories.
http://wp.me/s2oNj1-teardrop
October 12, 2013
Whenever I’m asked to name my favourite children’s author, the answer has to be Alan Garner. I’ve recently reread all his children’s books, and read some of his adult books for the first time, but of all of them my favourite remains the first book of his I read as a child, the Weirdstone of Brisingamen.
In the introduction to the fiftieth anniversary edition of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, published in 2010, Philip Pullman said of Garner that:
‘Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien, and in many respects better than Tolkien, because deeper and more truthful...’
I couldn’t agree more.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was his first book, and according to both Garner himself, and literary critics, not his best one: his prose style, dialogue and characterisation all improved markedly in later books. However, its combination of narrative power, a deep, numinous sense of place – the book is set in Alderley Edge in Cheshire, home of Garner’s family for centuries – and its use of northern European folkloric and mythological sources, made an extraordinarily powerful impression on me when I first read the book, aged seven, one that has stayed with me ever since. I reread the book every few years, and will continue to do so into my dotage, in all likelihood.
The story, which leads up to a climax involving an epic battle between the supernatural forces of good and evil, is centred around two children, brother and sister Colin and Susan, who are staying with family friends in a farmhouse near to Alderley Edge whilst their parents are away abroad (children’s adventure books always work so much better when the parents are safely out of the picture and unable to interfere, don’t they?).
The story is a kind of quest, but in reverse, because the children are seeking not to find something, but to return it to its rightful owner: the ‘Weirdstone’ of the title,an ancient teardrop-shaped jewel which contains the powerful white magic necessary to assist in the final defeat of the evil spirit Nastrond. The Weirdstone has been lost for over a century, but rightly belongs with Cadellin the wizard, who guards the force of sleeping warriors buried under Alderley Edge in the dwarf caves of Fundinelve. We soon find out that Susan unknowingly has the Weirdstone in her possession, incorporated into a bracelet, passed down through her family, and the ‘reverse quest’ is the children’s journey to return the Weirdstone to Cadellin, in the face of vicious opposition from the forces of evil, most frighteningly embodied in the witches of the morthbrood, led by the truly terrifying shape-shifter Selina Place.
This fictional journey takes place across - and under - the very real landscape of Cheshire, incorporating well known landmarks such as Alderley Edge itself, a sandstone escarpment, The Wizard’s Well,Clulow Cross etc. , and other landscape features such as abandoned mines and quarries. The mythic element is eclectic: here, as in many of his later books, Garner draws on elements of various mythological traditions of northern Europe that have left their traces in the British Isles - Old Norse, Celtic and Old English - and combines them in a way that is particularly resonant, and peculiarly his own.
This is a book which can be enjoyed by children of seven and above, and could be read to the class or read independently. It could also be used for cross-curricular purposes: for Geography, given the interesting landscape of its real location, and for History, given its mythic elements drawing on the cultures of various previous inhabitants of the British Isles in earlier historical eras - Celts, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons.
In the introduction to the fiftieth anniversary edition of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, published in 2010, Philip Pullman said of Garner that:
‘Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien, and in many respects better than Tolkien, because deeper and more truthful...’
I couldn’t agree more.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was his first book, and according to both Garner himself, and literary critics, not his best one: his prose style, dialogue and characterisation all improved markedly in later books. However, its combination of narrative power, a deep, numinous sense of place – the book is set in Alderley Edge in Cheshire, home of Garner’s family for centuries – and its use of northern European folkloric and mythological sources, made an extraordinarily powerful impression on me when I first read the book, aged seven, one that has stayed with me ever since. I reread the book every few years, and will continue to do so into my dotage, in all likelihood.
The story, which leads up to a climax involving an epic battle between the supernatural forces of good and evil, is centred around two children, brother and sister Colin and Susan, who are staying with family friends in a farmhouse near to Alderley Edge whilst their parents are away abroad (children’s adventure books always work so much better when the parents are safely out of the picture and unable to interfere, don’t they?).
The story is a kind of quest, but in reverse, because the children are seeking not to find something, but to return it to its rightful owner: the ‘Weirdstone’ of the title,an ancient teardrop-shaped jewel which contains the powerful white magic necessary to assist in the final defeat of the evil spirit Nastrond. The Weirdstone has been lost for over a century, but rightly belongs with Cadellin the wizard, who guards the force of sleeping warriors buried under Alderley Edge in the dwarf caves of Fundinelve. We soon find out that Susan unknowingly has the Weirdstone in her possession, incorporated into a bracelet, passed down through her family, and the ‘reverse quest’ is the children’s journey to return the Weirdstone to Cadellin, in the face of vicious opposition from the forces of evil, most frighteningly embodied in the witches of the morthbrood, led by the truly terrifying shape-shifter Selina Place.
This fictional journey takes place across - and under - the very real landscape of Cheshire, incorporating well known landmarks such as Alderley Edge itself, a sandstone escarpment, The Wizard’s Well,Clulow Cross etc. , and other landscape features such as abandoned mines and quarries. The mythic element is eclectic: here, as in many of his later books, Garner draws on elements of various mythological traditions of northern Europe that have left their traces in the British Isles - Old Norse, Celtic and Old English - and combines them in a way that is particularly resonant, and peculiarly his own.
This is a book which can be enjoyed by children of seven and above, and could be read to the class or read independently. It could also be used for cross-curricular purposes: for Geography, given the interesting landscape of its real location, and for History, given its mythic elements drawing on the cultures of various previous inhabitants of the British Isles in earlier historical eras - Celts, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons.
March 19, 2016
Although a little difficult to follow at times, this is nonetheless an great example of an adventure story whose pace and excitement beats many that are to be found in bookstores today. Alan is famed for stating that he thinks this, his first novel, of poor quality but I still think it stands head and shoulders above much literature for children out there. I can see his criticism when compared to Red Shift or The Owl Service yet I still have a great love for this book mainly because of Garner's incredible grasp of language and his love of folk-lore (Cheshire folklore to be precise).
The Alderley Edge stories were brought to Alan Garner's attention by his own grandfather and I too remember stumbling across the story of the sleeping king when I read Folklore, myths and legends of Britain as a child. My father owned a copy from Readers' Digest and I was both haunted and gripped by the stories inside. One of which was the very story which sits rooted at the centre of Garner's story.
Weirdstone is a chase, search, find and escape story similar, I suppose in its broadest sense, to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings but of a far quicker pace. Drawn into a world hidden beyond mortal man, Susan and Colin must return a magical stone, stolen from an ancestor, back to its original place or risk unleashing a great darkness upon the land.
What I think deserves celebrating in this book is not just the quality of the narrative in which, in pockets, we start to see Garner find his sharp, painfully precise choice of language which makes every sentence a joy to read but also how beautifully he evokes the Cheshire landscape. Considering I have never been, I could each knoll and cross, beaten hedgerow and moss-ridden path and these images reminded me so much of my own home in Conwy.
It would be considered a challenging text to share with children these days and yet, undoubtedly, the children would finish the book with a far better understanding of what great language can sound like (I think it's a great read-aloud text); how to evoke a real sense of place; how to pace a story and, perhaps most significantly, how to show readers that often what is not said is far more powerful than that which is.
The Alderley Edge stories were brought to Alan Garner's attention by his own grandfather and I too remember stumbling across the story of the sleeping king when I read Folklore, myths and legends of Britain as a child. My father owned a copy from Readers' Digest and I was both haunted and gripped by the stories inside. One of which was the very story which sits rooted at the centre of Garner's story.
Weirdstone is a chase, search, find and escape story similar, I suppose in its broadest sense, to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings but of a far quicker pace. Drawn into a world hidden beyond mortal man, Susan and Colin must return a magical stone, stolen from an ancestor, back to its original place or risk unleashing a great darkness upon the land.
What I think deserves celebrating in this book is not just the quality of the narrative in which, in pockets, we start to see Garner find his sharp, painfully precise choice of language which makes every sentence a joy to read but also how beautifully he evokes the Cheshire landscape. Considering I have never been, I could each knoll and cross, beaten hedgerow and moss-ridden path and these images reminded me so much of my own home in Conwy.
It would be considered a challenging text to share with children these days and yet, undoubtedly, the children would finish the book with a far better understanding of what great language can sound like (I think it's a great read-aloud text); how to evoke a real sense of place; how to pace a story and, perhaps most significantly, how to show readers that often what is not said is far more powerful than that which is.
March 3, 2022
Alan Garner is an author from my school days. I didn't remember this story, I am more familiar with 'The Owl Service.' I enjoyed narration by Philip Madoc who was a Welsh actor, well-known by Doctor Who fans, and has a lovely deep resonant voice. Some of the writing is quite lovely, however I found the story a bit difficult to get into and not as accessible as some other mythical tales.
August 4, 2015
Reviewed for the Blast from the Past feature on my blog - Books by Proxy
5 Stars
I remember my mum sitting on the edge of my bed, my hands clutching at the covers, as she told me the tale of Colin and Susan and their adventures with goblins and demon dogs, with warlocks, witches and wizards, and the forces for good and evil. I remember my heart beating faster, my eyes widening in anticipation, as the heroes started out on an adventure which was equal parts exciting, enthralling and terrifying. I was walking hand in hand with Colin and Susan to Alderley Edge; I was following them deeper underground, with the earth closing up around me and the forces of darkness at my heels. I was part of their adventure. For me, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen really did inspire a love of fantasy fiction which has lasted a lifetime.
Garner's first tale of Alderley is rooted in folklore and local mythology, and is ultimately about the battle between the powers of good and evil. The book follows the story of two children, Colin and Susan, a brother and sister who are deposited by unwitting parents at a family friend's house near Alderley Edge. Unknowingly, Susan has in her possession the Weirdstone - a magical jewel incorporated into a bracelet, and passed down to Susan as a family heirloom. This jewel holds the only magic which can defeat the evil spirit Nastrond.
When evil stirs, Colin and Susan must embark on a quest to return the Weirdstone to the wizard Cadellin, who guards an army of sleeping warriors in the dwarven caves of Fundindelve. Through tunnels and caves, forests and mountain; the children must outrun the creatures of evil who pursue them and keep the Weirdstone from falling into enemy hands. Their very lives depend on it.
As a child, living not far from Alderley, we made frequent visits to the Edge. I spent my childhood playing in the woods and standing on the sandstone ridge, staring out onto the plains and peaks beyond. We would become witches and sorcerers at the Wizard's Well and hunt for fairies in the Druid's Circle. We even made trips down the old mines which riddled the area - dark tunnels breaking out into huge, earthy caves; the red sandstone glittering with coppery green. Alderley Edge was a place of magic and adventure, and there is nothing quite like discovering that your fantasy world is real. That every bird you see above you is an enemy spy, and that deep underground, under the very earth you stand on, dwarven caves and mines host an army of sleeping warriors. This wasn't fiction - It was reality.
A few years later I was sat in a classroom, legs crossed on the floor with thirty other children, as my teacher told us the tale of the Weirdstone and how two young siblings, much like us, embarked on a journey to return it to where it belonged. After countless readings, I was delighted to find myself back in a world which, to me, epitomised adventure. I have gone back to Alan Garner's world of Alderley time and time again, and will in all likelihood continue to do so. I love The Weirdstone of Brisingamen as much now as I did then. And perhaps there's still something in me that sees the furtive looks between birds, and hears the rumblings from underground, and truly believes that the world of fantasy is closer than we think.
5 Stars
I remember my mum sitting on the edge of my bed, my hands clutching at the covers, as she told me the tale of Colin and Susan and their adventures with goblins and demon dogs, with warlocks, witches and wizards, and the forces for good and evil. I remember my heart beating faster, my eyes widening in anticipation, as the heroes started out on an adventure which was equal parts exciting, enthralling and terrifying. I was walking hand in hand with Colin and Susan to Alderley Edge; I was following them deeper underground, with the earth closing up around me and the forces of darkness at my heels. I was part of their adventure. For me, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen really did inspire a love of fantasy fiction which has lasted a lifetime.
Garner's first tale of Alderley is rooted in folklore and local mythology, and is ultimately about the battle between the powers of good and evil. The book follows the story of two children, Colin and Susan, a brother and sister who are deposited by unwitting parents at a family friend's house near Alderley Edge. Unknowingly, Susan has in her possession the Weirdstone - a magical jewel incorporated into a bracelet, and passed down to Susan as a family heirloom. This jewel holds the only magic which can defeat the evil spirit Nastrond.
When evil stirs, Colin and Susan must embark on a quest to return the Weirdstone to the wizard Cadellin, who guards an army of sleeping warriors in the dwarven caves of Fundindelve. Through tunnels and caves, forests and mountain; the children must outrun the creatures of evil who pursue them and keep the Weirdstone from falling into enemy hands. Their very lives depend on it.
As a child, living not far from Alderley, we made frequent visits to the Edge. I spent my childhood playing in the woods and standing on the sandstone ridge, staring out onto the plains and peaks beyond. We would become witches and sorcerers at the Wizard's Well and hunt for fairies in the Druid's Circle. We even made trips down the old mines which riddled the area - dark tunnels breaking out into huge, earthy caves; the red sandstone glittering with coppery green. Alderley Edge was a place of magic and adventure, and there is nothing quite like discovering that your fantasy world is real. That every bird you see above you is an enemy spy, and that deep underground, under the very earth you stand on, dwarven caves and mines host an army of sleeping warriors. This wasn't fiction - It was reality.
A few years later I was sat in a classroom, legs crossed on the floor with thirty other children, as my teacher told us the tale of the Weirdstone and how two young siblings, much like us, embarked on a journey to return it to where it belonged. After countless readings, I was delighted to find myself back in a world which, to me, epitomised adventure. I have gone back to Alan Garner's world of Alderley time and time again, and will in all likelihood continue to do so. I love The Weirdstone of Brisingamen as much now as I did then. And perhaps there's still something in me that sees the furtive looks between birds, and hears the rumblings from underground, and truly believes that the world of fantasy is closer than we think.
January 23, 2013
An odd, simple children's book that meanders somewhere quite impressive.
There are a lot of things I'd love to know about this world, especially how the magical bits fit into the everyday bits - at one stage they're on their epic journey from the farmhouse to the hill, hiding from evil enemies in the skies and the dark, and they hear cars driving past on a normal road. What do these people think? Have any of them seen the weird things going on around them? Why doesn't Alan Garner tell me these things?
It's sort of bifold in nature, with the first part and the second having little to do with each other in terms of action. It's almost like two short adventures with the same set of characters. The first adventure is superior in narrative tension - as Susan and Colin get more and more lost in the caves beneath the Edge, pursued by svarts and wizards and witches and who knows what, tension builds with each page. When the dwarves appear to lead them to safety, we are momentarily relieved, until this journey proves to be much harder than being lead by the rescuers into the daylight. We follow them through smaller and smaller spaces, with more and more rock pressing down on them from above, until we reach a denouement of claustrophobic proportions, four small people inching through a nine-inch-high tunnel that hairpin-bends and twists until you, the reader, are biting your nails for their safety. When they reached their Room 101 at the end of that tunnel, I nearly had a heart attack. Not what one expects from what is essentially a children's story.
After that, the rest was almost a letdown.
There are a lot of things I'd love to know about this world, especially how the magical bits fit into the everyday bits - at one stage they're on their epic journey from the farmhouse to the hill, hiding from evil enemies in the skies and the dark, and they hear cars driving past on a normal road. What do these people think? Have any of them seen the weird things going on around them? Why doesn't Alan Garner tell me these things?
It's sort of bifold in nature, with the first part and the second having little to do with each other in terms of action. It's almost like two short adventures with the same set of characters. The first adventure is superior in narrative tension - as Susan and Colin get more and more lost in the caves beneath the Edge, pursued by svarts and wizards and witches and who knows what, tension builds with each page. When the dwarves appear to lead them to safety, we are momentarily relieved, until this journey proves to be much harder than being lead by the rescuers into the daylight. We follow them through smaller and smaller spaces, with more and more rock pressing down on them from above, until we reach a denouement of claustrophobic proportions, four small people inching through a nine-inch-high tunnel that hairpin-bends and twists until you, the reader, are biting your nails for their safety. When they reached their Room 101 at the end of that tunnel, I nearly had a heart attack. Not what one expects from what is essentially a children's story.
After that, the rest was almost a letdown.
October 7, 2019
1.5 stars
The thing with books like this one is that many people who adore it read it when they were children. So, when you read it as an adult, you're inevitably late to the party, and your opinion isn't clouded by childhood nostalgia.
This book... just wasn't very good. I found the writing very clunky for the first 40 pages or so. The story is a far cry from original, being a rip-off of the hobbit/lotr with a tiny bit of the King Arthur myth mixed in. Say what you will about LOTR; at least Tolkien has spent an insane amount of time fleshing out his world and characters. This cannot be said of this book. I also found an undercurrent of misogyny, which I didn't care for. The characters are cardboard cut-outs; if you were to ask me to describe what Susan or Colin are like, I could tell you very little.
Disappointing.
The thing with books like this one is that many people who adore it read it when they were children. So, when you read it as an adult, you're inevitably late to the party, and your opinion isn't clouded by childhood nostalgia.
This book... just wasn't very good. I found the writing very clunky for the first 40 pages or so. The story is a far cry from original, being a rip-off of the hobbit/lotr with a tiny bit of the King Arthur myth mixed in. Say what you will about LOTR; at least Tolkien has spent an insane amount of time fleshing out his world and characters. This cannot be said of this book. I also found an undercurrent of misogyny, which I didn't care for. The characters are cardboard cut-outs; if you were to ask me to describe what Susan or Colin are like, I could tell you very little.
Disappointing.
Read
August 1, 2019I read this book.
August 2, 2019
I read this one to my 8 year old son (as of 2019). He's a big fan of Harry Potter and we actually live near Alderley Edge so i thought this would be an interesting read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was originality, some tense moments and some wonderful poetic language. That said there were bits I took issue with. Before I get stuck into the main review: The obligatory plug. I also write fantasy. My main series is called 'The Deathsworn Arc' and is generally enjoyed by 80% of readers. You read the first book, prequel novella to the main series for free. It's called Lady Death and it's about a somewhat sociopathic elf and her final task as a legendary assassin.
So! onto the review! What was 'The Weird Stone of Brisingamen' about? Well, in some respects it has all the hallmarks of a classic kids fantasy story. Children protagonists, a kindly wizard an evil antagonist and a setting ripe for exploration and adventure.
What sets this book apart in some respects is that it's written with a real place as a backdrop. Alderley Edge isn't far from where I like and I often drive through it on the way to Manchester. I even ate in the 'Wizard' pub recently. The attention to detail and nod to local landmarks blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. It makes the story more real. It also helps you visualize the setting, as you're actually quite familiar with it. This is a common thing for Alan Garner He wrote a story called 'Red Mist' and I saw the film of it. That was set in the village where I actually live but the story took place in several different times in history.
One thing I can't really understand is why Alan Garner isn't a more recognized author. He has great ideas, interesting characters, poetic language. There's just something about his work that doesn't allow it to reach the commercial heights and recognition in popular culture that Rowling and her Potter series did.
The story mainly follows two children, Colin and Susan who are staying with their relative - a farmer called Gowther in Alderley Edge. However, strange things are afoot in Alderley Edge.
In arthurian folklore an often told tale is how after the last battle against Mordred, Arthur and his knights were taken to a cave by Merlin to sleep until they were needed again. In this story, the cave isn't in Wales where it's usually suggested to be, but Alderley Edge and the wizard isn't Merlin, but Cadellin. They call this hidden, magical cave 'Fundindelve'. The cave is filled with sleeping knights and a hoard of treasure. Of course, as in most magical cave full of treasure tropes, there is one SPECIAL treasure, which is more important than the rest. That treasure is the titular 'Weirdstone of Brisingamen' also known as 'Frost Fire'. Cadelin the wizard was supposed to be guarding this treasure for centuries, however when someone stumbled into Fundindelve, it was stolen and he lost it. The stone ended up in Susan's family and thanks to an unfortunate series of events the dark lord of this story manages to take possession of it. Susan and Colin manage to steal the stone back, and are helped to navigate a warren of treacherous tunnels by two friendly dwarves, Durathor and erm? Fenidiree! Their passage beneath the earth is incredibly tense. Reading that part reminds me of going caving years ago, but caving on steroids. They teeter across planks over bottomless pits, slide on their backs along flooded tunnels, so they can keep their nose and mouth out of the water and breath, they clamber down steep cliffs and squeeze through tiny tunnels, so narrow the only way they can make progress is by pushing with their toes and dragging themselves forward with their fingertips. It's a hellish journey and a more realistic description of travelling through tunnels and abandoned mines than you usually get. It's certainly no 'Moria'.
Throughout the story, the children and the dwarves are pursued by goblin-like creatures called Svarts and human servants of the Dark Lord called the Morthbrood. There is points at which Gowther, the children and the dwarves need to journey overland to meet Cadelin. However, they have no idea who they can trust. Hikers on the road could be serving the Dark Lord, as could inhabitants of the houses they pass.
They do find help along the way, in form of light-elves and the lady of the lake, but this book is harrowing encounter after harrowing encounter. There are genuinely tense moments.
Now I'm probably painting a fantastic picture of this book - and rightly so. But in which case why not 5 stars?
I'll be honest, I found the ending something of a let down. It might just be me, but it seemed anti-climatic and the book almost ended too abruptly. In a typical hero's journey story arc there's a spell after the last battle where we learn about the impact of the events of the book, but we don't get that here. The whole book was great, inventive, poetic, tense, exciting... But then I read the ending I was left, somehow... Unsatisfied? I don't know if this was the author's intention, Alan Garner seeming to be one who has a different perspective than most authors, but I feel like I'd have enjoyed it just that little bit more if there'd been something more similar to a traditional final chapter. All in all though, it's a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.
Martyn Stanley
So! onto the review! What was 'The Weird Stone of Brisingamen' about? Well, in some respects it has all the hallmarks of a classic kids fantasy story. Children protagonists, a kindly wizard an evil antagonist and a setting ripe for exploration and adventure.
What sets this book apart in some respects is that it's written with a real place as a backdrop. Alderley Edge isn't far from where I like and I often drive through it on the way to Manchester. I even ate in the 'Wizard' pub recently. The attention to detail and nod to local landmarks blurs the lines between reality and fantasy. It makes the story more real. It also helps you visualize the setting, as you're actually quite familiar with it. This is a common thing for Alan Garner He wrote a story called 'Red Mist' and I saw the film of it. That was set in the village where I actually live but the story took place in several different times in history.
One thing I can't really understand is why Alan Garner isn't a more recognized author. He has great ideas, interesting characters, poetic language. There's just something about his work that doesn't allow it to reach the commercial heights and recognition in popular culture that Rowling and her Potter series did.
The story mainly follows two children, Colin and Susan who are staying with their relative - a farmer called Gowther in Alderley Edge. However, strange things are afoot in Alderley Edge.
In arthurian folklore an often told tale is how after the last battle against Mordred, Arthur and his knights were taken to a cave by Merlin to sleep until they were needed again. In this story, the cave isn't in Wales where it's usually suggested to be, but Alderley Edge and the wizard isn't Merlin, but Cadellin. They call this hidden, magical cave 'Fundindelve'. The cave is filled with sleeping knights and a hoard of treasure. Of course, as in most magical cave full of treasure tropes, there is one SPECIAL treasure, which is more important than the rest. That treasure is the titular 'Weirdstone of Brisingamen' also known as 'Frost Fire'. Cadelin the wizard was supposed to be guarding this treasure for centuries, however when someone stumbled into Fundindelve, it was stolen and he lost it. The stone ended up in Susan's family and thanks to an unfortunate series of events the dark lord of this story manages to take possession of it. Susan and Colin manage to steal the stone back, and are helped to navigate a warren of treacherous tunnels by two friendly dwarves, Durathor and erm? Fenidiree! Their passage beneath the earth is incredibly tense. Reading that part reminds me of going caving years ago, but caving on steroids. They teeter across planks over bottomless pits, slide on their backs along flooded tunnels, so they can keep their nose and mouth out of the water and breath, they clamber down steep cliffs and squeeze through tiny tunnels, so narrow the only way they can make progress is by pushing with their toes and dragging themselves forward with their fingertips. It's a hellish journey and a more realistic description of travelling through tunnels and abandoned mines than you usually get. It's certainly no 'Moria'.
Throughout the story, the children and the dwarves are pursued by goblin-like creatures called Svarts and human servants of the Dark Lord called the Morthbrood. There is points at which Gowther, the children and the dwarves need to journey overland to meet Cadelin. However, they have no idea who they can trust. Hikers on the road could be serving the Dark Lord, as could inhabitants of the houses they pass.
They do find help along the way, in form of light-elves and the lady of the lake, but this book is harrowing encounter after harrowing encounter. There are genuinely tense moments.
Now I'm probably painting a fantastic picture of this book - and rightly so. But in which case why not 5 stars?
I'll be honest, I found the ending something of a let down. It might just be me, but it seemed anti-climatic and the book almost ended too abruptly. In a typical hero's journey story arc there's a spell after the last battle where we learn about the impact of the events of the book, but we don't get that here. The whole book was great, inventive, poetic, tense, exciting... But then I read the ending I was left, somehow... Unsatisfied? I don't know if this was the author's intention, Alan Garner seeming to be one who has a different perspective than most authors, but I feel like I'd have enjoyed it just that little bit more if there'd been something more similar to a traditional final chapter. All in all though, it's a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.
Martyn Stanley
August 12, 2009
I remember reading some of Alan Garner's books when I was much younger. I found them creepy as hell then, and he certainly does know what kinds of images to evoke to have that feeling of danger and creepiness. There's a lot of claustrophobia in this book -- tunnels and water-filled passages and being packed in tight. There are parts of the description that are just brilliant.
The mythology aspects are pretty cool, too. The references to Ragnarok, etc. I don't know whether it's that whole 'younger readers can accept the unnatural much better than adults' thing that people mentioned when reading Diana Wynne Jones, though, but I found it hard to follow and it all piled in on top of everything else in a haphazard, difficult to process manner. Didn't help that I read parts of it when everyone was around talking, and parts in a cafe, but I think part of it was the writing.
Overall it's pretty fun, but the characters aren't terribly well developed. I know it's a trope of fantasy for younger readers that the kids get to tag along, and be equal to adults, etc, etc -- I love The Dark is Rising, which is almost as guilty of it -- but it makes me shriek, the way the adults easily accept the kids being dragged into it, and the way the kids seem to just... deal with it. Realism, you can not has it.
I'm going to read the sequel, since I have it, but I can't say I exactly recommend it. It doesn't come together very well for me, for all that bits of it are brilliant/cool/fun.
The mythology aspects are pretty cool, too. The references to Ragnarok, etc. I don't know whether it's that whole 'younger readers can accept the unnatural much better than adults' thing that people mentioned when reading Diana Wynne Jones, though, but I found it hard to follow and it all piled in on top of everything else in a haphazard, difficult to process manner. Didn't help that I read parts of it when everyone was around talking, and parts in a cafe, but I think part of it was the writing.
Overall it's pretty fun, but the characters aren't terribly well developed. I know it's a trope of fantasy for younger readers that the kids get to tag along, and be equal to adults, etc, etc -- I love The Dark is Rising, which is almost as guilty of it -- but it makes me shriek, the way the adults easily accept the kids being dragged into it, and the way the kids seem to just... deal with it. Realism, you can not has it.
I'm going to read the sequel, since I have it, but I can't say I exactly recommend it. It doesn't come together very well for me, for all that bits of it are brilliant/cool/fun.
May 29, 2021
Enjoyed the start, as I used to work at Jodrell Bank so know the area pretty well! But it's all so very predictable. Heirloom passed down through generations turns out to be magical artifact? Check. Wet and personality-free children essential to facing down evil and fulfilling ancient prophecy? Check. Heroic dwarven sidekicks? Check. Annoying written regional accents? Check. Evil-but-never-explained-why baddies with unpronounceable Norse-ish and Welsh-ish names? Check.
As for the actual content, 90% of it seemed to be running away from said baddies, mostly on foot and in inclement weather. After the 100th close escape using powers of hiding or running / being saved by a magical artefact and/or ancient magical buddy... it gets a little wearing. Ending also made no particular sense. Why did they need to be there, at that time, when it turned out that being about two miles away was just fine? Why didn't Cadellin pick up a payphone and let them know where to meet? Eh, I think my suspension of disbelief fell over about halfway through the mine, and after that I was just a tad bored...
As for the actual content, 90% of it seemed to be running away from said baddies, mostly on foot and in inclement weather. After the 100th close escape using powers of hiding or running / being saved by a magical artefact and/or ancient magical buddy... it gets a little wearing. Ending also made no particular sense. Why did they need to be there, at that time, when it turned out that being about two miles away was just fine? Why didn't Cadellin pick up a payphone and let them know where to meet? Eh, I think my suspension of disbelief fell over about halfway through the mine, and after that I was just a tad bored...
February 24, 2023
Update: Re-read February 2023 for book club.
I originally read this about 3 years ago and I had forgotten two main things about this book. First, what an exciting adventure story this is! I felt claustrophobic as Susan and Colin went through the underground caverns. And my stomach tightened with terror as they walked a narrow ledge across a deep chasm. Secondly, I had forgotten that this was the first book in a trilogy and this book leaves you without a definite ending to the story. This was a great example of a fantasy/mythic/horror young adult novel and I really need to read the remaining 2 books to find out what happens to Susan and Colin.
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The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was written in 1960, so I am surprised that I missed it as a child. I can only guess that my library did not have a great deal of British fantasy available. It’s impossible to read this book and not think of LOTR. Instead of a ring, there is a bracelet with the Weirdstone and there are wizards, dwarves and elves. Also, an exciting journey to return the Weirdstone to the wizard. There is a bit of Norse mythology and Arthurian legend. I didn’t realize this was a part of a trilogy, but most of the plotlines end in this first book. The only thing I didn’t like was all the strange names (Fenodyree, Earldeving, Fimbulwinter, Durathor). Still, I enjoyed it enough to want to search out more Alan Garner books.
I originally read this about 3 years ago and I had forgotten two main things about this book. First, what an exciting adventure story this is! I felt claustrophobic as Susan and Colin went through the underground caverns. And my stomach tightened with terror as they walked a narrow ledge across a deep chasm. Secondly, I had forgotten that this was the first book in a trilogy and this book leaves you without a definite ending to the story. This was a great example of a fantasy/mythic/horror young adult novel and I really need to read the remaining 2 books to find out what happens to Susan and Colin.
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The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was written in 1960, so I am surprised that I missed it as a child. I can only guess that my library did not have a great deal of British fantasy available. It’s impossible to read this book and not think of LOTR. Instead of a ring, there is a bracelet with the Weirdstone and there are wizards, dwarves and elves. Also, an exciting journey to return the Weirdstone to the wizard. There is a bit of Norse mythology and Arthurian legend. I didn’t realize this was a part of a trilogy, but most of the plotlines end in this first book. The only thing I didn’t like was all the strange names (Fenodyree, Earldeving, Fimbulwinter, Durathor). Still, I enjoyed it enough to want to search out more Alan Garner books.
April 8, 2018
When I first read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, I found it horribly disappointing after all the hype. Even back then, I noted that the beginning was promising and that there are some wonderfully evocative scenes of claustrophobia and fear… but the mythology, and particularly the mash-up of different mythologies without apparent meaning — someone called Grimnir appears, but he’s the twin of a wizard and did not really strike me as being intended to evoke Odin, for example �� bothered me.
I have to say that I’m pretty much of the same opinion now. There are some really great elements, but they don’t come together for me because they’re such a mash-up — and there’s no reason given for the mash-up, as in a story like Gaiman’s American Gods. I didn’t really get a sense of great history to some of the mythology, even though the names given are ancient. Worse, I found the last third of the book almost incoherent in its scrambling from plot point to plot point. Why is this happening? What? I don’t follow…
Maybe as a child I’d have accepted it more easily, with fewer preconceptions and less pre-existing knowledge about some of the mythology used. Alan Garner’s books always gave me the willies as a kid, though, so I didn’t read it back then.
Originally posted at The Bibliophibian.
I have to say that I’m pretty much of the same opinion now. There are some really great elements, but they don’t come together for me because they’re such a mash-up — and there’s no reason given for the mash-up, as in a story like Gaiman’s American Gods. I didn’t really get a sense of great history to some of the mythology, even though the names given are ancient. Worse, I found the last third of the book almost incoherent in its scrambling from plot point to plot point. Why is this happening? What? I don’t follow…
Maybe as a child I’d have accepted it more easily, with fewer preconceptions and less pre-existing knowledge about some of the mythology used. Alan Garner’s books always gave me the willies as a kid, though, so I didn’t read it back then.
Originally posted at The Bibliophibian.
June 8, 2022
This is definitely one of those books where the cover is the big draw... and it's an actual scene in the book! (Love it when that happens).
I suspect I would have been pretty bored with this book at another time, but I haven't read any straight fantasy for a bit, so it was ok. Two parts Narnia, One part Middle Earth, and One part Norse Mythology.. a fair amount of the book is the two main characters, Susan and Colin trapesing about the English countryside (sometimes with their otherworldly protectors, sometimes not) on a quest to protect a gem from the bad guys, who what to use it to start Ragnarok... though in some points of the book Ragnarok sounds more like the place where evil things live.. it's a bit odd.
Overall, a fun little adventure book if you're in the mood for a quest.
I suspect I would have been pretty bored with this book at another time, but I haven't read any straight fantasy for a bit, so it was ok. Two parts Narnia, One part Middle Earth, and One part Norse Mythology.. a fair amount of the book is the two main characters, Susan and Colin trapesing about the English countryside (sometimes with their otherworldly protectors, sometimes not) on a quest to protect a gem from the bad guys, who what to use it to start Ragnarok... though in some points of the book Ragnarok sounds more like the place where evil things live.. it's a bit odd.
Overall, a fun little adventure book if you're in the mood for a quest.
October 9, 2009
I remember enjoying this book (I read it years ago) I only gave it a 3 (instead of 4) because most of it has slipped my mind. Good vs. evil. Magic stone in the hands of a young girl...desperate struggle...magic white horse...etc. I remember liking it but not much more stuck with me. Thus good book...gave it 3 stars.
February 12, 2013
Alan Garner's exciting--and somewhat dark--tale of a magical threat to the world blends magical and real worlds in a manner reminiscent of Narnia. However, unlike Lewis's books, where the characters travel distinctly between the worlds, in Garner's novel the worlds interact continually and the boundaries are indistinct.
Set in Cheshire (England), The Weirdstone of Brisingamen tells of Colin and Susan, brother and sister, who stumble into the magical world that exists under and around the everyday world they know. Susan wears a curious stone on a bracelet inherited from her mother, and the local corps of witches, wizards and evil beings recognize it as a magical artifact essential to a plan to protect the world from the forces evil (them). They are as determined to get it as the far weaker forces of good are to protect it, and the children, and their powers are twisted and terrifying. Garner paints them vividly enough to frighten those prone to nightmares.
Through the early chapters, the children stumble in and out of mysteries and dangers with no understanding of what they have (the stone) or what is at stake. Gradually, they learn the truth, and the action shifts more and more to the magical world, where they are repeatedly attacked and pursued by the evil beings. Or rather, the magical beings more and more take over what we thought was the everyday, magicless world. By the second section of the book, the children have gained a pretty good idea what is at stake, and set out to put things right. They have courage enough, but still lack understanding and the skills they need to survive the adventure. At the point when all seems lost, they pick up a couple of dwarfish protectors and magic has firmly taken over Cheshire.
In an unusual move for juvenile fiction of this nature, Gowther, the older farmer who is the children's guardian, not only comes to a quick understanding of the issues and acceptance of the magic world, but accompanies the children and the dwarves on their wildly exciting escape. Gowther proves invaluable to the escape and a stalwart fighter in the battles they have along the way. Garner manages to do something I think is very difficult in this kind of story, which is to allow children to be autonomous agents who face situations with courage, and also to allow them to interact somewhat realistically with adults. It seems like in most such stories, the adults in the lives of the child heroes are an obstruction at best. Here, while the adults wish to protect Colin and Susan, they also recognize that they have an important role to play, and allow them to take the necessary risks to play it (I only regret that Bess, the mother-figure, is packed off and not part of the party). You might say that is the lesson of the book for all us parents who read it: trust the kids but be prepared to fight alongside them when necessary.
Garner does not do anywhere near the world-building that, for example, Tolkien does. He doesn't need to. His story takes place in our world--and yet not. As a result we feel very much as Colin and Susan must--disturbed by a growing sense of danger, and frightened by vague or unimaginable threats and a growing sense that things are not what we have always assumed them to be. We also learn as they do, in bits and pieces, of the world that exists in and around them, and which they might have gone through their lives never knowing existed (as most of their neighbors do, apart from the ones who are in fact evil witches and warlocks). I kept expecting them to make that one, definitive "through the wardrobe" move that would take them out of our world until the adventure ended. The fact that, instead, the other world invades ours, is part of what makes the stakes so high and kept me from putting the book down.
Now, I have to admit that despite leaping fairly quickly into adventures and great dangers, the story did not initially grab me. Looking back at the opening chapters, I frankly can't see what my problem was (perhaps that it faced too much competition from the half dozen other books I was reading?). Certainly by the time I reached the midpoint, the book had acquired "don't put me down" status, and I read the last hundred and a quarter pages more or less in one sitting (leaving all the other books to sit around whining that it was their turn).
The writing is smooth, editing is professional (as one would expect), and the book does not read particularly as a "children's book," even while it is clearly accessible to at least the more advanced middle grade readers. A pair of maps at the beginning help set the scene and make a good reference as our heroes were being chased about the countryside. Looked at in one way, it could be said that Brisingamen is stereotypical (though I would argue that there are elements that I have seldom seen elsewhere), but it is well to remember that in 1960 there was very little yet written in the fantasy genre, and Alan Garner was one of the writers who developed the genre. More than 50 years and thousands of fantasies later, the story continues to pull us in and carry us ever-faster to the all-too-sudden ending. That seems worth 5 stars.
Set in Cheshire (England), The Weirdstone of Brisingamen tells of Colin and Susan, brother and sister, who stumble into the magical world that exists under and around the everyday world they know. Susan wears a curious stone on a bracelet inherited from her mother, and the local corps of witches, wizards and evil beings recognize it as a magical artifact essential to a plan to protect the world from the forces evil (them). They are as determined to get it as the far weaker forces of good are to protect it, and the children, and their powers are twisted and terrifying. Garner paints them vividly enough to frighten those prone to nightmares.
Through the early chapters, the children stumble in and out of mysteries and dangers with no understanding of what they have (the stone) or what is at stake. Gradually, they learn the truth, and the action shifts more and more to the magical world, where they are repeatedly attacked and pursued by the evil beings. Or rather, the magical beings more and more take over what we thought was the everyday, magicless world. By the second section of the book, the children have gained a pretty good idea what is at stake, and set out to put things right. They have courage enough, but still lack understanding and the skills they need to survive the adventure. At the point when all seems lost, they pick up a couple of dwarfish protectors and magic has firmly taken over Cheshire.
In an unusual move for juvenile fiction of this nature, Gowther, the older farmer who is the children's guardian, not only comes to a quick understanding of the issues and acceptance of the magic world, but accompanies the children and the dwarves on their wildly exciting escape. Gowther proves invaluable to the escape and a stalwart fighter in the battles they have along the way. Garner manages to do something I think is very difficult in this kind of story, which is to allow children to be autonomous agents who face situations with courage, and also to allow them to interact somewhat realistically with adults. It seems like in most such stories, the adults in the lives of the child heroes are an obstruction at best. Here, while the adults wish to protect Colin and Susan, they also recognize that they have an important role to play, and allow them to take the necessary risks to play it (I only regret that Bess, the mother-figure, is packed off and not part of the party). You might say that is the lesson of the book for all us parents who read it: trust the kids but be prepared to fight alongside them when necessary.
Garner does not do anywhere near the world-building that, for example, Tolkien does. He doesn't need to. His story takes place in our world--and yet not. As a result we feel very much as Colin and Susan must--disturbed by a growing sense of danger, and frightened by vague or unimaginable threats and a growing sense that things are not what we have always assumed them to be. We also learn as they do, in bits and pieces, of the world that exists in and around them, and which they might have gone through their lives never knowing existed (as most of their neighbors do, apart from the ones who are in fact evil witches and warlocks). I kept expecting them to make that one, definitive "through the wardrobe" move that would take them out of our world until the adventure ended. The fact that, instead, the other world invades ours, is part of what makes the stakes so high and kept me from putting the book down.
Now, I have to admit that despite leaping fairly quickly into adventures and great dangers, the story did not initially grab me. Looking back at the opening chapters, I frankly can't see what my problem was (perhaps that it faced too much competition from the half dozen other books I was reading?). Certainly by the time I reached the midpoint, the book had acquired "don't put me down" status, and I read the last hundred and a quarter pages more or less in one sitting (leaving all the other books to sit around whining that it was their turn).
The writing is smooth, editing is professional (as one would expect), and the book does not read particularly as a "children's book," even while it is clearly accessible to at least the more advanced middle grade readers. A pair of maps at the beginning help set the scene and make a good reference as our heroes were being chased about the countryside. Looked at in one way, it could be said that Brisingamen is stereotypical (though I would argue that there are elements that I have seldom seen elsewhere), but it is well to remember that in 1960 there was very little yet written in the fantasy genre, and Alan Garner was one of the writers who developed the genre. More than 50 years and thousands of fantasies later, the story continues to pull us in and carry us ever-faster to the all-too-sudden ending. That seems worth 5 stars.
August 30, 2018
Alan Garner’s brilliantly titled 1960 fantasy takes North European tropes familiar from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and spins them into a very English children’s fantasy. Two children, a brother and sister called Colin and Susan, are sent to stay with relatives of their mother’s when she must join their father abroad for six months.
Even for 1960, this expectation feels harsh, and adults throughout the story are not to be trusted. A local businessman turns out to be an evil warlock (and an inefficient one at that), while a woman who lives in one of the local manors is a shape-shifting witch.
There is a subtle comment on class in these depictions, much of it tied to environment. The elves, for example, have been driven from the land not by orcs but by toxic industry of the kind the warlock businessman is presumably engaged in. Even kindly farmer Gowther and his wife, Bess, who are the relatives Colin and Susan stay with, are unable to defend the children when they are caught up in a power grab orchestrated by lower-level entities like the terrifying wizard Grimnir against their master, the evil Nastrond.
The titular weirdstone is key to these machinations. In another example of adult ineffectiveness, the stone has been left with Susan by her mother, who has no idea of its power and relevance. Colin and Susan are left to stumble into a trap laid by a race of devious goblins called the svart-afar (the novel is full of inventive, resonant names like this) and only just manage to escape. The children are then pursued across a beautifully etched, but often threatening Cheshire landscape in a series of journeys that do not let up in intensity.
Fortunately, Colin and Susan have other helpers: the wizard Cadellin and two dwarves. Cadellin has guarded a sleeping army beneath the hill of Alderley in preparation for the final stand against Nastrond; an image that emphasises the timeless quality of the land and the mythical nature of the characters.
Indeed, a significant part of appeal of this novel is its detailed local geography. It is still evergreen all these years after it was written, as if the book is itself a mythical being. However, the scale is local rather than epic; when the bewildered but decent and resourceful Gowther joins the children and the dwarves, it is his knowledge of life in Macclesfield as much as any supernatural resource that guides them back to Cadellin.
The children themselves are no helpless victims either, with Susan as brave and resourceful as her older brother. There are some powerful sequences in the book, particularly a claustrophobic pursuit through a network of flooded potholes, that has the reader needing to pause for breath. Later fantasy stories for children, such as the Harry Potter series, further explored the resourcefulness engendered by abandonment via bravura sequences of dizzyingly inventive fantasy; ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ was there first.
Even for 1960, this expectation feels harsh, and adults throughout the story are not to be trusted. A local businessman turns out to be an evil warlock (and an inefficient one at that), while a woman who lives in one of the local manors is a shape-shifting witch.
There is a subtle comment on class in these depictions, much of it tied to environment. The elves, for example, have been driven from the land not by orcs but by toxic industry of the kind the warlock businessman is presumably engaged in. Even kindly farmer Gowther and his wife, Bess, who are the relatives Colin and Susan stay with, are unable to defend the children when they are caught up in a power grab orchestrated by lower-level entities like the terrifying wizard Grimnir against their master, the evil Nastrond.
The titular weirdstone is key to these machinations. In another example of adult ineffectiveness, the stone has been left with Susan by her mother, who has no idea of its power and relevance. Colin and Susan are left to stumble into a trap laid by a race of devious goblins called the svart-afar (the novel is full of inventive, resonant names like this) and only just manage to escape. The children are then pursued across a beautifully etched, but often threatening Cheshire landscape in a series of journeys that do not let up in intensity.
Fortunately, Colin and Susan have other helpers: the wizard Cadellin and two dwarves. Cadellin has guarded a sleeping army beneath the hill of Alderley in preparation for the final stand against Nastrond; an image that emphasises the timeless quality of the land and the mythical nature of the characters.
Indeed, a significant part of appeal of this novel is its detailed local geography. It is still evergreen all these years after it was written, as if the book is itself a mythical being. However, the scale is local rather than epic; when the bewildered but decent and resourceful Gowther joins the children and the dwarves, it is his knowledge of life in Macclesfield as much as any supernatural resource that guides them back to Cadellin.
The children themselves are no helpless victims either, with Susan as brave and resourceful as her older brother. There are some powerful sequences in the book, particularly a claustrophobic pursuit through a network of flooded potholes, that has the reader needing to pause for breath. Later fantasy stories for children, such as the Harry Potter series, further explored the resourcefulness engendered by abandonment via bravura sequences of dizzyingly inventive fantasy; ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen’ was there first.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2014
I haven't read this in a long, long time, but it was very much a favourite of mine, and I think I'm beginning to really appreciate why. Actually, it's almost shocking: I was not prepared for how Tolkeiny it is. You have dwarves, you have elves (unseen), you have orcish monsters and trolls, a piece of jewelry as plot-token and a wise old wizard in a beard and robes; there are woods and mines and lakes and aid from a mysterious lady of great beauty and power. In other words, tons of Northern European legends and folklore driving an adventure narrative; but instead of Lord Of The Ring's epic sprawl - or even The Hobbits long wayward quest, we get an astonishingly tight, short, fast paced tale that seems to deliver it all in a concentrated dose.
Garner has expressed a certain dislike for the books, particularly the main characters and, sadly, it's easy to see why. Colin and Susan are standard English children's book children. Most of the time they fail to differ appreciably from anyone from, say, the Famous Five or Secret Seven, only rarely showing flashes of personality, usually in brief bits of dialogue. They certainly pale in comparison to the dwarves and even Cadellin (though Cadellin proves that Ian McKellan has firmly set his stamp on the cultural image of the bearded wise wizard with both his appearance and voice), who are at least built upon sturdy heroic archetypes and through their dialogues, voices, language and cadences, Garner brings them to mythic life. Difficult enough for virtual blank slates like Colin and Susan to flourish in such company, but they also have to contend with the incomparable Gowther Mossock, in whom Garner's gift for voice and dialect show themselves in all their glory, but also his concerns with people in landscapes and embedded in the history of that landscape. Colin and Susan didn't have a chance.
The book is also notable for what may well be one of the most terrifying sequences in children's literature: the Earldelving. Nothing magical or supernatural, either; just our, ahem, fellowship squirming their way through a system of pitch-black tunnels that makes the reader squirm with horror.
Garner has expressed a certain dislike for the books, particularly the main characters and, sadly, it's easy to see why. Colin and Susan are standard English children's book children. Most of the time they fail to differ appreciably from anyone from, say, the Famous Five or Secret Seven, only rarely showing flashes of personality, usually in brief bits of dialogue. They certainly pale in comparison to the dwarves and even Cadellin (though Cadellin proves that Ian McKellan has firmly set his stamp on the cultural image of the bearded wise wizard with both his appearance and voice), who are at least built upon sturdy heroic archetypes and through their dialogues, voices, language and cadences, Garner brings them to mythic life. Difficult enough for virtual blank slates like Colin and Susan to flourish in such company, but they also have to contend with the incomparable Gowther Mossock, in whom Garner's gift for voice and dialect show themselves in all their glory, but also his concerns with people in landscapes and embedded in the history of that landscape. Colin and Susan didn't have a chance.
The book is also notable for what may well be one of the most terrifying sequences in children's literature: the Earldelving. Nothing magical or supernatural, either; just our, ahem, fellowship squirming their way through a system of pitch-black tunnels that makes the reader squirm with horror.
August 8, 2019
3,5/5
I quite liked this novel. I think I was reading an article about Underland: A Deep Time Journey wherein a geologist was describing his love for the underground coming in part from a scene in this book. The description and its memorability for the writer inspired me to pursue it and I was not disappointed.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was a fun children's fantasy novel about two siblings (a brother and a sister) who spend the summer in the country. Here, they learn about local mythology and have an adventure based on it and an inherited heirloom.
This book has all of the classical fantasy elements (elves, witches, evil warlocks, dwarves, and some unknown fantastical types) and is based heavily in the lore that Garner was told as a young boy. I think that I would have loved this book even more as a child than I did now.
The low-ish rating is based off of the feeling that I had around a certain scene dragging on for way too long, and that the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking. When my friends have older children, I will probably purchase this for their reading pleasure.
I quite liked this novel. I think I was reading an article about Underland: A Deep Time Journey wherein a geologist was describing his love for the underground coming in part from a scene in this book. The description and its memorability for the writer inspired me to pursue it and I was not disappointed.
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was a fun children's fantasy novel about two siblings (a brother and a sister) who spend the summer in the country. Here, they learn about local mythology and have an adventure based on it and an inherited heirloom.
This book has all of the classical fantasy elements (elves, witches, evil warlocks, dwarves, and some unknown fantastical types) and is based heavily in the lore that Garner was told as a young boy. I think that I would have loved this book even more as a child than I did now.
The low-ish rating is based off of the feeling that I had around a certain scene dragging on for way too long, and that the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking. When my friends have older children, I will probably purchase this for their reading pleasure.
July 17, 2017
I first came across Alan Garner’s debut novel, not as a book, but as a serial on the Home Service (the forerunner of BBC Radio 4) in 1963 and it had such an effect on me that even now, more than fifty years later, I still feel the urge to hide if I see a flock of crows flying in my direction – and on the one occasion I travelled to Alderly Edge for a meeting, I could hardly concentrate on the proceedings inside for staring out of the window at the scenery and noisy bird life.
In a retelling of the old legend of a sleeping army awaiting a call to save the country from danger, two children, Colin and Susan face evil witches, flying spies (see crows, above!) and sinister localised fog, as they try to prevent the eponymous jewel falling into the wrong hands.
This is the first part of a trilogy which took Garner more than fifty years to complete. It is considered as a children’s book, although not written as such. I read it as an adult and return to it periodically. This is a wonderful book for all lovers of Tolkien and C S Lewis. If you haven’t discovered this trilogy before, you are in for a treat.
In a retelling of the old legend of a sleeping army awaiting a call to save the country from danger, two children, Colin and Susan face evil witches, flying spies (see crows, above!) and sinister localised fog, as they try to prevent the eponymous jewel falling into the wrong hands.
This is the first part of a trilogy which took Garner more than fifty years to complete. It is considered as a children’s book, although not written as such. I read it as an adult and return to it periodically. This is a wonderful book for all lovers of Tolkien and C S Lewis. If you haven’t discovered this trilogy before, you are in for a treat.
June 8, 2017
Probably my favourite audiobook. Philip Madoc's voice is PERFECT, as is the accompanying music. Along with the story, this audiobook is PERFECTION. In fact, I used to go to sleep listening to it. I well and truly love it.
This time around I listened to this with my kids. Unfortunately, they didn't love it like I do. My 10 year old son said he didn't really understand it, so he gave it 3 stars. My 16 year old son also gave it 3 stars. But I'm the one that counts (damnit), so I'm keeping it at 5. Hmph.
This time around I listened to this with my kids. Unfortunately, they didn't love it like I do. My 10 year old son said he didn't really understand it, so he gave it 3 stars. My 16 year old son also gave it 3 stars. But I'm the one that counts (damnit), so I'm keeping it at 5. Hmph.
August 4, 2012
This book was written as a sort of answer to LORD OF THE RINGS, and my! It is thrilling. A wonderful book for people who need more high fantasy after working through Tolkien The only flaw with it is that the third volume is only this year (2012) coming out!
December 11, 2018
A million years ago and it was awesome!
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