Product Description

Enthralling sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen It is the Eve of Gomrath -- the night of the year when the Old Magic is aroused. Had Colin and Susan known this, they would never have lighted a fire on the Beacon, thereby releasing the uncontrollable ferocity of the Wild Hunt. Soon they are inextricably caught up in the struggle between their friend, the Wizard Cadellin, and the evil Morrigan. The strength of their courage will determine whether or not they survive the awaiting ordeal!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13297 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
Critical acclaim from 1963: "It is not only powerful but remarkably sophisticated." The Guardian "Weird and marvellously evocative tale of Celtic mysteries, elves, spirits and strange presences felt, mingled to make high adventure for Colin and Susan -- and peril for Susan. It is a timeless story, full of wonder and magic, terror and beauty. A fine author indeed, and perhaps one of a new generation of classics." Books and Bookmen

About the Author
Alan Garner was born and still lives in Cheshire, an area which has had a profound effect on his writing and provided the seed of many ideas worked out in his books. His fourth book, 'The Owl Service' brought Alan Garner to everyone's attention. It won two important literary prizes -- The Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal -- and was made into a serial by Granada Television. It has established itself as a classic and Alan Garner as a writer of great distinction.

Customer Reviews

Children's fantasy that adults will enjoy
I was sixteen when I first read this book, which turned out to be the sequel to another - the Weirdstone of Brisingamen - which I later read to see what I had missed.

This is the most haunting, lyrical and beautiful of children's novels. The subject matter is deeply influenced by Celtic mythology, but by introducing it into a modern setting the story gains a resonance and power that is often missing from the 'strange tale in a strange land' fantasy commonplace.

One of the best children's novels ever written.

Fantastic!
When I was at school, our art teacher used to read us a chapter of this per lesson - halfway though the book I found I was unable to wait a week for the resolution to a particularly cliff-hanging chapter, and dragged my mother to the shops to buy the book for myself. Even as an adult, this is one of my favourite books. Living within easy reach of Alderley Edge is a bonus. I heartily recommend any of Alan Garner's books to anyone.

The Suns and Moons of Gomrath
'The Moon of Gomrath' is the wild magical sequel to 'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen', set in Alderley Edge in Cheshire of the present day but harking back to the days of Middlearth. Both these stories have a very Tolkienish way about them, it is an interesting exercise to compare and contrast the characters as they are introduced. It is a pity that Garner's books, faring less well than 'The Hobbit', dropped off the literary radar in the 1980's, but with the benefit of Potter power they are now back in style with new artwork on the cover.

Garner's special art is to take a basic swords-and-sorcery story and elevate it into a poetry-and-powers myth with gritty heroes and terrifying villains who hard to defeat and not always easy to spot. This story of Colin and Susan's second adventure is aimed at a slightly older audience than the Weirdstone, has Susan in the lead role, and has more depth and menace along with some sly humour. The Morrigan is back, not yet at the height of her powers, but ready for revenge. The elves are suffering and dying from the pollution caused by Man: they must retreat to cleaner, remoter places. The battles in magic and swordplay are more deadly and more personal and more realistic. The havoc and hard pace of war are felt in the prose, which is breathless and a little wild itself. The wizard Cadellin takes more of a back seat in this adventure but he does explain why the coming of the 'Age of Reason' and industrialism was more of a coming of the age of Materialism and a retreat from Reason. Hence the great rift between our Man's world of material values, and the worlds of magic and the life of the spiritual values.

Now as every parent knows, children's books have the power of forming the child's mind. So with magical adventures being very much back in style now is a good time to get the various authors into some sort of order. So, without going back to the ancient Greeks, where does Alan Garner fit in? We can easily go back a century or so: F. Anstey (Vice Versa), George MacDonald (Princess and Curdie stories), and E. Nesbit (House of Arden, etc), Tolkien (Hobbit, Farmer Giles of Ham), C.S. Lewis (Narnia, the land of youth), Ursula K. LeGuin (Earthsea), and Alan Garner. And, as Rowling's ghost Peeves puts it, 'Wee Potty Potter', brings us up to date.

So there are two main routes to magic. Anstey, MacDonald, Nesbit, Garner, and Rowling write a story that exercises magic in this world, and the two things collide with exciting degrees of chaos and depth. The results are serious or hilarious, or both. Garner manages to interface the two worlds with superior art. But a higher priced ticket will take you to a whole new world. Tolkien, Lewis, and LeGuin create whole worlds of their own and people it with new peoples - a fully magical world. The magic is integrated, truly part of the fabric of that world, not just added to make it fizz. One you are in, you belong there for a while. You return and your own world is now a little more magical. The whole range of literary forms is now possible, even super-possible as we no longer rely on supposed 'realism' to make the effects. They go beyond just making a magical talisman or two (some brilliantly done, others less so), and seeing 'what happens'. They make new countries and skies, new kingdoms and peoples, new languages and rules. Ultimately they are the suns and the others are the moons.