Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #761916 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 205 pages

Customer Reviews

A fantastic concoction of magic, fantasy, and reality.
"The Chestnut Soldier" is the final book in Jenny Nimmo's underpublicized Snow Spider trilogy. The Chestnut Soldier is the mysterious Evan Llyr who becomes caught up in the powerful and magical struggle between the enraged spirit of a Celtic prince and Gwyn Llewellyn, ancestor of the Great Gwydion Gwyn. This struggle was begun in the Snow Spider and reaches its climax in this book.

However,the character of Evan Llyr blurs the boundaries between good and evil and all is not as clear-cut as it may perhaps have been. On the one hand, Evan has experienced the shock of tragedy - during his childhood and as a major fighting in Ireland. He is an emotionally wounded man with whom you have to sympathise. But he is also increasigly possessed by the destructive and violent demon of a long-imprisoned spirit who attempts revenge through Evan. He is a soldier in various guises: a valiant major in the army, a dashing prince charming, and the Chestnut Soldier desperately seeking revenge and freedom. Gwyn must prevent the monster from creating chaotic disaster, but his conscience does not want to harm the man.

The final moments of this book play out these conflicts to a brilliant degree, and Gwyn's indecision and decisiion is powerful in the extreme. It is a book that challenges assumptions, that challenges our expectations, and that, ultimately, questions the boudaries between good and evil, right and wrong. Its final theme is more adult than you will expect, and the central characters (all children) cope tremendously with the situation fate has led them to. Throughout the novel Gwyn has voiced a wish to grow taller - to grow up. the end of the novel sees that maturity occur, not only in terms of physical height (he grows two inches!), but in terms of his moral and social understanding. Each book in the trilogy has increased one's vision of the way things are, but "The Chestnut Soldier" is the ultimate eye-opener.

And as for the Chestnut Soldier, well, I cannot reveal his fate: that is for you to find out. What I can say is that you cannot help but be entranced by his mysterious background, and his rapid metamorphosis into someone he is not. Evan Llyr is not a character you can easily forget or dismiss. He feels real, in many respects he is real. He is part of a fairy-tale like fantasy shot through with startling reality and it is he, more than any of the characters we come across in any of the books, that represents this combination.

I would recommend this book to any fantasy lover, and particularly to those who love Harry Potter. "The Chestnut Soldier" explores love, passionate obsession, the power of children to intervene in fate, and the ongoing battle between good and evil. It has all the trappings of a wonderful fantasy story, and it does not let its readers down. I loved and adored "The Snow Spider", and I laughed and cried with Nia in "Emlyn's Moon" - "The Chestnut Soldier" had a great deal to live up to. But it succeeds and really is a masterpiece in its own right - the perfect ending to a fine trilogy.

The Chestnut Soldier
This is a really good story bringing in legends and magic from Celtic Wales. If you have already read the Snow Spider and Emlyn's Moon it continues the story but a few years down the line. You don't have to have to have read them it helps a little though for background. Gwyn's magic grows within him- unwanted though it is- he faces his biggest challenge yet!

A totally magic story whom everyone regardless of age will like. It is a different kind of magic from that you see in Harry Potter but just as exciting and real.