The Moon of Gomrath - Review

Author: Alan Garner
ISBN: 9626344709/9789626344705

Why did I choose this book? Because I had listened to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and enjoyed it very much.

What did I like? The pace of the adventure was faster than The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and the same characters gained some depth.

I loved the weaving of celtic and local myth, and folklore into the storyline as well as the concept of old and new magic. I appreciated the way Alan Garner chose to describe occurrences and, more importantly, feelings ascribed to the afterlife or in-between; it was almost beautiful.

What didn't I like? Unfortunately, I was not as enthralled as I was with The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, and I found myself losing attention despite the wonderful narration of Mr Madoc. At certain points, I lost the any concept what was happening and I feel I may need a second listen, when not driving, to better appreciate this sequel.

I never heard an explanation as to how the Morrigan returned. As others have said, it felt more contrived with certain events seeming to happen at precisely the right moment purely to set-off another, and to provide the story with momentum.

So, despite the increase in pace, the further exploration of characters, and the fusion of folklore, myth, and landscape The Moon of Gomrath fell short of the standard set by The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.

Would I recommend it? Yes, but only because it is the sequel to a fine book.

Rating: 2½/5.

Shadowmagic

Author:  John Lenahan
ISBN:  1905548893 / 978-1905548897


Shadowmagic is great audio book, narrated wonderfully by the author. This is a fast-paced story about a teenage boy whose life is turned upside down upon the sudden arrival of relatives of whom he knew nothing and who are determined to see him dead.

The main character is Connor, raised by a one-handed father, Oisin, who speaks to him in ancient languages and teaches him to use a sword. Connor is transported to the land of Tir Na Og, a place inhabited by Imps, Ban Sidhe, Leprechauns and Pookas and where the trees hug back.

Sure Connor's sense of humour is not to everyone's taste, but it keeps his spirits up when all manner of misfortune befalls him. There isn't much in the way of character introductions and background is rarely provided, but it's not necessary because their actions speak for themselves. At times, some of the voices used for different characters were slightly, ever so slightly off-putting but I kind of had the feeling it was more how Connor interpreted, or might have mimicked them himself.

The story runs at a fair pace and you hardly have time to breathe, which is how Connor himself must feel. The author has deftly told a story without any of surplus that often gets in the way of a good tale. This type of adventure is probably aimed at tweenage boys, but as a woman of a certain age I truly enjoyed listening to the podcast version on my commute to and from work for the week, only just resisting listening to it between times.

I recommend the audio version of Shadowmagic to anyone that has to face boring tasks, as you will lose yourself in the land of Tir Na Og with Connor, his family and friends in no time; that it the skill of John Lenahan's storytelling, and narration.

Rating: 4/5

A Long Lost Treasure

I realised today that one of my all-time favourite books was missing from my catalogue.  I have spent a few hours now trying to search for its details on various book sites, so I can upload it to my catalogue, but the closest edition I can find was published in 1970, whereas I have an edition that states it is a "First Edition" but with a copyright in 1969 and two earlier dates of 1967.   Perhaps mine was the first Australian edition?

The book in question is "The World's Best Fairy Tales" edited by Belle Becker Sideman and with simple, but lovely illustrations by Fritz Kredel.

I have owned this book now for night on 40 years. It was gifted to my parents when I was born. I read it and re-read it and re-read many times as a child and I still enjoy the tales, even if they have been modified to make them more palatable. Even so, my favourite tale is "The Goose-Girl" mostly because of the sentence passed on the servant girl; it was gruesome to this child's mind, but I relished it and though she deserved it. The magic in the tale also captured my imagination, as it did in all the tales.

I doubt I will ever give this book up, and now that it has been retrieved from storage, I hope to find a bookbinder to repair its sorry, leatherbound spine and restore it somewhat to its glory days.