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A review by hayesstw
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner
5.0
I've just been re-reading some [a:Alan Garner|47991|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1363273417p2/47991.jpg] books. This time I read them in reverse, starting with [b:The Owl Service|83829|The Owl Service|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328875903s/83829.jpg|80927], then [b:Elidor|292654|Elidor|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328875908s/292654.jpg|2987303] followed by [b:The Moon of Gomrath|694942|The Moon of Gomrath (Tales of Alderley, #2)|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177344653s/694942.jpg|1219230] and now [b:The Weirdstone of Brisingamen|694997|The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Tales of Alderley, #1)|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177345171s/694997.jpg|279305]
I still rate them pretty highly as children's fantasy novels, but perhaps reading them in reverse order puts them in a different perspective. The first two, the "Alderley" tales, both ends in scenes of confused violence. In the case of [b:The Weirdstone of Brisngamen] it wasn't as good as I remembered it, because of that. And I became aware of more of the plot holes. I still give it five stars though.
It's about two children staying on a farm, and one of them, Susan, has a bracelet with a magic stone that holds the key to the reserve forces of good being held in a cave under a hill. The forces of evil want to get the stone to destroy the reserve force and increase their own power, to they conspire to steal it.
A common feature of quite a lot of children's fantasy novels is the underground tunnel sequence. Quite a lot of non-fantasy stories also have it. A good many of [a:Enid Blyton|10657|Enid Blyton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1298204474p2/10657.jpg]'s "Adventure" and "Secret" series feature underground tunnels and caves. They are present in [b:The Silver Chair|65641|The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #4)|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336139237s/65641.jpg|1419727] by [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367519078p2/1069006.jpg] and in the novels of [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1434625177p2/656983.jpg]. I am sure one could find many other examples. But [b:The Weirdstone of Brisingamen|694997|The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Tales of Alderley, #1)|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177345171s/694997.jpg|279305] has absolutely, incontrovertibly, the most terrifying, claustrophobic and horrific underground cavern sequence I have ever read.
Apart from that there's a lot of running and hiding and trying to keep the stone out of the hands of the bad guys and a deus ex machina or two. It's a good tale well told, and well worth reading, I think. But yes, the violence at the end is a bit much.
I still rate them pretty highly as children's fantasy novels, but perhaps reading them in reverse order puts them in a different perspective. The first two, the "Alderley" tales, both ends in scenes of confused violence. In the case of [b:The Weirdstone of Brisngamen] it wasn't as good as I remembered it, because of that. And I became aware of more of the plot holes. I still give it five stars though.
It's about two children staying on a farm, and one of them, Susan, has a bracelet with a magic stone that holds the key to the reserve forces of good being held in a cave under a hill. The forces of evil want to get the stone to destroy the reserve force and increase their own power, to they conspire to steal it.
A common feature of quite a lot of children's fantasy novels is the underground tunnel sequence. Quite a lot of non-fantasy stories also have it. A good many of [a:Enid Blyton|10657|Enid Blyton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1298204474p2/10657.jpg]'s "Adventure" and "Secret" series feature underground tunnels and caves. They are present in [b:The Silver Chair|65641|The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #4)|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336139237s/65641.jpg|1419727] by [a:C.S. Lewis|1069006|C.S. Lewis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367519078p2/1069006.jpg] and in the novels of [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1434625177p2/656983.jpg]. I am sure one could find many other examples. But [b:The Weirdstone of Brisingamen|694997|The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Tales of Alderley, #1)|Alan Garner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1177345171s/694997.jpg|279305] has absolutely, incontrovertibly, the most terrifying, claustrophobic and horrific underground cavern sequence I have ever read.
Apart from that there's a lot of running and hiding and trying to keep the stone out of the hands of the bad guys and a deus ex machina or two. It's a good tale well told, and well worth reading, I think. But yes, the violence at the end is a bit much.