A review by emkoshka
Boneland by Alan Garner

2.0

I don't know what I just read, but I know that I didn't like it. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was great; The Moon of Gomrath was good; this was just plain weird. And, really, those children's books did not need an adult sequel written 49 years later. The one common thread is the character of Colin, who has grown from an adventurous boy into a traumatised astrophysicist with Asperger's and possibly schizophrenia. Everything that takes place during the book - the things he does, the people he meets - may just be a mass of magical delusions. That said, this is the one strength of the book, one that really kicks the fantasy genre in the balls: it explores the psychological cost of the quest. Too often in fantasy fiction, particularly children's fantasy, plucky characters go off on quests, save the day and all is well with the world and them. Colin, however, is deeply traumatised by the events in The Moon of Gomrath, to the extent that he has suppressed them completely with a form of retrograde amnesia. Full marks for authentic disclosure that you cannot go on a life-threatening adventure without it messing up your life. If the book had just dealt with Colin's story, I probably would've liked it more, but there was a parallel story thread concerning a world creation story involving animal spirits and rock carvings and I just didn't get it. Phillip Pullman's endorsement on the back is that 'the story is thrilling'. Perhaps if you're a psychologist or anthropologist and want to read a narrative that blends psychopathy with Mesolithic mythology. Otherwise, skip. There's nothing here for die-hard fans of the first two books in this very loose trilogy.