In this modern era, elves fare poorly. Creatures of light, the air is no longer clean to them, and they are too crowded by human construction. Atlendor's people are on their way north beyond the Bannawg to far Prydein, to aid the last kingdom of the elves. But they must stop to rest and recover with Cadellin Silverbrow in the caves of the Fundindelve. And thus unsuspecting, they are drawn into battle when the Brollochan, an ancient terror, is inadvertently set free.

In this is the sequel to 'The Wierdstone of Brisingamen' we finds young Susan and her brother Colin still staying at Highmost Redmanhey. Their time with Gowther and Bess Mossock in Cheshire has been peaceful since the defeat of Selena Place (the Morrigan). Now that time comes to an end, when, seeking to speak with Cadellin, they become part of the hunt for the Brollochan. For the first time they meet with Albanac, one of the elder men, and the dwarf, Uthecar Hornskin. And proud Atlendor who is impatient to continue north.

Shortly thereafter, the Brollochan seizes control of Susan's body, and it is only by virtue of her bracelet, the Mark of Fohla, that it is driven off. Then Colin must undertake a quest along the old, straight track to find the magic that will bring Susan back to the living. But unlike the first volume in this series, this time there is a price for the use of Angharad Goldenhand's bracelet. It calls on an older magic than that of Cadellin, and soon ancient forces walk the land. And this is only the beginning, as the children find they must once again do battle with the Morrigan to protect the human world from the dark powers that lurk on its edge.

Once again, Alan Garner creates a world half from his own imagination and half from the vivid tales and legends of the British countryside. Evil palugs and fierce bodachs course through the night in a landscape filled with strange places and names that seem to have double and triple meanings. Best of all, the Old Magic is awakened, and the Wild Hunt rides again. There is so much in this short volume that the reader is literally stunned into belief.

Garner does not people his books with an excess of characters, and all, from Colin to Cadellin are larger than life. Everyone plays true to archetype, but all are individuals with their own wisdom. And so there are few players that one cannot come to love. In a tale that is a conflict between good and evil, Garner does not let the good become shallow or too monochromatic. The Moon of Gomrath is a powerful story at all levels, from child's adventure to morality play, and resonates long after the last page is turned. Garner proves once again that magic is never really lost.

Perhaps the biggest problem with Alan Garner's Alderly tales is that there are only two. Rich in mythology and haunting magic, these stories are a must-read for fantasy fans, especially those seeking something different than the usual sword-and-sorcery fare.

The story picks up not long after the events of "Weirdstone of Brisingamen," with Colin and Susan encountering magical creatures yet again. While walking in the woods, they encounter an elf named Atlendor and a dwarf called Uthecar, near where Cadellin the wizard guards the sleeping knights. (For a better explanation, read the first book) The lios-alfar (elves) are migrating to Alderly, because a mysterious force is causing some of them to vanish, and Atlendor the elf king is bringing his people together to gather what magic he can. Unfortunately, proximity to the ugly constructions of humans is causing the "smoke sickness" in the elves, and Uthecar asks that Susan lend him the bracelet that Angharad Goldenhand gave her.

But Susan is suddenly kidnapped by an evil force, and reappears quiet and strange. She has been taken over by the evil Brollachan, and the dwarves and Cadellin are able to help Colin restore her to normality -- though she will never be quite the same. Unfortunately, evil is still stirring in the form of the Morrigan and her sinister cohorts. And when Susan and Colin light a fire to keep warm on a hill, they inadvertantly set off the band of magical horsemen, the Wild Hunt...

There is no lag in quality in "Moon of Gomrath," and perhaps the biggest flaw is that to understand anything at all, you need to read the first book. Such things as the lios-alfar, Cadellin and his knights, Angharad Goldenhand and the bracelet, and the kids' relationship with all of the above.

This is not a retread of the first book, either. Instead of the hideous svart-alfar (goblins), this time we focus on the beautiful lios-alfar. These "elves of light" are as entrancing as Tolkien's elves, though significantly shorter and slighter. The descriptions of their smoke-sickness is heartrending, as their "changing" from what we think of as life is saddening. Cadellin and the dwarves are featured less prominently than in "Weirdstone," though we do have the evil Pelis the False adding a little spice to the dwarves as a whole. Other creatures are added, such as the bizarre bodachs and the savage palugs.

The elves are not the only sad things about this book, and that give it the feeling of a book for older kids. We are told that if someone wears Angharad Goldenhand's bracelet it "leads her ever further from human life," and that someone who uses a certain object "may not know peace again, not in the sun's circle or in the darkling of the world."

The writing is still quite formal, but evocative of the landscapes and the various unusual creatures present in it. Garner is among the most talented of the minimalist fantasy writers, and he never overburdens the reader with too much information. Colin and Susan are the same excellent characters, but in a sense they, too, are older as they seem to be growing into individual personalities. That doesn't stop them from inadvertantly causing a lot of trouble. The Morrigan is hideous and malevolent, needless to say, and Cadellin is the same wise and thoughtful wizard as in the previous book.

Perhaps the worst thing is that there is no third Alderly tale to look forward to. But the two that exist are some of the best fantasy ever penned.

This is the second in Garner's ALDERLEY books, and can certainly be read alone -although one will perhaps do better by beginning with THE WEIRDSTONE OF BRISINGAMEN. In both books we are given a wonderful mix of the magic and the "real" and invited to share in a world that seems to hover at the edge of peripheral vision. MOON is perhaps a bit "older" than WEIRDSTONE, my Clare admitted to being scared by some of the things that happen to the children around whom the book spins, and there is a feeling that Garner is perhaps aiming more at early teens, but Clare was enthralled with the book at six and wanted to hear it again at eight & I suspect I will catch her reading it when she is twelve, and we will still be talking about it when we are both much much older.

It was dark and I was lost driving home. I tried to take a shortcut across the Staffordshire Moorlands. Something said I should turn left to cross the ridge to the next valley. I climbed a hill, then silhouetted against the moonlit sky was a shape I knew from this book jacket: Mow Cop. I had to leave the car and venture on foot into the gloom, stomach turning, mouth dry. The point of Red Shift is, perhaps, that our destiny is in some part the essence of the soil under our feet. This book succeeds so well in implanting this feeling that words were not needed to create in me the emotion of meeting Mow Cop that night.

Ursula Le Guin described this as: "a bitter, complex, brilliant book".

I've nothing to add to that. Except this: try to find a copy at all costs. It is one of the best fantasies ever written. Oh, and if you're wondering: it's all of 155 pages long.

My review of this book will never be as articulate as the one written before mine, but I would like to express my opinion of "Red Shift". I have recommended it to so many friends who have all given up before they have reached 50 pages in. I must admit that I was tempted to do the same, though I cannot be more glad to have persevered. The story finds clarity in the last few pages (and in the wonderful encoded passage at the end!) If you have time to devote to this book, it is worth all the effort. Truly greater than "The Wierdstone".

I looked this book up just to see if it was still available anywhere. I believe I bought it when it was published in 1981, and have probably read it at least once a year since then. Scary without being terrifying, hopeful without being simple - it's an excellent book! One of my all time favorites. I can't wait to read it to my children when they get a little older.

This book although essentially for children is a wonderfully fast moving and magical chase across a landscape dotted with mystical creatures and races from past times, forgotten now in the minds of more sophisticated men. The story is based on the legend of Alderley that an ancient king and his knights sleep under the hill there awaiting the call that will come if ever the powers of darkness should threaten to overtake the land. The Wierstone of Brisingamen is an ancient, magic stone of such power that it keeps king, knights and their milk white steeds in a state of suspended animation, protected forever against the powers of evil who would destroy them and prevent their riding forth one day to do battle.... The stone has been lost and through a series of events it transpires that it belongs to a young girl called Susan who is now back at Alderly with the Wierdstone fastened to her slender wrist. This fact is not lost on the local witch, Selina Place, the Morrigan, a shape shifter out for power and who recognises the stone when she sees it one day. This draws the children into a series of terrifying circumstances as good and bad struggle to be the guardians of the powerful talisman. This tale is well paced and well written. It is full of good and bad characters whose struggle spills over into the world of mortal men and sweeps up the 2 children at the center of the story carrying them along on a tide of events which take them in and out of danger helped by their friend Gowther Mossock.....a somewhat grizzled old farmer who is still innocent enough of the worlds more cynical ways to be able to believe in the old ways, the magic ways..... Cadellin Silverbrow, the magician who had charge of the Wierdstone of Brisingamen and to his shame lost it, strides majestically through the story to a thrilling conclusion and a battle between the forces of good and evil It is a book which I read to my children many times and still enjoy myself today, it almost makes you believe that if you looked hard enough and in the right places that you would see the traces of those inhabitants of a world once familiar to Mankind, now sadly lost to all except those with the childlike ability to suspend disbelief. I thouroughly recommend this book

If i had to describe this book in just one word, I would, of course, say it's simply amazing. Cecil Beaton was a truly genius British photograher.

This book jumped off the shelf at me because my father told us stories his grandfather had told him. That grandfather, from Galway Ireland, used to open his stories with a longer version of this book's title - "Once upon a time, though it wasn't your time or my time or anyone else's time" - and I'd never seen that used anywhere else. These are 3 wonderful children's stories, though none of them are from Ireland, and they are beautifully illustrated. Read them with your children and watch them travel to far away places, or curl up on a rainy day and read them yourself, and travel even farther away to your own far away times of childhood.

Three generations, ending with the joy of the harvest of all before...

Wizards, dwarves, goblins and elves - Tolkien, right? Wrong, it's Alan Garner's "Weirdstone of Brisingamen," a spellbinding story in the true tradition of imaginative and inventive fantasy. Garner isn't as well-known as he deserves, but fantasy fans will gobble this right up.

Colin and Susan, a pair of English schoolkids, are sent to Alderly for a six-month vacation with their mother's old nurse and her husband. Things start off normally enough, with the kids exploring the area and the myths, legends and superstitions surrounding it. But things begin to take an eerie turn when they encounter a spell-chanting old woman named Selina Place - and then a horde of svart-alfar, hideous and hostile goblins.

They are unexpectedly rescued by the wizard Cadellin, who is the keeper of a company of knights sleeping deep under Alderly. They will awaken at some time in the future, to combat the evil spirit Nastrond and his minions in the final, magical battle. There's just one problem: long ago, Cadellin lost the Weirdstone of Brisingamen, the magical jewel that bound the knights there in the first place. Susan realizes too late that the little misty teardrop gem in her bracelet is the Weirdstone - and it's been stolen. The kids team up with Cadellin, the dwarves Fenodyree and Durathror, the lios-alfar (elves), and their friend Gowther to find the Weirdstone - and save the world.

Written in the 1960s, this book effectively combines the English-schoolkids-swept-into-magical adventure subgenre with mythology and the overlap of our world with another. Garner's wizards, dwarves, elves and goblins are as legit as Tolkien's, as Garner draws heavily from mythos and legends. There are similarities to Tolkien's creations, but they are sufficiently different that not once do you feel the need to compare. Garner lifts from Norse and Celtic mythologies for this book (mentions of the Morrigan and Ragnarok are featured within pages of one another) and manages to cobble it together into a coherent and believable whole.

Alderly is effectively shown - from the moment the kids venture out of the farm, you get the sense that enchantment is thrumming through the land, and that a magical creature could be lurking nearby. The sense of atmosphere is somewhat stunted by the fact that we rarely hear the characters' thoughts, though, but such creatures as the svart-alfar and the lios-alfar are effective in the simple, evocative descriptions.

This is a book more for Tolkien fans than Diana Wynne-Jones fans. Though there are a few funny parts, it is overall a relentlessly serious book, with many of the characters using archaic-sounding language. Another good thing: the kids speak like twentieth-century preteens ("That WOULD have made a mess of things!") while such characters as Durathror speaking like warriors from centuries ago ("... for there I think it will be, and so to Fundindelve, where I shall join you if I may.") In addition, there is no cutesy magic or gimmickry, or casual magical elements popping up every page or two. The magic featured in here is deadly serious and very intense.

Colin and Susan are the archetypical kids-on-holiday-in-magical-place: brave, respectful, inquisitive, curious, and in completely over their heads. Cadellin is an excellent wizard, dignified and powerful but sufficiently human to be sympathetic, such as his reaction when he hears that the Weirdstone has been stolen from Susan. This guy deserves a seat right below Gandalf, and alongside Merlin, Ged and Ebenezum. The dwarves are serious and unusually cool-headed for the fantasy portrayal of dwarves; the lios-alfar are featured less prominently, but the "elves of light" passage is one of the most moving paragraphs in the book, both sad and beautiful.

The only problem with this book is its shortness, and its presence as only one of two. The tales of Alderly are so rich that you feel that Garner could have churned out fifty books and never grown stale. If you are a fan of serious fantasy, for any age, read this book, and the sequel "Moon of Gomrath."

This continues to remain one of the finest fantasy works I have ever read. Although originally intended for children, Mr. Garner's style easily lends itself to the cognoscente, and the way he merges the ancient Celtic and Pre-Christian characters and legends with his modern characters and themes is nothing short of superb. I have also visited Alderley in Cheshire, England, the setting for his story, and he has captured the atmosphere of this beautiful and mysterious place wonderfully. This is a must for your reading list, along with the sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, while his other works in this genre, Elidor and Red Shift, are pitched to a progressively more mature audience.

I had read a few reveiws on another of Alan Garner's books, "The Owl Service", saying that the style of Alan Garner was mysterious, and the end of the book left you wanting more or left you slightly dissatisfied. When I picked up "The Wierdstone of Brisingamen," I was immediatly enthralled 25 pages in. The book had me dizzy with suspense and sheer enjoyment. The characters were wonderfully described, and all the names were introduced at a good rate. The book was so good that I couldn't put it down! I was in the world of the book. When I reached the end, the very last page, I wanted more; I was stunned, and flipping through the rest of the book looking for an epilogue. Of course, there was none, and I was a bit disapointed. So yes: I think this book is slightly mysterious, but very, very enthralling. Thank God Alan Garner has written other books as well: I can't wait to read them! I reccomend this book to ages eleven and up, up up...

Ok, I admit taht when I first read ELIDOR as probably an 11 year old I liked it the least of Garner's books to date. It was "ok" but the idea of a magical fantasy being set in the urban wasteland of post-war Manchester just didn't click. Maybe it is a comment on the last quarter century, maybe it is just a matter of growing up, but going back the book all these years later I found myself absolutely enthralled. Garner makes the transition from everyday life to the realm of Welsh mythology & back seamlessly and flawlessly. His characters are remarkably "real" -even those with "bit parts" like the parents of the protagonists. The language is lyrical, and there are scenes that will haunt you for years. My one complaint is that it is more a "novella" than a novel -at this re-reading I would gladly have kept going for another 200 pages, but what we get is great.

I read this book 18 years ago, when I was 10 years old. It was one of the best books I ever read - as good as Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer' or Jules Verne's 'Mistery Island'. But in a way, it was better. The atmosphere of Elidor was magical, dim lit, eerie - something I found only in Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'The Mists of Avalon' or in Stephen King's work. This is definitely a great fantasy book.

The four Watson children stumble through a doorway into another world known as Elidor. In Elidor they become the keepers of the four treasures and are sent back to earth to protect these treasures. The treasures are one of two things needed to save Elidor, the other being to the song of Lindhom. The story rushes along and many an aspiring character developments go unexplained. Ending was a big disappointment to me. This is a very good fantasy book that should interest students in grades 5th through the 8th who enjoy a trip into fantasy land.

I read this book as a person interested in meeting other people: I wished to make my communication easier, especially when with handsome strangers and unfamiliar acquaintances! Without doubt this book has been a great help, however, be warned its focus is on Prolonging conversation, primarily by getting others to talk: The crucial issue of making conversation Stimulating is left vaguely in the subtext. The book may not help with specific problems of self-confidence; e.g. fear of asking personal questions, difficulties in taking issue with people (and solving issues) or trouble with putting personal problems into words (i.e. open forum), and it certainly won't provide you with a sense of humour. All of these, I believe, are the oxygen of close relationships and personal charisma.

After reading this book you may find, like myself, that you are complimented by friends for being able to talk to people, and for Knowing lots of people, yet you may still hold up your hands and say "I have talked to many people but made few close friends". I would have also liked to see more specific ideas for conversational openings (for which you may like to investigate "The book of fabulous questions"). Whatever Conversationally Speaking has to teach, I believe that spontaneity; the ability to speak the impulsive thoughts in ones mind, is the key. What this means is that when issues are raised in your thoughts, instead of going away and trying to solve them by reading self-help books (which personally effective people don't read!) or by thinking it through on your own: Raise the issue immediately with the person you have it with! Your 'issues' (often issues of personal failing) are the seeds of what you have to talk about. To my mind, Conversationally Speaking operates as an analysis and expose of what happens when personal spontaneity is in effect. Its strength is that, if you Really have trouble meeting people, this book Will help you. Meantime: Speak your mind: "Admit" what you're thinking, and drop the Hesitation from your communication!

If you have problems starting conversations or keeping them going, this is a very helpful book. However, it's not a panacea- to improve your conversational skill you'll have to practice.

Each section describes a single "issue", such as the basics of effective listening, or how to follow up on information you learn during a conversation. None of it will make you gasp and realize that's the hidden key, but it serves as a useful discussion of why each issue is important. Integrated into the discussion are instructions on how to use it in your day-to-day life.

Since none of the ideas are much more than fairly well-known components of interpersonal conversation, most of your learning from this book won't come from reading. However, if you follow the author's suggestions and read one section, then practice it for a day, it really is useful.

The book is direct, clearly written, with many practical examples. There are books on the market that are more detailed in specific topics such as active listening, but as an overall practical guide to improving social effectiveness through starting and maintaining conversations, this is excellent.

The key to good converstation, per the author, is asking open ended questions that focus on the other person. Be actively engaged in the conversation through active listening.

The book also goes into how deliver honest positives, even when that is difficult. You could call this "spin", but it is spin in the more positive sense, as opposed to what some politicians have performed.

The book also deals with how to communicate personal information to maintain and develop the conversation, use of body language, active listening, issuing invitation (conversations and other), handling criticism, defusing difficult situations, and requesting change of behaviors in others.

As I said, the book is well written, covers each subject well, with plenty of useful examples. If you liked Covey's "Seven Habits", you'll like this book. I plan to make use of many of the techniques.