fantasy – Page 7 – Aussie Reviews

Wolf Kingdom Books 1-4, by Richard Harland

All afternoon, Tam and Nina had been gathering firewood in the forest. They had dug so often into the snow that their fingers were numb, but at least their sacks were full. It was dark by the time they arrived home.
Every window was bright with candlelight, and long yellow patches fell across the snowy back garden.
Tam scratched his head. ‘Looks like a celebration.’
‘Don’t be silly. His sister snorted impatiently. ‘Nobody’s birthday.’
Still, the brightness of the house lifted their spirits. They picked up their pace and marched towards the back door.
Then they saw the paw prints.

Eleven year-old Tam and his twelve year-old sister Nina return from a day’s wood collecting to find the wolves holding their parents captive. They escape into the woods, searching for the legendary ‘Freefolk’ the only people able to fight against a cruel walking, talking ruling class of wolves. With the help of the Freefolk, the siblings hope they will be able to find and free their parents. By the end of the first adventure, they have both learned a great deal about surviving in the wild. They have also found a magic belt. Each of the following three stories includes a new adventure, and a new search for their parents. There is also a new magic element to be discovered. The books build to a climax in the fourth story when all their magic elements, skills and ingenuity are required as they take their search and their battle inside the Wolf-King’s Iron Castle.

Richard Harland effortlessly constructs a fantasy world for the Wolf Kingdom series despite each of the four titles being only around 80 pages. Each chapter includes a (mostly) full-page illustration from Laura Peterson, allowing the reader a good sense of the world and its occupants. Although obviously constructed as a series from the inception, with an overarching storyline, each book has its own satisfying story arc. Harland’s brief revisiting of the ‘story so far is’ seamlessly imbedded in the first few pages of the subsequent books. The adventures move swiftly through the complications, and the main characters grow until they earn the respect of all around them. This series, with both boy and girl main characters should attract a wide readership. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

Wolf Kingdom series, Richard Harland Omnibus Books 2008

Book One: Wolf Kindom: Escape ISBN: 9781862917002
Book Two: Wolf Kingdom: Under Siege ISBN: 9781862917019
Book Three: Wolf Kingdom: Race to the Ruins ISBN: 9781862917026
Book Four: Wolf Kingdom: The Heavy Crown ISBN: 9781862917033

Lamplighter, by D. M. Cornish

Rossamund’s internals gripped and a yelp of terror was strangled as it formed. A dark, monstrous thing was rising from the rear of the park-drag. Massive horns curled back from its crown; the slits of its eyes glowed wicked orange. Threwd exploded like pain up the back of Rossamund’s head as the carriage shot by, the stench of the horn-ed thing upon it rushing up his nostrils with the gust of their passing.
Some boys wailed.
“Frogs and toads!” Grindrod cursed. “The carriage is attacked!”

As he trains as an apprentice lamplighter, Rossamund Bookchild finds life difficult. As if the long days of training were not enough, now the Fortress is becoming increasingly under attack from monsters. Out on the road on a lamplighting shift Rossamund witnesses a carriage being attacked. One of its passengers is a young wit, on her way to the fortress to try to become a lamplighter. As Rossamund and threnody forge an uneasy friendship, life at the fortress becomes increasingly dangerous and unpredictable. Rossamund is making friends, but he’s also making plenty of enemies.

Lamplighter is the second book in the Monster Blood Tattoo Series. This lengthy hardcover volume will delight young fantasy fans, with plenty of monsters, lots of twists and turns and adventures both frightening and exciting. For those who have read the first book, there are more hints and revelations about Rossamund’s past, and the reappearance of many of the characters from the earlier book. For those new to the series, Lamplighter can be read alone, though readers will enjoy the stories more if they are read in order.

A gripping adventure for fantasy fans aged 10 and over.

Lamplighter, by D. M. Cornish
Omnibus, 2008

This book is available from Fishpond . Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Key to Rondo, by Emily Rodda

Important! Turn the key three times only. Never turn the key while the music is playing. Never pick up the box while the music is playing. Never close the lid until the music has stopped.

Leo Langlander inherits the music box that has been passed down his family for generations. He knows to follow the rules but when his cousin Mimi comes to stay, havoc is released upon the land within the music box and Leo and Mimi are stranded there. Now they are on a quest to find and defeat the sinister Blue Queen. Not knowing who to trust they set off on an exciting quest from which they may not return.

The Key to Rondo is an exciting mythological adventure written by the internationally best-selling author, Emily Rodda. A great read for children 10 to 15 years old. Lots of excitement and fantastic tales await the reader of this fantastic book.

A gripping read.

The Key to Rondo, by Emily Rodda
Omnibus Books, 2007

This book can be purchased online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.

The Iron-Tree, by Celia Dart-Thornton

Jarred has a special gift – but it is one he must keep a secret. Still, his friends have their suspicions about him – he seems to evade death so regularly, that they wonder if he is invincible. Now Jarred and his friends are leaving their desert village and heading out to explore the world, in search of adventure. Jarred is hoping he will also find answers to the mystery of his father’s disappearance when Jarred was ten.

When Jarred meets Lillith he knows his life will never be the same again – but he doesn’t realise how closely their fates are linked. Then, when he visits the Red City, Cathair Rua, Jarred uncovers another secret, that of the Iron Tree, and at the same time the uncomfortable realisation of his father’s identity.

The Iron Tree is a gripping fantasy novel, with unique peoples and settings, which will fascinate lovers of the genre. Jarred’s problem – his apparent immortally – is an intriguing one which will provoke thought.

This is the first book in The Crowthistle Chronicles and readers will be keen to read the next instalment.

The Iron Tree, by Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Tor, 2004

Warrior, by Jennifer Fallon

Once Marla was a princess with no power – just a pawn in a male-dominated world. Now, though, she has become the power behind Hythria’s throne. But while she is playing her political game, Alija, the High Arrion of the Sorcerer’s Collective, is busily plotting her downfall.

There are other problems, too. Marla’s son, Damin, is being brought up in his uncle Mahkas’ house, but Mahkas is obsessed with his desire to see Damin marry his daughter. And Marla’s closest ally, Elezaar the Fool, is facing a crisis of his own.

Warrior is the second title in Jennifer Fallon’s Hythrun Chronicles. Like the first, it is a well-woven complex fantasy tale, with plots and subplots woven tightly together to keep the reader absorbed from start to finish.

An enthralling read.

Warrior, by Jennifer Fallon
Voyager, 2005

A Ring of Unicorns, by M R Collard

David noticed that his sisters’ hair looked silver and blew in wisps over their pale faces. Their bright clothes were shadow-coloured. The herd was becoming frisky; manes and tails tossed like silken fringe flowing in slow motion. They sparred and fumed and kicked and foamed in a strange formal way, as though they were dancers obeying a hidden caller, a caller who drew them slowly into a circle.

When Barbara, David Genevieve and Peter meet a Gryphon, they react in different ways, but none of them could predict the adventure that will ensue. The Gryphon needs their help to send a posse of basilisks on their way, away from Lake Burley Griffin. To do this they have to cross through the layers and seek the help of unicorns, dolphins and bees.

Six Days Between a Second is the first of seven fantasy novels in the Ring of Unicorns series by Canberra-based author M R Collard. Each of the books is self-contained, though the first three form a trilogy and the other four two duos, with characters reappearing across the series. All of the books are also set in and around Canberra, though not perhaps in the first layer – the ‘real’ world.

These books will best appeal to fantasy devotees, with a host of fantastical and mythical creatures including the aforementioned gryphons, basilisks and unicorns, as well as ermines, faeries and more. They are not easy reads, with complex language and sentence structures, making them best suited to confident older child readers, or adults.

Will appeal to fantasy lovers.

Six Days Between a Second, An Ermine Tale, Of Jade and Amber Caves, A Frozen Moment, The Phoenix Feather, The One-Verse Gryphon and The Key to Rattlekey, all by MR Collard
Palindrome Publishing, 2005

More Information is available online from webmultimedia.com.au/ringofunicorns/

The Land of Bad Fantasy, by K.J. Taylor

The medallion appeared at around four in the afternoon, when I was doing my homework…It was very large: larger than the palm of my hand. On one side was etched a map, though not a map of any continent I recognised. The other side was covered in some kind of script I couldn’t read. I sighed, tossed the medallion aside and returned to my books. Mysterious happenings were all very well, but I had work to do.

Ana Beachcombe isn’t terribly surprised when a magic transport medallion lands in her bedroom. She does, after all, live in a Crossroads universe where all other universes meet. She waits for the right moment to use the medallion – packing carefully and planning her exit for maximum impact. Soon she finds herself alone in a strange land – Sydnup: the Land of Bad Fantasy. Here she makes some strange friends – a troll who is allergic to eating people, a were-person who turns into a canary instead of a wolf, and a monster who is scared of just about everything. Together the four go an a quest across Sydnup to he great city of Laundromatt, to speak to the King about equal rights for all.

The Land of Bad Fantasy proclaims itself as a parody of every fantasy you’ve ever read. Fantasy fans will recognise characters and motifs from the genre – from the teenage wizard with glasses and messy hair, to the quest itself and the consequent complications. Ana is a wryly cynical narrator and central character, who relates her adventures in a conversational voice which is easy to read.

Prior familiarity with the fantasy genre will be a helpful tool for readers, with much of the humour stemming from the clichéd characters, landscapes and events.

The Land of Bad Fantasy, by K. J. Taylor
Omnibus, 2006

The Ragwitch, by Garth Nix

Julia turned around – and Paul skidded to a stop in shock. He felt like he’d been winded, struck so hard that he couldn’t breathe at all. For the person in front of him wasn’t Julia at all, but a hideous mixture of girl and doll: half flesh, half cloth, and the eyes and face had nothing of Julia left at all, only the evil features of the doll.

When Paul and Julia find a rag doll hidden in a nest at the beach, Paul wants nothing to do with it. Something about the doll frightens him. But Julia insists it is beautiful, and takes it home. Soon the doll has taken over Julia’s body and become the Ragwitch, an evil being from another world. With Julia’s body she can return to her own world and continue her evil campaign. Paul can only help Julia by following her.

Soon, Julia and Paul are each on their own chilling adventure – Paul, across the magical world, seeking a way to rescue his sister, and Julia inside the Ragwitch’s mind, where she has been trapped. Whilst Paul must overcome his fears and find the strength to battle the evil forces, Julia must block out the horror of living through the witch’s sinister campaign.

The Ragwitch is a powerful fantasy by one of Australia’s foremost masters of the genre. It was Nix’s fist novel-length work, first published in 1990, and fans will find it perhaps less polished and less original than his later works, but is still an excellent read. The focus on two individual fights between good and evil, and on family loyalty and wider responsibility for the common good driving that fight, are ones which fit well into fantasy for this age group.

Suitable for readers aged twelve and over.

The Ragwitch, by Garth Nix
First Published 1990, this edition Allen & Unwin, 2006

Priestess of the White, by Trudi Canavan

When Auraya’s village, Oraylyn is in trouble, held ransom, her quick thinking finds a solution which is acceptable to all, and Oraylyn is saved. As a reward, Auraya is offered the chance to train as a Priestess. Time passes and Auraya is appointed by the gods to be one of the five guardians of the White. She has barely grown used to the idea when she is sent on a mission, as an ambassador trying to bring all the races of northern Ithania together, in line with the wishes of the gods.

But Auraya and the other chosen have many challenges ahead of them, not the least of which is the rise of a cult which seeks to claim power for themselves and to eradicate all non-believers.

Priestess of the White is the first in the new Priestess of the White series by Trudie Canavan, author of the much-acclaimed Black Magician Trilogy. This new offering is fast-paced and features an array of characters – human, animal and beast-like – which will draw the reader in and keep the pages turning.

Good stuff.

Priestess of the White, by Trudi Canavan
Voyager, 2005

Jock and Aramis, by Ewan Battersby and Dianne Speter

n an upper storey chamber in the ancient city of Darrow, Professor Leopold Taras rose from his desk and bowed his head graciously. ‘Once again, I regret that I was unable to help you, Mr Le Faye,’ he said. As he watched his visitor leave the room, the kindly look in Taras’s eyes slowly faded and was replaced by an expression of dark desire. ‘Le Faye.’ He frowned. ‘It cannot be coincidence.’

When Aramis arrives in Bedlington, he carries a mysterious and important object. He is befriended by Jock, who saves him from a thief and soon the pair find they are being watched. To unlock the mystery they must travel to an isolated region known as the Wain, where they realise they must act to save the world as they know it.

Jock and Aramis is a fantasy adventure filled with animal characters both likeable and shady. Young fans of the genre will be drawn into Jock and Aramis’s quest and be keen to learn the significance of the disc which Jock carries.

This is a solid fantasy offering, suitable for readers aged 10 to 12.

Jock and Aramis, by Ewan Battersby & Dianne Speter
Scholastic Australia, 2005