I must have been nine or ten years old – a few years shy of wandering through the Mines of Moria, ring in hand. It is thirty years since I first read the Weirdstone of Brisingamen and, like many others of my generation it was my English teacher who introduced me to Colin and Susan. The book has been haunting me for forty years and seems determined to follow me to the afterlife.’ Michel Faber But a glimpse of the Weirdstone of Brisingamen puts me straight back into that underground tunnel with Colin and Susan. ‘I have forgotten most of the books I ever read, even the ones that felt unforgettable at the time.

Garner writes books that really matter, books driven by powerful forces within himself, our history, our language, our mythology, our world.’ David Almond ‘The wonderful debut by one of our greatest writers. Garner’s fantasies were smart and challenging, based in the here and now, in which real English places emerged from the shadow of folklore, and in which people found themselves walking, living and battling their way through the dreams and patterns of myth.’ Neil Gaimen

‘Alan Garner’s fiction is something special. ‘Alan Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien.’ Philip Pullman It has been an enormous inspiration to me and countless other writers, and is as enjoyable and fascinating now as it was when I first read it, wide-eyed and mesmerised at the age of ten.’ Garth Nix ‘The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is one of the most important books in children’s fantasy.

First published in 1960, The Weirdstone was the debut novel of Cheshire based author, Alan Garner and over the past half century has come to be recognised alongside the finest works of children’s fantasy. On the tenth day, of the tenth month, of the tenth year of this millennium, HarperCollins published the 50th anniversary edition of The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. The children realise that they are the key to its return, but how can mere children stand against an ancient evil bent on destroying the world. Here he watches over the sleep of one hundred and forty knights, awaiting the fated hour when they must rise and fight.īut the Weirdstone of Brisingamen is lost, and without it the wizard cannot hold back the forces of evil for long. When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, the wizard - Cadellin Silverbrow – takes them to safety deep in the caves of Fundindelve.

The weirdstone of brisingamen review