What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Lalwendë]

Does anyone else absolutely love The Weirdstone of Brisingamen?

Well, davem pointed this out to me earlier. The trilogy is due to be completed this August. I'll be outside the bookshop at 9am for this one, I'm very excited.

I don't agree with Phillip Pullman that Alan Garner is 'better than Tolkien' because he's simply a very different kettle of fish. However, he is comparable to CS Lewis and trumps him on all accounts.

Since I first read the Weirdstone as a child, I've thought of Alderly Edge as a magical place, rather than the exclusive haunt of Man U footballers. And the passage with the tunnel is so vivid I even have dreams about that now.

Anyone else love it?

[Eruanna]

Originally Posted by Lalwendë

Does anyone else absolutely love The Weirdstone of Brisingamen?

Me! Me! I have well thumbed copies of The Weirdstone and its sequel 'The Moon of Gomrath' on my bookshelf, and there's a space just crying out for the last part of the trilogy!
Thank you so much for the link...I'm unbelievably excited!!

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Eruanna

Me! Me! I have well thumbed copies of The Weirdstone and its sequel 'The Moon of Gomrath' on my bookshelf, and there's a space just crying out for the last part of the trilogy!
Thank you so much for the link...I'm unbelievably excited!!

I'm reading Weirdstone again now, spurred by the news. My copy is very well read (in the front, it says I bought it in Skipton in 1984 ) but I'm bursting with excitement at all the new things I'm picking up reading it now. I've just looked up a bit about Alan Garner and he grew up in Alderley Edge, descended from a family that had lived there for centuries - one of his great grandfathers carved the 'wizard' that's on the rocks in the woods. His family passed down the folktales of the area to him, as they weren't skilled readers, and he wove them into his stories.

There was also something on the Wikipedia entry about his love of language and the local Cheshire dialect (apparently it's possible to read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in the original, if you know the Cheshire dialect - which is interesting as the 'Green Chapel' isn't very far away). And a lot of the places mentioned are still very much there, such as 'Llyn-dhu' and Radnor Mere, and of course The Wizard pub.

It's also chiming with a lot of the language and stories of the North West that I picked up as a child.

This is a fantastic book. I love it even more than ever.