Book Log 42/2011 - Diana Wynne Jones: The Game

Hayley's parents are dead and she has been raised by overly restrictive grandparents who seem to be ruled by Uncle Jolyon. Suddenly she is sent away to live with the Aunts in Ireland because she's done something wrong. What she's done and the consequences of it are revealed gradually in The Game as Hayley finds a whole new world  (the Mythosphere) waiting for her when she meets the Aunts and her previously unknown cousins.

Interweaving story strands from myth, legend and literature (even Tolkien gets a passing nod), Diana Wynne Jones takes extraordinary concepts and makes them feel not only normal but right. You don't need to know your Greek myths to keep up with this (there's a glossary at the end) but if you do you might get more out of it.

As you might expect from Diana Wynne Jones, this is beautifully and economically written and well worth a read.

Book Log 42/2011 - Diana Wynne Jones: The Game

Hayley's parents are dead and she has been raised by overly restrictive grandparents who seem to be ruled by Uncle Jolyon. Suddenly she is sent away to live with the Aunts in Ireland because she's done something wrong. What she's done and the consequences of it are revealed gradually in The Game as Hayley finds a whole new world  (the Mythosphere) waiting for her when she meets the Aunts and her previously unknown cousins.

Interweaving story strands from myth, legend and literature (even Tolkien gets a passing nod), Diana Wynne Jones takes extraordinary concepts and makes them feel not only normal but right. You don't need to know your Greek myths to keep up with this (there's a glossary at the end) but if you do you might get more out of it.

As you might expect from Diana Wynne Jones, this is beautifully and economically written and well worth a read.

Book Log 43/2011 - Mary Arrigan: Baldur's Bones

Mary Arrigan: Baldur's Bones

Set in Ireland, Finn, 14 and newly orphaned, arrives at a distant relative's farm, his new place in the world, resentful and scared. He doesn't want to be there and thinks he's not really wanted. On his first day he meets Tara. Direct, confident and mouthy – just the person to crack through Finn's tough shell. They develop a rapport very quickly (maybe a bit too quickly as it seems out of character for Finn to open up so easily) and Tara takes Finn to the site of an ancient battle involving Vikings and Irish clans.

It begins with a rat. Noticing one scurrying from a hole in the ground Finn investigates and finds the skull of a Viking warrior. He feels an immediate affinity because it's obvious that the skull, like Finn, has goofy teeth (an overbite). But taking the skull home leads to not only spooky happenings, but dangerous ones beginning with a ghostly appearance and followed shortly by an attack of thousands of rats. Baldur the Viking has an agenda. He wants a Viking funeral so he can be reunited with his love in Valhalla, but time is running out. His ancient enemy has left an army of ferocious rats to make sure Baldur's bones are left forever underground.

In finding Baldur, and in learning to trust Tara, Finn finds himself and discovers his place in life isn't so bad.

This is nicely written and a fast read with thriller elements, gruesome rat action, a ghost, the threat of a curse and some nicely drawn characters. There are a couple of places where the story seems cut short – maybe to fit into a neat (approx) 45k word count. The first is developing a relationship with Tara and the second is that what should have been Finn's trial – getting past the rats and recovering Baldur's hand to go with the skull so the funeral ritual can be carried out – is completed by Tara off the page.

But those small things notwithstanding, this is a good little read.

Book Log 43/2011 - Mary Arrigan: Baldur's Bones

Mary Arrigan: Baldur's Bones

Set in Ireland, Finn, 14 and newly orphaned, arrives at a distant relative's farm, his new place in the world, resentful and scared. He doesn't want to be there and thinks he's not really wanted. On his first day he meets Tara. Direct, confident and mouthy – just the person to crack through Finn's tough shell. They develop a rapport very quickly (maybe a bit too quickly as it seems out of character for Finn to open up so easily) and Tara takes Finn to the site of an ancient battle involving Vikings and Irish clans.

It begins with a rat. Noticing one scurrying from a hole in the ground Finn investigates and finds the skull of a Viking warrior. He feels an immediate affinity because it's obvious that the skull, like Finn, has goofy teeth (an overbite). But taking the skull home leads to not only spooky happenings, but dangerous ones beginning with a ghostly appearance and followed shortly by an attack of thousands of rats. Baldur the Viking has an agenda. He wants a Viking funeral so he can be reunited with his love in Valhalla, but time is running out. His ancient enemy has left an army of ferocious rats to make sure Baldur's bones are left forever underground.

In finding Baldur, and in learning to trust Tara, Finn finds himself and discovers his place in life isn't so bad.

This is nicely written and a fast read with thriller elements, gruesome rat action, a ghost, the threat of a curse and some nicely drawn characters. There are a couple of places where the story seems cut short – maybe to fit into a neat (approx) 45k word count. The first is developing a relationship with Tara and the second is that what should have been Finn's trial – getting past the rats and recovering Baldur's hand to go with the skull so the funeral ritual can be carried out – is completed by Tara off the page.

But those small things notwithstanding, this is a good little read.