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| Nickolai Of The North by Lucy Daniel Raby |
| Hodder Children�s Books |
| 1904442714 |
| Oct 2005 |
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| A refreshingly different take on how the myth of Father Christmas came to be. When Nickolai was just a baby, the wicked Queen Magda killed his mother and the rest of his elfin people. Taken in and raised by humans, Nickolai is teased at school for his abnormally large ears.
When everyone from his settlement starts to leave for the beautiful city of Doransk, Nickolai says goodbye to his human parents and follows. Little does he know that he, and everyone else, are walking into a trap. He soon discovers that he�s the only one who can resist the evil Magda�s plan to steal children�s youth to keep herself young and beautiful; and he is the only one who can stop her. A nice festive treat for tens and above. The book's major flaw is that it will obviously lose some of its magic at any other time of the year.
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Fantasy: December 2005 Archives
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| Ois�n McGann |
| O�Brien |
| 1904442714 |
| Oct 2005 |
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| Fantasy is a genre that divides. It�s a case love it or loath it � so if you are in the latter category stop reading now, this comic tale of the shape-changing Myunan is not for you.
That�s not a reflection on the quality of the second volume in The Archisan Tales merely an acknowledgement of a status quo that even super-sellers like Terry Pratchett struggle to overcome. It�s unfair because at its heart this is simply a good traditional adventure story: foolish kids put their parents in peril and have to team up with a wayward uncle to redeem the situation. Along the way they pick up new skills, make new friends and save each other and their companions from peril. Set such a plot in a Peckham housing estate � cue lots of gritty urban realism � and it�d be taken as a tale for our times. Add in a few flying beasties and some giant cargo-carrying centipedes, however, and suddenly the critical acclaim slips away. However, if you like fantasy then the combination of the intuitive Myunan children, battling first with business-like warlords of the Noran and then with the dunderhead Reisenick and their leader Ludditch is well worth picking up. The central theme is obviously Gaia-esque: tampering with the spirit of the earth brings chaos. Only if the god of the mountain is reunited with his realm will normality return. That said there�s a collection of wondrous creatures that London Zoo would cast an envious glance at, a set of rogues who veer towards the pantomime and two engaging central characters on a voyage of discovery that pre-teen and early teen readers will empathise with. The Myunan�s great skill is their ability to meld and flex flesh and bone so that they can take on any form they like, enabling them to blend into walls, gain wings and fly. As the novel proceeds Taya and Lorkrin gradually develop their ability to take advantage of this extraordinary asset. Although it�s the second volume in the series it reads simply as a familiar cast of characters getting together for a new adventure, you don�t really need to start with Volume 1. It all leaves you marvelling at the invention of Ois�n McGann. If quietly amusing rather than laugh out loud sounds like damning with faint praise it�s not meant that way � it�s because more often than not I fall into the fantasy-free reading group.
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