[.ca] The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley (ISBN 015205636X)

From Amazon.com:
Readers who love E. Nesbit or Susan Cooper may discover a new favorite in Alan Garner, winner of many awards for literary excellence including the Carnegie Medal. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, first published in 1960, is the story of two children, Susan and Colin, who are sent to rural England to stay with Bess Mossock, their mother's childhood nurse. The Mossocks' farm is delightfully old-fashioned, and the Alderley area is dotted with interesting woods to explore as well as treacherous disused mines. Susan and Colin encounter a frightening local woman, and feel they are being watched by crows. The air of menace quickly becomes acute danger as the children are pursued by small goblinlike beings, who truss them in cobwebby ropes. An ancient wizard named Cadellin comes to their rescue. As they learn more of the dark forces that threaten Alderley, Susan and Colin find themselves on the run through the abandoned mine tunnels, aided by a pair of heroic dwarfs. Garner's knowledge of folklore and the Alderley area--his characters' dialect sounds realistic instead of like rote fantasy-speak--imbues his story with a thoughtful depth. His writing is as clear as poetry: "And they passed between the stones, only to stop short a couple of paces later, with despair in their hearts, cold as the east wind." There is a sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, called The Moon of Gomrath, and both books are superbly written, absorbing tales of wizardry and adventure. --Blaise Selby

When Magic Awakens, Next Door...:
A simple holiday in the rural countryside south of Manchester...a legacy, a glittery bit of crystal worn on a girl's wrist...an ancient legend which resonates down through the centuries, sleeping, but never dying...High wizardry, dark sorcery, secrets and whispers and folk tales coming to life...and one of the most truly terrifying sequences in all of fantasy fiction, fleeing monstrous enemies in the black depths of an abandoned mine... Alan Garner is one of my very favorite British authors. I applaud the way he inverts the all-too-common recipe for young readers' speculative fiction: instead of transporting the protagonists into some magical land (i.e. like Narnia) he prefers to depict modern kids dealing with ancient magic leaking into the here and now. Terrifying, to have old powers awaken...and fascinating, the mythic stories which linger in the British countryside to this day, contorted and convoluted, but still identifiable, still powerful, still sending shivers up the back. The sequel to The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is The Moon of Gomrath---these two novels embody really terrific storytelling, fascinating and fabulous ...

Garner is equal to Tolkien and Le Guin:
This book should be considered a classic.Any fantassy lover should read it.Any fantassy lover will be exited ;interested ;and enchanted by Garner's magical and creative book .It is a neccesity to read it. The first time Colin and Susan were attacked by the svart alfar I got into it .I was amazed by Garner's Weirdstone of Brisingamenan and hope all otehers take this reccommendation.

Fantastic:
I loved this book.I was looking for a book similar to Harry Potter-after reading all of them in a month-and then I found this, a fantastic book.Both with magic and sorcery I found that I could not put it down.It gets more exiting at the end but I think you will enjoy it all.If you've read Harry Potter you should read this, its a bit more of a challenge but great.When I finished it I moved on to The Moon of Gomrath, another Tale of Alderly and that is brilliant so Far.

Excellent Childrens Book:
I remember reading this book as a child and loving it. I lived not far from Alderly Edge so was intrigued that these magical characters might exist. I still have this book on my bookshelf and Alan Garner's other novels and as an adult, still find them a wonderful read. Highly recommended.

A book with a facinating story:
This book is like Harry Potter and Lord of the rings at the same time because it has a lot of things in common with other books