Elidor- Book Review

Author Alan Garner is a well-renown British writer whose stories have fantasy and folk tales intermingle with 'real life' to create uniquely British stories that lean into the legends of these Sceptred Isles. Although most famous for his young adults (YA) work he has written for grown-ups too, however I have never read any of his work. I've known of him since childhood as I saw a lot of his books in the school and public library but only experienced his work through the television adaptation of his book 'The Owl Service' (which I reviewed a couple of years ago here) but that was about it. I wasn't taken with the central premise but thought the show had a brooding atmosphere and so, during the cold nights of October, I thought I'd revisit one of his most well-known and regarded works; Elidor.

The story is quite straightforward, Roland and his older brothers and sisters, find a hidden gateway to the cursed land of Elidor. They meet the King of Elidor, Malebron and learn of a prophecy where they are the `Chosen Ones' who retrieved the treasures and bring light back into the land. The children go on a mission in various locales and retrieve the treasures, bringing it back to their home but it causes electrical interference which alerts the dark forces. Will they be able to protect the treasure, fulfill the prophecy and help Elidor?

Elidor- This is the first edition cover

This is is the first edition cover for Elidor.

The story is all pretty basic fantasy fare and is of its time. The book is set in 1960s Manchester and has the children and their boring inner-city lifestyle detailed. When the children get to Elidor, which occurs right at the beginning of the book, it is intriguing as the children undergo trials to gain access to the treasures. It kind of reminds me of that Dungeons and Dragons cartoon episode where the heroes undergo their own personal trials. However, after this excitement it resumes in Manchester with such events as the television not working, taking the train and avoiding shadows. It all becomes a little anti-climactic. Also the characters are pretty bland and have very few individual characteristics to separate them. Roland is memorable as he is the main lead but you can’t really differentiate his siblings as they don’t really seem to have any real character traits except his annoying younger sister who you’ll remember just because she’s annoying and panics constantly.

Overall, Elidor is a book of its time and as such is fine to read but I definitely would not consider it a classic or essential read. Maybe I’m being overtly harsh as I am a man in my 40s reading a YA book but even so, I can’t imagine many of the pupils I teach now in school being enthusiastic about this book.

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The Owl Service- Cult TV Review

Whilst carrying out research on the children's TV series The Children of the Stones, I heard mention of a series called The Owl Service. The premise seemed quite interesting so I purchased the set and, over the course of a week, watched the entire 8 part serial. The series was produced in 1972 for children's television and was based on a book by Alan Garner, but was never shown again as many thought it was too dark and inappropriate for younger viewers. Looking at it now, I can kind of see why the powers that be thought this.

The story is about two families joining to enjoy a holiday together. The dynamic is difficult as both parents are a recently married divorcee and widow couple. They both have a son and a daughter and are trying to get along as a complete family unit. The daughter inherits a house in the country from her dead father and this house is looked after by an eccentric Welsh valley gardener, maid and her son. In the valley nearby, there is a mysterious stone with a hole through it and a tale of a love triangle gone wrong where someone is murdered. The story is replaying out again with the son, daughter and the maid's son, almost like a dark prophecy.

Watching it for the first time I was taken with the title sequence, which got me invested straight away. They were strange as they bounced from moody mellow to wonderfully surreal amid squeaky balloon like noise - which I guess are the calls of an owl. The title sequence featured a hand shadow depicting an owl in flight, photographs of the valley and a flickering candle along with sound effects.  All in all the titles set up the creepy mood of the series.

The small ensemble cast perform admirably in what is a small, slightly creepy, production of an old Welsh myth played straight with a difficult family dynamic. The actress, Gillian Hills, deserves special mention as she is great, playing a precocious girl haunted by an owl dinner service, yes you read that correctly, owl dinner service... as in plates. Sounds daft but it kinda works as she descents into a gentle madness which involves paper owls and an old dolls house. The owls are most definitely not what they seem.

As a whole the series is worth a look but in my opinion does not chill me as other TV series I have discussed before. I'm not sure why but I wasn't as invested in the characters, apart from Gwyn (the maid's son who wants to better himself by speaking proper) as they seemed spoilt and bratty. The ending is pretty anti-climactic too but I won't spoil it for you here in case you do want to watch it.

Special mention must be made to the scenery, it was shot outside in the British countryside and is all the better for it, featuring picturesque hills, rivers and woods which adds much to the mood and atmosphere.
So in summation, the series is worth watching if you are looking for something new but I'd check out Children of the Stones or the Stone Tapes first.