Bertram of Butter Cross, the fourth volume in author Jeffrey E. Barlough's acclaimed "Western Lights" series of fantasy-mysteries, is a magical tale of yearning and loss and the tyranny of years. And like the other Western Lights books in the genre that Barlough has made all his own, it is a tale chock-full of mystery. What, for example, is the hideous, snake-necked monstrosity that has been roaming Marley Wood? Who are the phantom riders seen plunging through the wood by moonlight? And above all, who is the strange small boy found living in the ruined hunting-lodge deep inside the forest? Return now to the Ice Age world of the "sundering," and join Jemma Hathaway and her brother Richard, Ada Henslowe, Sir Hector MacHector and their friends in deepest Fenshire as they struggle to solve the insolvable: the mystery of Marley Wood!
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From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Set in an alternate Earth where Ice Age animals like mastodons have survived into the Victorian era, Barlough's superb fourth Western Lights fantasy (after 2004's Strange Cargo) introduces the quiet English village of Market Snailsby, whose lovingly described inhabitants would be at home in a P.G. Wodehouse or Agatha Christie novel. One spring afternoon, while driving a cart through the dark woods outside the town, Jemma Hathaway, a substantial citizen of Market Snailsby, spies two small children at the side of road who appear to be lost. When she tries to rescue them, she has a frightening vision. Subsequent reports of ghostly apparitions amid the trees prompt Jemma and her brother, Richard, to investigate. The engaging plot and the artful writing elevate Barlough's work far above most other contemporary genre fiction and should send new readers in search of the three preceding books in the series. (Aug.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Barlough's Western Lights novels are set in a Victorian alternate world in which the likes of mastodons and giant wolves still roam, especially since a catastrophic "sundering" has destroyed most of civilization. Progress is back in swing, however, touching even Market Snailsby, isolated by a beast-stalked wood. A road through the forest is halfway completed when fearsome and mysterious sightings of strange creatures terrorize the village. Barlough writes very much in the manner of early-twentieth-century fantasist Lord Dunsany, and that won't be to everyone's taste. Still, the Western Lights books rank among the most original recent fantasy novels. Murray, Frieda
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sure to keep the reader guessing to the very end.,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bertram of Butter Cross (Paperback)
The fourth novel in the "Western Lights" series of fantasy-mystery novels, Bertram of Butter Cross is a magical tale filled cover to cover with riddles and hidden secrets. An ugly, malformed snake-creature roams the Marley Woods, phantom riders have been spotted by moonlight, and when a strange, small boy is discovered in the ruined hunting-lodge deep within the forest, it prompts wonder and questions - could he truly be Bertram Longchapel, the child who had disappeared from the nearby town of Market Snailsby some thirty-five years ago? Biologist, veterinarian, and armchair historian Jeffrey E. Barlough has brought yet another unforgettably fantastic adventure of mystique and hidden motives to vivid life, and its intrigues are sure to keep the reader guessing to the very end. Highly recommend.
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Bertram of Butter Cross (Paperback)
Bertram of Butter Cross
This Book has a fine story And it's practically a new genre. - A mix of Sci-fi and victorian Spook story. Very whimsicle in places but gripping overall.
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First Sentence:
IN the springtime of our grandparents - that is to say, when our grandmothers and grandfathers all were very young - there occurred in the town of Market Snailsby, in Fenshire, a mystery of singular character and incident. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rumpled small boy, marsh devil, tramp fellows, pudding dog, coach dog, phantom riders, ghostly riders, spotted lion, parish rooms, cherry gardens, little bald man, bog oak, forest aisles Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sir Hector, Marley Wood, Market Snailsby, Miss Hathaway, Mother Redcap, Miss Henslowe, Butter Cross, Mead Cottage, Godfrey de Clinkers, Vicar Ludlow, Tillington Road, Jayne Scrimshaw, Water Street, Richard Hathaway, Mickledene Hall, Molly Grime, Erskine Joliffe, Ingo Swain, Mayor Jagard, Angus Daintie, Holy Street, Church of All Hallows, Herbert Hathaway, High Street, Market Square New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
IN the springtime of our grandparents - that is to say, when our grandmothers and grandfathers all were very young - there occurred in the town of Market Snailsby, in Fenshire, a mystery of singular character and incident. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
rumpled small boy, marsh devil, tramp fellows, pudding dog, coach dog, phantom riders, ghostly riders, spotted lion, parish rooms, cherry gardens, little bald man, bog oak, forest aisles Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Sir Hector, Marley Wood, Market Snailsby, Miss Hathaway, Mother Redcap, Miss Henslowe, Butter Cross, Mead Cottage, Godfrey de Clinkers, Vicar Ludlow, Tillington Road, Jayne Scrimshaw, Water Street, Richard Hathaway, Mickledene Hall, Molly Grime, Erskine Joliffe, Ingo Swain, Mayor Jagard, Angus Daintie, Holy Street, Church of All Hallows, Herbert Hathaway, High Street, Market Square New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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