Customer Reviews

Faerie Wars

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First off, I have to note a complaint towards several of the reviewers who have criticized this book on the grounds that it "is not for children", and is thus too controversial for young children and their parents to enjoy. Well, there's a reason that it's filed under YOUNG ADULT!!! Just because a book has the word 'Faerie' in its title, doesn't necessarily mean it's written for kids. Young adult covers a variety of ages, generally ranging (at the youngest) from thirteen or fourteen all the way up to eighteen years old, however, this book is also thoroughly enjoyable for adults.

With that said, "Faerie Wars" is one of my favorite books, and for a very specific reason. It's unique and funny without straying and becoming overly tongue-and-cheek or childish in the process. This book covers a lot of ground in its 367 pages. The main characters are compelling, one with a fiery heart and strong motivation, the other a person who lacks those very two qualities, which makes for an interesting and fun character dynamic. The atmosphere in the book is incredible. Herbie Brennan cultivates a world so rich in detail, colors, scent, taste, etc. that you wish you were there, despite the evils that threaten to engulf it. (Hey, it's a fantasy book. What would a fantasy book be without the threat of an overwhelming evil on the horizon, right?) However, Brennan even finds a way to twist this, creating villains who aren't what they seem, and change, very realistically and surprisingly, more than once.

Another distinguishing factor that makes this book great, is voice. Herbie Brennan manages to convey the events that are taking place through the eyes of the character while at the same time injecting the thoughts of the narrator skillfully amidst the thoughts of the character. Brennan also manages to deftly juggle the story line from one character to the next, not leaving every break between characters with a cliff-hanger, but with just the right touch of suspense, compelling you to keep reading. The combined effect of these techniques results in a vortex-like effect, sucking you in and holding your attention until either you fall asleep from exhaustion, your light source runs out, or you read all the way through to the end.

All in all, I can't think of hardly anything that weighs this book down, but the pro's go as follow.

PRO'S
*Enjoyable characters and character dynamics
*A world so rich in detail and atmosphere, you won't want to leave.
*Villains whose wickedness holds your attention, and who's unique personalities almost outshine the main characters'. In short: thoroughly enjoyable bad-guys.
*A plot line that keeps you guessing, smiling, tense and enthralled all at the same time, boasting an amazingly minimal amount of plot-holes. Three cheers for Herbie Brennan!
*Skillful transitions from character to character and easy flowing changeovers from voice to voice.

CON'S
***Note: this con will vary from person to person. It all depends on what bothers you***
*Several sadistic scenes involving the villains of the story, as well as a small theme of controversy involving lesbians and a few descriptive scenes of gore involving black magic.

All in all, seeing as the controversy and slight violence/gore of the story doesn't upset me, I look at this book as one of the greatest accomplishments of it's genre, and a book that is so atmospheric and well-written, you won't want to put it down. Now THAT'S the mark of a great book.

Henry Atherton is a fairly ordinary English boy, whose youthful optimism is shaken by a parent's infidelity and impending separation. Pyrgus Malvae seems to be a fairly typical disaffected fairy prince, impulsively making up the rules as he goes along -- until his fondness for kittens and, it seems, all creatures great and small forces the reader to reconsider his motivations.

These two characters collide when a portal from Pyrgus's world lands him in the backyard garden of Mr. Fogarty, Henry's elderly, somewhat paranoid employer with a genius for invention and a surprisingly shady past.

There are plots worth pursuing in both worlds, but those from mundane England are given short shrift here. Instead, Irish author Herbie Brennan focuses on Pyrgus's plight in both worlds and the various dark and demonic forces that threaten the peace of his fairyland home and his family's safety. In fact, it is sometimes hard to be sure who the real protagonist here is -- Henry, Pyrgus or Pyrgus's sister, Blue.

There will be plenty of time to sort all that out in the inevitable sequel. Meantime, Faerie Wars is a fine introduction to Brennan's dual world and opens many intriguing possibilities for future stories. Targeted for young adult fans of fantasy and contemporary fantasy, it will appeal equally to adult readers.

My only complaints are a too-neat resolution to one aspect of the story -- too much hinges on a convenient stumble at just the right moment -- and the feeling that we still know too little about Pyrgus's world by book's end. That, too, I imagine will be addressed in the sequel, and I urge fantasy buffs to pick up this series from the start.

I found this book to be an excellent read. You can get a quick summary from other reviews - I'm really just here to make a point of the other reviews. If you look, all the children who have reviewed this book enjoyed it. Kids, especially in 7th-9th grade, enjoy a fast paced, thought provoking read. Hints at satanism, kitten-drowning villains, a lesbian family drama - are these things that make parents want to shield their children from a masterful piece of literature that's perfect for many kids who are ready for a little challenge in their reading? Parents need to grow up, and stop shielding their "sensitive" children. If we heard it from the children of these negative adult reviewers, I believe we would get a different picture.

I would also like to agree that publishers should quit with the "perfect for potter fans" balogna. It makes it seem that no YA book can be as good as Harry Potter. This is ridiculous - the real reason Harry Potter is so successful is because it appeals to a wide audience, and does a good job of not stepping on any too-uncomfortable issues. I definitely have a great time reading the Potter books, but the Bartimaeus trilogy, the Devil's Armor trilogy (this one is a little on the adult side), the Shannara books, the Magician's Guild books by Trudi Canavan, the Faerie War books (hopefully to become a trilogy)are all far better books if you're a 7th to 9th grade kid, that likes to read and is sick of the boring old formula written kids books. Though many of these classify as adult, a mature 13 year old should be fine with these books. Even if somebody isn't ready for all these titles, there is nothing wrong with Faerie Wars for an 11 or 12 year old.

I realize I've been long-winded, but parents need to stop making a crisis out of thought provoking and enjoyable books. My hat is off to Herbie Brennan, and to all the other kids (I'm 13) that've reviewed here in defense of an excellent novel.

I just hate it when publishers put hopelessly misleading blurbs on the cover. This book is NOT for the kind of reader who would buy a book because it's "like Harry Potter." This book is for the kind of person who loves Harry Potter, but would rather take a nap than read a book that imitated Rowling's fantasy series.

Brennan is an original, and this book is very, very good. But it deals with dark things, and when the modern young hero finds out that his parents are splitting up because his mother is having an affair with his father's (female) secretary - well, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

But that's not what the book is about. It's actually as much about a young thief in a magical world that is parallel to our own - a thief who, when he passes over into our world, sprouts wings and becomes a you-know-what.

There's a good deal of humor, but it's not tongue-in-cheek; the overwhelming tenor of the book is the shadow of grim, banal evil that threatens both heroes.

I wouldn't hand this to any kid that I didn't want to have The Conversation with, right now. But for any kid who's ready for it - and a lot of adults hungry for good fantasy as well - I recommend it heartily.

I don't think this book is strictly for grades 6-8...I am 16, and just recently read it. And I am not an immature 16, I read A LOT. I'd say this book is enjoyable from sixth grade all the way up to twelfth...if not higher. Even adults who love fantasy will be engrossed in this witty and compelling book. I fell in love with the characters almost at once; the moment I openned the book and read the first few lines, I was hooked. I read it in 2 days. It would have been less, but I read it at Borders, and I was only there for a few hourse each day. I wont get into the characters, although they were just awesome, because you already have reviews talking about the story. I meerly wanted to point out that this book can be enjoyed by those older than eighth grade, as the way it is written is by no means simple, and the story is a real winner. Take it from a sixteen year old female voracious reader. :-D Thanks for reading this.

I am a bit surprised to be writing this review, since so many readers love it. I found it without charm and the characters less than engaging. I never felt like I had entered another world, as I'm supposed to when the reader enters the faerie world. A lot of the magical elements, creatures, etc. aren't explained and therefore hard to visualize. The only scenes that I could really felt transported to through the writing were the demon world ones.

A few of the characters were intriguing, but none are fleshed out enough. I esp. felt the lack with Henry, one of the two main characters. Other than the fact that he's insecure (which comes across quite well), I just never felt like I knew him.

The end chapters seem rushed and the "war" anti-climactic. The traitor is very easy to guess early on.

Like a lot of reviewers, I felt the mother's affair and the problems at home didn't belong in this story. The didn't add anything and it was tedious to read. I understand the author was trying to add background for Henry but it's pointless background and there's too many pages of it. His mother is cold and emotionally absent; the father is just a stick-figure character. The sister is a brat who seems to have no interesting characteristics at all.

It's as though the writer decided to write a fantasy book but his heart wasn't in it.

This is the best book ive read, since, the house of the scorpion (and that was like last month)!! It's about this boy called Henry, I guess about 14 or so, and his family is having some conflicts. He works for this old guy Mr Forgarty, who is somewhat insane and belives in fairies and aliens. So one day, while he is working in Mr Forgarty's back garden, he finds a fairy and shows it to Mr Forgarty, which he made this machine thing to comunicate with him (since they couldnt hear him, too small) and found out that his name was Pyrgus, and that he had comed from the Faerie Realm, sent from his father the purple emperor through a portal to escape from these bad guys who wanted to kill him, I mean, he is next in line for the throne! Only thing is, he wasnt meant to end up in Mr Forgarty's back yard, he was supposed to end up somewhere else, and nobody knows how the portal screwed up, it never does. It turns into this whole thing that Pyrgus is in danger of dying cause he was poisoned before he left (without knowing), The Faerie Realm is in danger of going down the drain since so many people want to become the purple emperor, which turns into this big exiting book that keeps you guessing. It's soo cool, I cant wait to get the next one!! Ok, Ive read reviews saying that the 'family conflict' that Henry is having is inapropiate since his mom turns out to be lesbian, but it's not like 6 year old's would read this book! But yeah, I guess there is christianity and stuff and their religion says only a man and woman and alll that jazz. And people are also saying that this one part in the book almost in the end, henry conjures a this spell from a demon book trying to get Pyrgus back from hell, and that would be something with the religions too. So, too bad the religious ones wont be albe to enjoy this book! Trust me, it is not worth to pass it up!

I just finished this book last night for my children's literature class and it was better than I thought. I am a huge Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings fan and this book ranks right up there with them. I can't wait for the next installment.
The book details the adventures of Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the Faerie Realm. The boy has quite the knack for getting himself into trouble or at least trouble always seems to find him. Meanwhile in the Analogue World, otherwise planet Earth, a young boy named Henry must deal with family problems that he believes will tear his world apart. The unlikely meeting of these two boys triggers a fight against the Faeries of the Night. I won't go into anymore detail, but the book is really quite addicting. A simple assignment turned into a mad dash for the finish line. I plowed right through the book and I loved every moment of it.
If you are considering a Christmas present this holiday season for a loved one who shares an addiction for Harry Potter and various others, you should def. get them this book. It was great to have something of this caliber while I await another Harry Potter installment. Herbie Brennan has done well with this novel. Look forward to the continuation.

On the back cover of this wonderful read is heady praise from Eoin Colfer (author of Artemis Fowl):

"I meant to read this book at my leisure; I ended up missing two meals and an important phone call..."

I can say that what was to be a casual read over the next few weeks has ended with me writing my first ever review after turning the last page. Having purchased the book this afternoon I can attest (at 5am today) that this is one of those rare gems that truly can't be put down until its conclusion.

If you're looking for adventure, mystery and even a few moments of suspense, Faerie Wars packs them all in with an ease and grace that leaves you hungry for a sequel.

faerie wars has everything a good faerie book needs; adventure, a young faerie with an attitude, wizards, trolls,ect.
It's about a boy named Henry who mets up with prince of the faeries, Pyrygus Malvae and along with old Mr. Fogarty they start off on a quest to save the prince's world.
Won't say anymore or i'll ruin it! This book is the greatest, plus there's going to be a sequel, i can't wait!

enjoy!