The Lake of Darkness (Eaglesmount Trilogy) [Paperback]

Cherith Baldry (Author), David Wyatt (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005 | Series: Eaglesmount Trilogy

Vair, the brave young pine marten, and his companions have made their way to Eaglesmount. The silver horn is theirs - and the Lord Owl has retreated. But their request is not over. Two truths are to revealed - why the eagle kings fell from the skies, and who will be their heir.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-5–The third book in this "Redwall"-like series (Philomel) has half the detail, half the dialect, and maybe half the heart of those titles. Even the pen-and-ink illustrations seem familiar. A brave young pine marten named Vair leads a ragtag army of vixens, wildcats, squirrels, and other forest denizens against the evil Lord Owl, who has declared himself High King and heir to the eagles. Evidently in books one and two, Vair fulfilled several parts of a prophecy and he's really the High King, etc. Only he is acting weird because of a cursed dagger he removed from a would-be assassin, and he's turning against all of his friends and allies. There's plenty of action, a couple of good descriptions of meals, and a few touches of humor and emotion, but Baldry is no Brian Jacques. Buy this title if you have the first two books and a hungry audience of young animal-fantasy fans who aren't ready for Redwall.–Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Cherith Baldry lives in Reigate. She used to be a teacher, but gave up teaching three years ago to write full time - and since then has written for many of the best-known series around. Fantasy is her favourite sort of fiction - and the Eaglesmount trilogy is her first work for Macmillan. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Mondo Pub (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590345878
• ISBN-13: 978-1590345870
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,772,739 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Kid's Story with Beautiful, but Inaccurate, Illustrations, December 4, 2011

By 

Anath (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Lake of Darkness (Eaglesmount Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I love the fact that a Pine Marten is the main character of this series. Mustelids other than Otters and Badgers rarely get their time in the spotlight. There are also a number of good Foxes.

Each book of this series is short and fun, making them a good series to read at an earlier reading level than more classic Anthropomorphic Animal stories such as Redwall, Watership Down, Wind in the Willows, etc. It is easy to follow, and full of adventure. It would be loads of fun to read out loud to a group.

However it is filled with stereotypical plot devices and tropes. Rats and Weasels are the stupid, brute bad guys as always, though there are a few redeeming instances. There's a prophecy, and the truth is extremely predictable but there was a nice twist. There are strong female characters though the main character is male and the worldview is largely patriarchal, with Monarchy heavily supported. There is a strong theme of friendship, and the main characters are a little too lucky. Of course, the target audience probably won't be familiar with these things yet and will just enjoy the fantasy!

Also there are some nice Illustrations with some minor problems. I loved the fact that the text was interspersed with pictures, and it's great for the intended reading level. The pen and ink drawings were also of fine quality. However the illustrator did not do enough research on the animals they drew, if any. The pine martens are depicted with rodent-like teeth and a squirrellish appearance, and the villain animals can be impossible to distinguish what species they are intended to be. Rats, weasels, and wolves are very different animals, so it should not be possible to confuse them when looking at drawings of them. Pine martens are carnivores, not rodents, and look nothing like squirrels. In fact they actively catch and eat squirrels. I believe that children should be presented with accurate zoological facts and many of the illustrations present false information. As an educator or parent it might be a great learning experience to help an interested child draw these animals correctly and pick out errors.