Publication Date: February 4, 2008 | Series: Faerie Wars
It is Henry's third visit to the Faerie Realm, but this time in a rather different guise and to a rather different kind of place. Holly Blue is Queen and Lord Hairstreak appears to be proposing a truce between the Faeries of the Night and the Faeries of the Light. Meanwhile Prince Pyrgus has stumbled across some mysterious crystal flowers with an apparently formidable secret weapon, and there are rumours of a demon invasion led by Beleth, the Prince of Darkness. Queen Blue, wary of her uncle's uncharacteristic generosity, pays a visit to the Spicemaster's labyrinth in an attempt to divine the possible future of the Realm. She is warned to beware someone close, little realising just how careful she will need to be - and when she is kidnapped by the most unlikely candidate, the Realm rapidly descends into chaos.In a dramatic adventure Blue, Pyrgus and Henry will find themselves in the midst of a furious battle to protect the future of the Realm and secure the throne for the rightful ruler.
'If Mervyn Peake met Melvin Burgess in a very dark alley, they might emerge with 'Faerie Wars.' Eoin Colfer 'Inventive as Harry Potter, dark as Gormenghast and as intelligently probing as Philip Pullman, here is a title to brighten the dreariest of winter days.' Nicholas Tucker, The Independent
A professional writer whose work has appeared in more than fifty countries, Herbie Brennan is enjoyed by children and adults alike -- sales of his books already exceed 7.5 million copies.
Herbie has an well-established career writing for the children's market -- from picture books to teenage fiction, from game books to school curriculum non-fiction. His keen eye for novelty, both in technology and market development, made him among the very first writers to create adventure gamebooks and his GrailQuest series was an international bestseller.
His teenage novel, Faerie Wars, also rocketed to international success, achieving best-seller status in more than 20 overseas editions, and was voted No 1 Top Ten Teenage Pick in the United States and listed as a New York Times Best Seller title.
Equally prolific in the adult market, Herbie has a powerful reputation for challenging conventional assumptions with penetrating intelligence and a clear, easy style. This is reflected in his interests, which range from transpersonal psychology, spirituality, reincarnation and psychical research to comparative religion and quantum physics. His reappraisal of ancient history has stirred lively debate on TV and radio as well as in the Press. He broadcasts and lectures regularly throughout the UK and Ireland.
Herbie became interested in mysticism as a child and was studying books on the subject virtually from the time he was able to read. He found himself pursuing several unorthodox lines of research, including hypnosis, and actually hypnotised his first subject -- a school friend -- at the age of nine!
He began a journalistic career at eighteen and at twenty-four became the youngest newspaper editor in his native Ireland. His early career path included magazine work, hypnotherapy, counselling, advertising and market¬ing.
His first book, Astral Doorways, an exploration of out-of-body experience, became a specialist best-seller and went on to become a classic in its field -- it is still in print some thirty-five years on.
In his mid twenties, Herbie had his first novel published, an historical romance brought out by Doubleday in New York. At the age of thirty he decided to devote most of his time to writing and has since gone on to produce more than 100 books, many of them international best-sellers.
When he can be persuaded to take a break from his writing, Herbie give lectures and seminars, which have included modules on reincarnation research, the astral plane, dreamwork, healing, spiritual development, psychical research, quantum physics and magical training..
With a background that includes writing for radio, the creation of boxed games and computer software, perhaps his greatest strength lies in the realm ideas, particularly in the diversification of publishing product into allied fields like audio and CD-ROM.
Some little minion told me in advance about something that happens in this third book of the Faerie Wars chronicles... and so I set it aside for six months. Dang it, I should never have listened! When I finally picked it up, I enjoyed it more than the first two. It is more of the cheeky humor--and more fanning of the flame between Blue and Henry... sigh....--and more violence, though not the cruel-to-kitties type from the first book, thank the Light. I think my favorite part is... um... How can I state this without creating a spoiler? Let's see: the validation of Mr. Fogarty's claims regarding alien abduction. There. Loved this one. (Please don't purchase for kids below high school age; they understand the violence but they may have questions about the s-e-x parts that you aren't ready to answer yet.)
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Another fast paced adventure in this series. The same characters are seen, and Henry's life on Earth is still just as confused. At the opening of the novel he is trying to convince himself that the Fairie Realm is his reation to stress and that he created it all in his mind. Of course he and the reader get to be really confused as he is abducted by aliens and later transported a la Star Trek into the Fairy Realm.
The love Henry and Blue feel for each other is exploited in this and Blue is having a hard time dealing with the pressures of being the Ruler.
While these books are about fairies and magic they have alot more of a tomboyish bent to them than a girly froofy fairy tale. Some very fun scenes happen and clearly this is not the last book in the series.
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A new 'Faerie Wars Chronicles' title for middle-school fantasy enthusiasts will reach both prior fans of The Faerie Wars and newcomers, who will find most accessible the story of the newly crowned Queen Blue, who is trying to rule her new kingdom. Her visit to the Spicemaster brings a warning and when her brother discovers a secret weapon just when Lord Hairstreak offers peace, trouble ensues, furthered by Blue's disappearance just as Henry returns from the Analogue world. It's the third adventure in the chronicles, but leisure readers will find it quite accessible.
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