Urn Burial [Import] [Paperback]

Robert Westall (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Mammoth; New Ed edition (2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749745231
• ISBN-13: 978-0749745233
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,765,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Excellent, One Of The Best Books I've Ever Read, December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Urn Burial (Hardcover)

"Urn Burial" is the story of a young man and his interaction with forces beyond his control. Capturing the mood and feeling of Scotland, Westall tells how 'Ralph', the lead character, uncovers an alien coffin and goes on to detail the strange and intriuging set of events that unfold. It's all very believable. "Urn Burial" won the Carneigie award for teenage fiction and this book is certainly Westall at his best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of "urn burial" by robert westall, June 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Urn Burial (Hardcover)

"Urn Burial" is one of my very favorite books. I am definintly not a science fiction freak, but this one was really good. It is about a boy who discovers a cat-like being's body buried in a cairn with many mysterious objects, but gets more than he bargained for when an alien race, much resembling dogs, pays earth a visit hoping to find a the cat-thing after detecting the radition from an egg buried with the cat.

4.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Gem, September 19, 2011

By 

Jerome E Murphy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Urn Burial (Puffin Teenage Fiction) (Paperback)

Is this out of print? No surprise - Westall crafts the kind of careful, literate YA fiction that doesn't rely on miniseries adaptions full of chases and explosions. That said, URN BURIAL has its share of battles and blood.

The premise alone is spine-tingling - a teen shepherd uncovering an alien coffin beneath a stone cairn in the remote Scottish hills. This awakens the players in an ancient intergalactic battle, in which he must now play a part. The plot, and its unfolding, are brilliantly conceived.

It starts off slow and atmospheric, with some unfamiliar vocabulary - but hang in there. It really takes off, plotwise, as it goes along, and although a bit predictable in spots (often, Westall's protagonist is not as quick as the reader), it's worth it just for the majesty of Westall's imagination. What could have been ridiculous is made plausible and understated.

This could have been the start of a series: it's a story that stays with you.