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The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley

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When the wizard Cadellin took up his guardianship of 140 knights who await the final battle, he had yet to acquire one last horse. When he did so, the price was higher than he expected, for the seller took the stone Firefrost, the key that keeps the knights asleep and would wake them when they were needed. And so, it was lost to the sight of Cadellin.

This is the past that shapes the story of young Susan and Colin, children sent to stay with Gowther and Bess Mossock in Cheshire while their parents are abroad. For unknown to her, Susan bears the Wierdstone itself and the children quickly find themselves at the center of a great struggle between what is fair and what is utterly evil.

They will be menaced but the evil svarts and rescued by Cadellin. They will see Firefrost fall into the hands of the witch, Selena Place and Grimnir, the dark wizard. In the company of Gowther and two dwarves, Fenodree and Durathor they will snatch the stone back from the hands of the morthbrood and quest through tunnel, cave and forest to return it to Cadellin. And they will face a final battle at the edge of Ragnarok.

In an era of fantasy writing when we expect lengthy trilogies as a matter of course, it is amazing how few of them stand up to the standard set by this little (195 page) tale for young readers. Garner is a brilliant writer, who knows exactly how phrase his words so that they gain magical weight and shape without ever becoming over blown and stilted. From the first paragraph, the reader knows that this is something special and is quickly drawn into the world that lies behind the mundane appearances of rural Cheshire. Trees menace, mansions conceal passages to the underworld, and wizards live behind stones and under lakes. If animals do not talk, they certainly 'know,' and that is even better.

I have read this book several times, and if I regret anything, it is that is was not there for me when I was the age for which it was originally intended. But Alan Garner writes for the child we never leave behind, and the book remains entirely enchanting to me. Still a native of Cheshire, Garner captures the sounds and accents of that countryside with a sure pen. The story may remind you of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, but it is not at all derivative. Rather, it stands with them as one of the fine moments of British fantasy. By all means, give this book to your children, but do not forget to read it yourself.

In "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen," award-winning Cheshire writer Alan Garner retells the ancient legend of the cave of the sleeping king as a Young Adult fantasy. His story treads very lightly on the mantle of "Lord of the Rings," and a bit more heavily on Arthurian legend, but draws mainly from local folklore and Scandinavian mythology.

Except for school, a brief stint at Magdalen College, Oxford, and service in the Army, Mr. Garner has lived in Cheshire near Alderly Edge, as did generations of his family. He knows the `Weirdstone' terrain as well as its folklore, and he writes about what he knows: the cliffs and meres of Alderley Edge; and the maze of mines and tunnels that underlies Cheshire.

`Weirdstone' doesn't follow the path of a true Arthurian romance, except for the Cave Legend, and the brief appearance of Angharad Goldenhand who might or might not be the Lady of the Lake.

(The story of a king and his followers sleeping in a secret cave predates Arthur, but became attached to him as the `once and future king,' who will wake to serve his country again in time of great peril.)

There is also the wizard who guards the Cave. In this story, his name is Cadellin, and a few centuries past he misplaced the Weirdstone of Brisingamen while bargaining for a milk-white mare.

This story really begins when two children, Colin and Susan get off the train at Alderley Station. They are going to stay on the Mossock farm while their parents travel abroad, as Mrs. Mossock was their mother's former nurse. Susan happens to be wearing a bracelet set with an unusual stone, and we gradually learn the history of the stone, which has been passed down from mother to daughter of a local Chesire family, and finally to Susan. As family legend has it, a wizard traded the stone for a milk-white mare.

Very soon Colin and Susan discover the truth of the family legend, when they are rescued from a band of goblins (svart-alfar) by the wizard, Cadellin, and are taken to the cave where a King sleeps, along with a hundred knights clad in silver and mounted on milk-white steeds.

Cadellin doesn't realize why Colin and Susan were being hunted by the servants of Nastrond, the evil spirit of Ragnarok. Only after Susan's bracelet is stolen by a skeletal creature of the mist, does Cadellin understand that she possessed his magical Weirdstone.

Colin and Susan's quest to return the stone to Cadellin leads them on a desperate chase through the mines beneath Cheshire, and into a countryside transformed by a fierce and unseasonable fimbulwinter (the immediate prelude to the end of the world---Ragnarok.)

This is not a good story for the claustrophobic (I almost lost it when the kids were stuck down in the mine)or for those who don't like things that go bump in the night. There are monsters galore; almost too many to keep track of. There are powerful wizards, both good and evil.

And then, there is Ragnarok.

However, this is a good read for those who are not easily frightened (or who love a good fright), and who have at least some knowledge of Arthurian legends and Scandinavian folklore.

Wizards, dwarves, goblins and elves - Tolkien, right? Wrong, it's Alan Garner's "Weirdstone of Brisingamen," a spellbinding story in the true tradition of imaginative and inventive fantasy. Garner isn't as well-known as he deserves, but fantasy fans will gobble this right up.

Colin and Susan, a pair of English schoolkids, are sent to Alderly for a six-month vacation with their mother's old nurse and her husband. Things start off normally enough, with the kids exploring the area and the myths, legends and superstitions surrounding it. But things begin to take an eerie turn when they encounter a spell-chanting old woman named Selina Place - and then a horde of svart-alfar, hideous and hostile goblins.

They are unexpectedly rescued by the wizard Cadellin, who is the keeper of a company of knights sleeping deep under Alderly. They will awaken at some time in the future, to combat the evil spirit Nastrond and his minions in the final, magical battle. There's just one problem: long ago, Cadellin lost the Weirdstone of Brisingamen, the magical jewel that bound the knights there in the first place. Susan realizes too late that the little misty teardrop gem in her bracelet is the Weirdstone - and it's been stolen. The kids team up with Cadellin, the dwarves Fenodyree and Durathror, the lios-alfar (elves), and their friend Gowther to find the Weirdstone - and save the world.

Written in the 1960s, this book effectively combines the English-schoolkids-swept-into-magical adventure subgenre with mythology and the overlap of our world with another. Garner's wizards, dwarves, elves and goblins are as legit as Tolkien's, as Garner draws heavily from mythos and legends. There are similarities to Tolkien's creations, but they are sufficiently different that not once do you feel the need to compare. Garner lifts from Norse and Celtic mythologies for this book (mentions of the Morrigan and Ragnarok are featured within pages of one another) and manages to cobble it together into a coherent and believable whole.

Alderly is effectively shown - from the moment the kids venture out of the farm, you get the sense that enchantment is thrumming through the land, and that a magical creature could be lurking nearby. The sense of atmosphere is somewhat stunted by the fact that we rarely hear the characters' thoughts, though, but such creatures as the svart-alfar and the lios-alfar are effective in the simple, evocative descriptions.

This is a book more for Tolkien fans than Diana Wynne-Jones fans. Though there are a few funny parts, it is overall a relentlessly serious book, with many of the characters using archaic-sounding language. Another good thing: the kids speak like twentieth-century preteens ("That WOULD have made a mess of things!") while such characters as Durathror speaking like warriors from centuries ago ("... for there I think it will be, and so to Fundindelve, where I shall join you if I may.") In addition, there is no cutesy magic or gimmickry, or casual magical elements popping up every page or two. The magic featured in here is deadly serious and very intense.

Colin and Susan are the archetypical kids-on-holiday-in-magical-place: brave, respectful, inquisitive, curious, and in completely over their heads. Cadellin is an excellent wizard, dignified and powerful but sufficiently human to be sympathetic, such as his reaction when he hears that the Weirdstone has been stolen from Susan. This guy deserves a seat right below Gandalf, and alongside Merlin, Ged and Ebenezum. The dwarves are serious and unusually cool-headed for the fantasy portrayal of dwarves; the lios-alfar are featured less prominently, but the "elves of light" passage is one of the most moving paragraphs in the book, both sad and beautiful.

The only problem with this book is its shortness, and its presence as only one of two. The tales of Alderly are so rich that you feel that Garner could have churned out fifty books and never grown stale. If you are a fan of serious fantasy, for any age, read this book, and the sequel "Moon of Gomrath."

I can't imagine why more people (especially young people) aren't reading Alan Garner these days. His books, while still in print, aren't often found in the bookstores' active inventories anymore, which is a sad loss. Well, no matter -- you can get them through Amazon or (probably) at your local library. And you should, because they are wonderful!

I first read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen while in grade school, around the time I was discovering J.R.R. Tolkien and Lloyd Alexander. It's an exciting fantasy tale, the more so because it is woven into the hidden nooks and crannies of our own modern-day world -- unlike Tolkien and Alexander. You never know when you might look behind a standing stone, only to find a stromkarl chanting a spell, while other passersby would see nothing but a little man humming to himself ...

Colin and Susan are very likable young protagonists, and there are plenty of other characters -- both good and evil -- to keep the story engrossing. When I was young, I was terrified of the Mara and the Svart-alfar! And the Earldelving is enough to make anybody claustrophobic! The novel is full of surprises, excitement, and just good old fashioned adventure.

After many, many readings, I've come to appreciate what Garner's done from a more adult and "serious" standpoint -- integrating folkloric and mythological elements (particularly the Old Norse) into the fabric of a "modern" children's fantasy. Garner has much in common with Tolkien, Lewis, and the other Inklings, as well as Ursula K. Le Guin, Susan Cooper, and Lloyd Alexander.

But at the heart of it all, it's just great fantasy! Read it and see if you don't agree.

C. S. Lewis once wrote that a children's book that adults couldn't enjoy probably wouldn't be much good for children, either. Well, here's a slim but splendid volume that he would undoubtedly have savored! While any child who loves adventure, magic & an eerie sense of the otherworldly will love this book, so will any discerning adult with the same tastes.

Written in crisp, poetic prose that evokes powerful images in just a few words, the power of this story builds & builds, as we follow Colin & Susan into an older world of magic that still lives just behind the surface of the everyday world. Drawing upon Arthurian, Norse & Celtic legend, Alan Garner takes us into a world of mystery & wildness that always feels real, not the least bit made up. No by-the numbers D&D rehashings here! Just a story with the weight of myth, piercing & cold as an enchanted iron sword, ablaze with wonders & steeped in the blackest of shadows.

It's amazing to me that this superb story, as well as its equally superb sequel "The Moon of Gomrath," aren't better known. Alderley should be spoken of in the same breath as Middle-Earth & Narnia & Hogwarts -- although as a writer, Garner is in a class of his own. There's a certain uneasiness at play in these pages, a recognition that magic, even good magic, is dangerous & liable to have unexpected, even tragic consequences. And that's all to the good. The reader should come away from such an encounter with both awe & a little fear.

In later books, Garner delves more deeply into the nature & workings of myth -- intricate, thought-provoking work. But in this early tale & its sequel, he's probably more accessible to the general reader. In any case, he offers a fine tale -- one most highly recommended!

I read this book as a child, and I occasionally re-read it as an adult. There are extremely few books I can think of that can keep my interest for more than a few weeks, let alone thirty-odd years. It has many of the "usual" swords-and-sorcery elements you expect from a fantasy novel, but it has key differences. Everything and everyone is imperfect and therefore plausible. Sides are not clear-cut. Names are taken from actual mythology (or actual places) and aren't simply the product of hitting keys at random. The mythology is consistant. The story doesn't ask you to suspend disbelief, but creates a vivid enough "world" that the reader can live there quite comfortably for a while without suspending anything. These are the hallmarks of an excellent story and a master writer.

It is, of course, meaningless coincidence that they recently found 550 ancient coins in a relatively modern copper mine, when the moisture should have corroded them a thousand or more years before the mine was ever dug, not far from where the Iron Gates are described as being. It IS coincidence... isn't it?

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" is a great tale for older children and adults alike. It's filled with awesome fantasy - wizards, witches, warlocks, and more - and the old-English language, coupled with other vivid details, allow your imagination to take you along for the ride...

The gist of the story is this... two children named Colin & Susan arrive at Alderley to be looked after by family friends (the Mossocks). While there, strange things begin happening - and at the root of these strange happenings is a family heirloom, and the ultimate "fight" between good and evil to obtain this heirloom and the power it holds.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy-type books. It's a fun, imaginative book, where the pages seem to turn themselves.

Story of two children in a search for the magic stone of Brisingamen.

A very long time ago, 140 knights in shining amour were put to sleep, to await the final hour when evil will rule the world. In that time of need the knights would awaken, unite mankind and save everyone. However there is a problem. The knights sleep by magic from the stone of Brisingamen, but it is lost. Actually two children Colin and Susan have it. The bad witch Selena Place discovers this and tries to waylay them. However just in time the good guys, two dwarves and a human named Gowther realize this and tries to return it to the good wizard Cadellin. Now it's a race between the bad guys and the good guys. If the good guys can deliver the stone to Cadellin; Cadellin can use to banish the bad guys but if the bad ones get it, they will destroy the stone. Then the knights will awaken and die long before the final hour.

Alan Garner has done a good job, telling the tale with just the right amount of mistery. The children crawl through long underground caverns to reach Cadellin. You never know what is coming at you. Elves or werewolves or trolls or whatever.

I read this tale some forty years ago, but my memory is still fresh. I can still remember my wonderment of the mysterious world created by the author. It is a good mix of Scandinavian and Athurian folklore.

As a children's novel, this book is entirely successful. The plot is compelling, the characters are well-drawn, and it allows in just enough chaos and evil to make the final triumph of order and good truly satisfying. I have dozens of children's novels on my shelves with the same qualifications, but very few of them do I reread with the same frequency and pleasure as I reread both Tales of Alderley.

What sets this book apart and makes me return to it is the amazing quality of Garner's description of sights, sounds, smells, and textures. The children's ordeal undergound is unforgettable; the dancing flame at the heart of the weirdingstone is an image that has never left me; the evil characters are made all the more evil by their grotesqueness, slime, and stench.

When I think of this book I don't think of any of the cliches of most fantasy novels; I think of the grit of sand, the crunch of boots on gravel, ordinary English farmers, and the suburbs through the eyes of a dwarf.

Garner, not Tolkien, got me hooked on fantasy, myth, and folklore. BRISINGAMEN, not THE HOBBIT, was my gateway into that world.

Garner writes about reality and the magical world that dwells beside it in prose that brings both worlds home to the reader. Each seems as real as the one just outside your window. His style is efficient and elegant without being flowery. I won't give away the plot, but if you think you don't like fantasy, read a couple Garner books before you make your final decision.