Tom de Freston (illustrator)
Pushkin Press
"We are the echo in the cave, the footsteps that follow you in the dark, the shadows in the trees.
We are fur and feather, bark and bone. We are light and dark. Earth and sky. Sun and moon. We are as one…"
When Kit's younger sister disappears from the world on the winter solstice with only Kit and a young boy named Story remembering that she ever existed the two kids team up to work out what happened and find theselves pawns in a game played by cosmic entities that could end the world.
Hyder has produced a lively romp across time and Tenby with it's feet firmly set in folkloric fantasy territory with one little toe - probably the left one - stretching into Nigel Kneale territory with echoes of 'The Stone Tape'. There's also a real commonality here with Susan Cooper's, 'The Dark is Rising' series, more in the nebulous realms of 'feel' than in the more tangible realms of narrative or concept and that's no bad thing because that's what got me to pick the book up in the first place, along with de Freston's stunning cover art.
Hyder has a quick and lively style that made it a quick and thrilling read but there were a couple of instances where I felt the story could have been tightened up a little but that's a small quibble as what we have is a fun, slightly old fashioned, adventure filled with ancient magics and if, like me, you're a fan of the aforementioned Susan Cooper's venerable series then this will definitely be right up your megalith lined alley.
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