Back cover:
"Round, and round, his voice went, and through it came a noise. It was low and vibrant, like wind in a chimney. It grew louder, more taut, and the wall blurred, and the floor shook. The noise was in the fabric of the church: it pulsed with sound. Then he heard a heavy door open; and close; and the noise faded away. It was now too still in the church, and the footsteps were moving over the rubble in the passage downstairs.
'Who's that?' said Roland.

The footsteps reached the stairs, and began to climb."

From that chilling moment, Roland was precipitated into the twilight world of Elidor, where the powers of evil had all but extinguished the last remaining glimmer of light and hope.

When this was published, quality over quantity was still in evidence, and imagination prevails over description. Given the length of most fantasy books nowadays, with trilogies and series appearing more often than not, it's surprising that Alan Garner managed to pack so much tension into such a short book. As mother to a child who will always pick the shortest book on offer, and is therefore often left reading something which has no plot and little imagination, I've already advised him to try some of these older books to improve his experience of reading.

In spite of the unicorn on the front cover, which turns out to be a latecomer to the story, this turns out to be an intense and creepy fantasy story where most of the action actually takes place in the real world. This would be a great book to get confident readers interested in fantasy. I'm sure Alan Garner's 'The Owl Service' was one of the books which sparked my first forays into the genre when I was twelve or thirteen. Recommended for children and adults who enjoy some suspense and magic, but are not prone to nightmares. This is no horror, but it does build on childhood nightmares.

'The darkness grew,' said Malebron. 'It is always there. We did not watch, and the power of night closed on Elidor. We had so much of ease that we did not mark the signs - a crop blighted, a spring failed, a man killed. Then it was too late - war, and siege, and betrayal, and the dying of the light.'[...]
'There is no hope but you.'
'Me,' said Roland. 'I'm no use. What could I do?'
'Nothing,' said Malebron, 'without me. And without you, I shall not live. Alone, we are lost: together, we shall bring the morning.'

To be edited later.

Dit boek is losgelaten voor de volgende BookCrossing challenges:
- The Ultimate Challenge - boeken lezen en loslaten, met bonuspunten voor een maandelijkse thema.
- Reduce Mount TBR (To Be Read) - lezen en loslaten van TBR boeken die al voor eind 2014 op de plank stonden. Mijn leesdoel is 36 boeken.
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge. Doel 2015: 15 boeken.

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This book has been released as part of the following BookCrossing challenges:
- The Ultimate Challenge - read and release books, with extra points for a monthly theme
- Reduce Mount TBR (To Be Read) - read and release books on the TBR list since before the end of 2014. My reading goal is 36 books.
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Challenge. 2015 goal: 15.