The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: The classic magical fantasy adventure for children

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In the Firefly Online game, one of the planets of the Himinbjörg system (which features planets named after figures from Germanic mythology) is named Brisingamen. It is third from the star, and has moons named Freya, Beowulf, and Alberich. I'll be honest, I found the ending something of a let down. It might just be me, but it seemed anti-climatic and the book almost ended too abruptly. In a typical hero's journey story arc there's a spell after the last battle where we learn about the impact of the events of the book, but we don't get that here. The whole book was great, inventive, poetic, tense, exciting... But then I read the ending I was left, somehow... Unsatisfied? I don't know if this was the author's intention, Alan Garner seeming to be one who has a different perspective than most authors, but I feel like I'd have enjoyed it just that little bit more if there'd been something more similar to a traditional final chapter. All in all though, it's a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.

Faulkes, Anthony and Barnes, Michael (compilers) A New Introduction to Old Norse. Part III: Glossary and Index of Names. Fourth ed. Viking Society for Northern Research, 2007. That's not to detract from Garner's achievement. Anyone can walk around a beautiful place and learn a few local legends. It takes a rare talent to breath them into passages like this:Unfortunately for seekers after magic, instead of wizards, Alderley Edge is now best known for housing shops unironically titled Posh, cars with engines specifically designed to cut down the time before we get to peak oil, and the stars of Coronation Street. As Wikipedia tells us: Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien, and in many respects better than Tolkien, because deeper and more truthful ... Any country except Britain would have long ago recognised his importance, and celebrated it with postage stamps and statues and street-names. But that's the way with us: our greatest prophets go unnoticed by the politicians and the owners of media empires. I salute him with the most heartfelt respect and admiration. [21] Nikolajeva, Maria (1989). "The Insignificance of Time: Red Shift". Children's Literature Association Quarterly. 14 (3): 128–131. doi: 10.1353/chq.0.0763. S2CID 145471358.

But if you are a genuine fan of epic fantasy, get a copy of this book, read it and then share it with your children – they will never forget it. Alan Garner to conclude Weirdstone of Brisingamen trilogy". Alison Flood. The Guardian 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012. Cadellin Silverbrow – The ancient wizard who was long ago entrusted with the guardianship of the weirdstone and the sleeping knights of Fundindelve. Susan and Colin, Garner's young heroes, are highly idealized. Both are resourceful, loyal, good-hearted, eager, brave, and determined in equal measure. In later books like Elidor and The Owl Service, Garner shows himself capable of imagining young people with realistic flaws, but in this one and its sequel, The Moon of Gomrath, he clearly did not try. Instead, as several critics have remarked, Susan and Colin function as blank spaces in the stories into which the reader can project himself or herself. Assuming that Garner's purpose was to construct appealing tales fully enjoyable without hard thinking, Susan and Colin do their job perfectly.Before writing Elidor, Garner had seen a dinner service set which could be arranged to make pictures of either flowers or owls. Inspired by this design, he produced his fourth novel, The Owl Service. [22] The story, which was heavily influenced by the Medieval Welsh tale of Math fab Mathonwy from the Mabinogion, [22] was critically acclaimed, winning both the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. [22] It also sparked discussions among critics as to whether Garner should properly be considered a children's writer, given that this book in particular was deemed equally suitable for an adult readership. [22] When Colin and Susan are pursued by eerie creatures across Alderley Edge, the wizard - Cadellin Silverbrow – takes them to safety deep in the caves of Fundindelve. Here he watches over the sleep of one hundred and forty knights, awaiting the fated hour when they must rise and fight. The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was dramatised in 6 30-minute parts by Nan Macdonald for the BBC's Home Service broadcast in November 1963. [55]

The story mainly follows two children, Colin and Susan who are staying with their relative - a farmer called Gowther in Alderley Edge. However, strange things are afoot in Alderley Edge. Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien, and in many respects better than Tolkien, because deeper and more truthful... Any country except Britain would have long ago recognised his importance, and celebrated it with postage stamps and statues and street-names. But that's the way with us: our greatest prophets go unnoticed by the politicians and the owners of media empires. I salute him with the most heartfelt respect and admiration. [40] Phoenix Award Brochure 2012" [ permanent dead link]. Children's Literature Association. Retrieved 12 December 2012. There are a lot of things I'd love to know about this world, especially how the magical bits fit into the everyday bits - at one stage they're on their epic journey from the farmhouse to the hill, hiding from evil enemies in the skies and the dark, and they hear cars driving past on a normal road. What do these people think? Have any of them seen the weird things going on around them? Why doesn't Alan Garner tell me these things? Gillies, Carolyn (1975). "Possession and Structure in the Novels of Alan Garner". Children's Literature in Education. 6 (3): 107–117. doi: 10.1007/BF01263341. S2CID 144402971.

Even though the modern age may have impinged on Alderley Edge, I have a feeling that, long after the Premier League has collapsed under the weight of its own corruption and The Rovers' Return has served its last pint, people will still be telling stories about the knights sleeping under the hill and the farmer who met a wizard at Thieves' Hole. Admittedly, that isn't just thanks to Garner. Many of the stories he tells in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Moon of Gomrath are, if not as old as the hills, at least as old as the mines and paths that have helped shape the Cheshire landscape. You could argue that the local lore and landscape have shaped Garner's books just as much as his dark visions alter the way we look at the place. Indeed, a good part of the book's longevity might be attributed to his ability to work in material that has already stood the test of time, stories long since proven.

Brisingamen is represented as a card in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, "Nordic Relic Brisingamen". Alan Garner’s brilliantly titled 1960 fantasy takes North European tropes familiar from ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and spins them into a very English children’s fantasy. Two children, a brother and sister called Colin and Susan, are sent to stay with relatives of their mother’s when she must join their father abroad for six months.Nastrond – The great spirit of darkness who was defeated by the King in Fundindelve, but is ever waiting to return and conquer the mortal world. He is mentioned in the book but never appears firsthand.