Unexpected children's fiction post

[glenatron]

The other day my mum mentioned that Lloyd Alexander had died. His Chronicles Of Prydein ( which some of you may know only in it's watered down disnified form as The Black Cauldron ) are some of the most warm-hearted and funny books I have ever read. I go back to my increasingly worn down copies of them every few years, especially if I need cheering up and like all truly great childrens literature it is still just as easy for an adult to enjoy them and they have a depth and subtle thought-provoking quality that explores the real world without getting in the way of the story. I heartily recommend the whole series to anyone who has not read them.

When I found the obituary linked above I noticed that a nearby link was to an obituary for Pat O'Shea, author of The Hounds Of The Morrigan - another classic book that I loved when I was young, full of myth and magic and certainly one of the reasons that I am now so keen on writers like Mark Chadbourn, Tim Powers, Neil Gaiman and Robert Holdstock now.

Another writer who strongly influenced my reading in that direction was Susan Cooper, whose brilliant The Dark Is Rising sequence were built on a tantalising mix of myth, time travel and the modern world. From the first time I read them they absolutely fascinated me and I reread them time and again. Consequently, I'm slightly anxious about how the forthcoming film adaptation - can they really get it right? Are they going to make Will Stanton, from Buckinhamshire, American by any chance? Christopher Ecclestone as The Rider, yes I can see that, but Ian McShane as Merriman? Can we expect to see Tink and Eric ineptly assisting in the attempts to recover the signs of the light? Has some dodgy dealer swapped the Book of Gramarye for a ringbinder full of copies of heat?

I would love for the film to be made and for it to be great and they have a very solid writer and what looks like a pretty good cast generally, but somehow everything I have seen about it just makes me nervous.

Comments

[life-of-tom.livejournal.com]

Oh, stu, you haven't read those? You really should, you know. If you liked Lewis, Alan Garner, or Robert Holdstock, Penelope Lively, or anyone who writes fantasy where the magical intrudes upon the modern day, then you really have to read The Dark is Rising sequence. The titular book is actually the second in the sequence, but much like it's better to read 'the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' before reading 'the Magician's Nephew,' you will appreciate 'Over Sea, Under Stone' much more if you've read 'The Dark is Rising' first.