Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1179484 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-02
• Released on: 2007-01-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780765356741
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8–The Faerie Wars (Bloomsbury, 2003) by Herbie Brennan is an introduction to the complex world of the Faerie Realm, which is inhabited by the Faeries of the Night and the Faeries of the Light. The two main characters are teenaged boys, Henry Atherton, a likeable, forthright, British boy whose family is breaking up as a result of his mother's lesbian affair with his father's secretary, and Prince Pyrgus Malvae, heir to the Purple Emperor, a brave, socially conscious Faerie of the Light. The come from very different worlds but are thrown together when Henry is cleaning out the shed of his summer employer, Mr. Fogarty, a wily but brilliant physicist. Pyrgus has gotten into big trouble in the faerie realm and his father has had him "translated" into the "Analogue World" (our world) to protect him. Mr. Fogarty's backyard is a portal between the two realms. Mr. Fogarty's physics background allows him and Henry to try to help Pyrgus get back home and, in so doing, a friendship develops between the three. This story about friendship, honor, good and evil, with some weapons, demons, and a budding romance thrown in for fun, is filled with symbolism, wit, and irony. Listeners will find the ending surprisingly satisfying considering that the book ends with the words, "to be continued." The main characters are genuine, appealing, and well developed. Other characters are merely introduced, and we are left hoping to learn more about them in ensuing episodes. Narrator Gerard Doyle does a remarkable job of bringing each character alive. He reads clearly with great enthusiasm and vibrancy, allowing whimsy and mischief to emerge. Fantasy readers will thoroughly enjoy this audiobook, especially fans of Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter.–Jo-Ann Carhart, East Islip Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 6-8. When Henry Atherton arrives at the house of eccentric old Mr. Fogarty, he comes upon crown prince Pyrgus Malvae, who has escaped the Faerie realm, where the Faeries of the Night want to kill him. Mr. Fogarty and Henry decide to help the prince return home. It's a complex situation, involving an evil demon, two avaricious glue factory owners, and Lord Hairstreak, leader of the Faeries of the Night, each with a personal agenda that will lead to taking over the realm. A subplot (Henry realizes that his mother, not his father, is having an affair with his father's secretary) is totally unnecessary, and there are discrepancies in the story and some awkwardness to slow things down. Still, there's enough solid adventure in the Faerie realm to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
'If Mervyn Peake met Melvin Burgess in a very dark alley, they might emerge with 'Faerie Wars.' Eoin Colfer 'Inventive as Harry Potter, dark as Gormenghast and as intelligently probing as Philip Pullman, here is a title to brighten the dreariest of winter days.' Nicholas Tucker, The Independent

Customer Reviews

Crossing the borders.
Henry Atherton is a fairly ordinary English boy, whose youthful optimism is shaken by a parent's infidelity and impending separation. Pyrgus Malvae seems to be a fairly typical disaffected fairy prince, impulsively making up the rules as he goes along -- until his fondness for kittens and, it seems, all creatures great and small forces the reader to reconsider his motivations.

These two characters collide when a portal from Pyrgus's world lands him in the backyard garden of Mr. Fogarty, Henry's elderly, somewhat paranoid employer with a genius for invention and a surprisingly shady past.

There are plots worth pursuing in both worlds, but those from mundane England are given short shrift here. Instead, Irish author Herbie Brennan focuses on Pyrgus's plight in both worlds and the various dark and demonic forces that threaten the peace of his fairyland home and his family's safety. In fact, it is sometimes hard to be sure who the real protagonist here is -- Henry, Pyrgus or Pyrgus's sister, Blue.

There will be plenty of time to sort all that out in the inevitable sequel. Meantime, Faerie Wars is a fine introduction to Brennan's dual world and opens many intriguing possibilities for future stories. Targeted for young adult fans of fantasy and contemporary fantasy, it will appeal equally to adult readers.

My only complaints are a too-neat resolution to one aspect of the story -- too much hinges on a convenient stumble at just the right moment -- and the feeling that we still know too little about Pyrgus's world by book's end. That, too, I imagine will be addressed in the sequel, and I urge fantasy buffs to pick up this series from the start.

One of the greatest books in it's genre.
First off, I have to note a complaint towards several of the reviewers who have criticized this book on the grounds that it "is not for children", and is thus too controversial for young children and their parents to enjoy. Well, there's a reason that it's filed under YOUNG ADULT!!! Just because a book has the word 'Faerie' in its title, doesn't necessarily mean it's written for kids. Young adult covers a variety of ages, generally ranging (at the youngest) from thirteen or fourteen all the way up to eighteen years old, however, this book is also thoroughly enjoyable for adults.

With that said, "Faerie Wars" is one of my favorite books, and for a very specific reason. It's unique and funny without straying and becoming overly tongue-and-cheek or childish in the process. This book covers a lot of ground in its 367 pages. The main characters are compelling, one with a fiery heart and strong motivation, the other a person who lacks those very two qualities, which makes for an interesting and fun character dynamic. The atmosphere in the book is incredible. Herbie Brennan cultivates a world so rich in detail, colors, scent, taste, etc. that you wish you were there, despite the evils that threaten to engulf it. (Hey, it's a fantasy book. What would a fantasy book be without the threat of an overwhelming evil on the horizon, right?) However, Brennan even finds a way to twist this, creating villains who aren't what they seem, and change, very realistically and surprisingly, more than once.

Another distinguishing factor that makes this book great, is voice. Herbie Brennan manages to convey the events that are taking place through the eyes of the character while at the same time injecting the thoughts of the narrator skillfully amidst the thoughts of the character. Brennan also manages to deftly juggle the story line from one character to the next, not leaving every break between characters with a cliff-hanger, but with just the right touch of suspense, compelling you to keep reading. The combined effect of these techniques results in a vortex-like effect, sucking you in and holding your attention until either you fall asleep from exhaustion, your light source runs out, or you read all the way through to the end.

All in all, I can't think of hardly anything that weighs this book down, but the pro's go as follow.

PRO'S
*Enjoyable characters and character dynamics
*A world so rich in detail and atmosphere, you won't want to leave.
*Villains whose wickedness holds your attention, and who's unique personalities almost outshine the main characters'. In short: thoroughly enjoyable bad-guys.
*A plot line that keeps you guessing, smiling, tense and enthralled all at the same time, boasting an amazingly minimal amount of plot-holes. Three cheers for Herbie Brennan!
*Skillful transitions from character to character and easy flowing changeovers from voice to voice.

CON'S
***Note: this con will vary from person to person. It all depends on what bothers you***
*Several sadistic scenes involving the villains of the story, as well as a small theme of controversy involving lesbians and a few descriptive scenes of gore involving black magic.

All in all, seeing as the controversy and slight violence/gore of the story doesn't upset me, I look at this book as one of the greatest accomplishments of it's genre, and a book that is so atmospheric and well-written, you won't want to put it down. Now THAT'S the mark of a great book.

Adult fantasy in a young-adult book cover
I just hate it when publishers put hopelessly misleading blurbs on the cover. This book is NOT for the kind of reader who would buy a book because it's "like Harry Potter." This book is for the kind of person who loves Harry Potter, but would rather take a nap than read a book that imitated Rowling's fantasy series.

Brennan is an original, and this book is very, very good. But it deals with dark things, and when the modern young hero finds out that his parents are splitting up because his mother is having an affair with his father's (female) secretary - well, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

But that's not what the book is about. It's actually as much about a young thief in a magical world that is parallel to our own - a thief who, when he passes over into our world, sprouts wings and becomes a you-know-what.

There's a good deal of humor, but it's not tongue-in-cheek; the overwhelming tenor of the book is the shadow of grim, banal evil that threatens both heroes.

I wouldn't hand this to any kid that I didn't want to have The Conversation with, right now. But for any kid who's ready for it - and a lot of adults hungry for good fantasy as well - I recommend it heartily.