From Amazon.com
An Irish Canadian author’s lauded fairy fantasies are updated and introduced to U.S. fantasy readers for the first time in O.R. Melling’s
Chronicles of Faerie. The first volume,
The Hunter’s Moon, follows two cousins, Gwen and Findabhair, as they backpack around Ireland in search of the country’s magical past. But the girls go too far when they dare to spend the night in a known fairy mound. Finn is stolen away by the dark king of Faerie to become his bride sacrifice to the Great Worm, or Hunter. It is up to timid Gwen to rescue her intrepid cousin, and she wonders if the task will be too much the first time she catches a glimpse of the Little People at play. "Gwen quaked inside. This wild abandon…was beyond anything she could imagine…Exquisite chaos." But with the help of a fairy doctress and her handsome grandson, Gwen assembles a rag tag team of heroes determined to bring Finn back -- even if it means the destruction of Faerie itself.
Melling’s scholarship is evident. In fact, some readers may wonder why she just didn’t write a nonfiction book about Ireland’s rich folklore, as her characters often step clumsily out of the narrative to spout a factual, yet hyperbolic speech about a particular cave, lake or legendary creature. But while Melling’s writing is less successful when her characters are on this side of the Veil, her descriptions of Fairie are sweeping and romantic. Fans of writers like Midori Snyder or Clare Dunkle are sure to enjoy them. (Ages 10-15) --Jennifer Hubert
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Books in Canada
For some, coming to grips with a challenge means passing another milestone along the road to maturity. For others, it's a matter of life and death. For Findabhair (pronounced "finn-ah-veer") and Gwen, the joint heroines of 0. R. Melling's The Hunter's Moon, however, the challenges come from all directions. Fantasy-loving Findabhair dares to sleep on sacred Irish ground and is stolen by the King of the Fairies. Gwen, her more practical Canadian cousin, sets out to rescue her with the help of a leprechaun in a battered Triumph and a businessman with red hair and freckles. What makes this story sing is the ease with which Melling alternates between fantasy and reality, making her readers, like her characters, "Comfortable with both." Add generous helpings of suspense, romance, humour, and atmosphere you could cut with a knife, and the result is a thoroughly enjoyable yam by an author with impressive command of her material, writing within the tradition of Irish folklore and legend
Pat Barclay (Books in Canada)
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
