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by Michele Fry, Scholar's Blog
The Snow-walker Trilogy
by Catherine Fisher
The Snow-Walker's Son
Young Jessa is horrified when she learns that the Jarl (the king-chieftain of her people) is exiling her and Thorkil,
because their dead fathers supported Wulfgar instead of him for the role of Jarl. They are exiled to Thrasirshall; there
Kari, the son of the Jarl and his cold, evil witch of a wife, Gudrun, lives in isolation apart from Brochael, his carer.
Kari is rumoured to be a monster as Thorkil tells Jessa:
He has a pelt of fur like a troll. He tears his skin with his teeth in his fits. Others say he has eyes
like a wolf. There are plenty of stories. Who knows which is true?
But when Jessa and Thorkil arrive at Thrasirshall after a long and dangerous journey through the snow-bound countryside
north of their coastal village, they find that Kari is not a monster, just a lonely young boy. But he's a lonely young boy with the power to
destroy his scheming sorceress mother, so he has been isolated to protect Gudrun's power and position. Kari, like Gudrun,
is a Snow Walker, one of the white people of the far north who possess the power, amongst other things, to create fire,
enter people's minds (subduing them to their will) and to leave their bodies to walk in spirit form.
Gudrun is ruling the Jarlshold through her husband, controlling the minds of the people so that they will accept Ragnar as
the Jarl, instead of Wulfgar, who was the rightful heir. Jessa and Thorkil join Brochael, Kari and a skald named Skapti, in
searching out Wulfgar, so that he can become the Jarl instead. But their task will not be easy: Kari's powers are largely
untried, and Gudrun appears to be far too aware of what's going on with her enemies, and Jessa begins to suspect that
Gudrun is using someone in the group to keep track of them. Who is it, and how has Gudrun gained their compliance?
The Empty Hand
After the death of the Jarl, Gudrun vanishes, and the new Jarl, Wulfgar, begins his rule. Meanwhile, to Jessa's
disappointment, Kari and Brochael go back to Thrasirshall in the north for a few years, so that Kari can learn to master
more of his magic abilities. Kari fears becoming like his evil mother, Gudrun, whilst others fear his dark magic. Even
Wulfgar, who owes his role as Jarl to Kari, begins to doubt him, especially when Kari is accused of bringing danger to the
Jarlshold via a prophecy given by a priest whom Wulfgar trusts.
But then Kari find himself with more than just accusations to survive. A monstrous, bear-like creature is coming to the
Jarlshold, with Wulfgar as its target. Will Jessa and the others survive in their hunt for it and will Kari be able to
overcome it before it destroys the Jarl?
The Soul Thieves
This book recounts the final conflict between Gudrun and Kari. They are identical but opposite, and therefore bound to each
other with a link that Kari wants broken for all time. Gudrun hates and fears her son, but she cannot leave him alone,
despite the fact that she has retreated to her palace in the land of the Snow-Walkers, which lies far to the north, beyond
all natural knowledge of those of the Jarlshold. She continues to watch Kari and the people of the Jarlshold, and waits for
her chance to persuade Kari to join her.
Loathing Wulfgar, Gudrun has promised him that she will take away from him that which he loves the best. As he prepares to
celebrate his marriage to Signi, Gudrun's plan becomes shockingly clear:
Around them the mist closed in. Shapes moved in it; they thought they say huge men, tall as trolls, creatures
from nightmares. A fog-wolf with glinting eyes snarled under the table; the legs of distorted, monstrous beings
waded past them through the hall. Frost was spreading quickly across the floor; it crunched under their feet
and nails; they breathed it in and the pain of it seared their throats, clogged their voices.
'Getting cold,' Hakon's voice whispered, close to her.
'Me too.' She struggled to say, 'Keep awake,' but her lips felt swollen, her tongue would not make the sounds.
Cold stiffened her clenched fingers.
'Hakon...' she murmured, but he did not answer. She felt for him; his arm lay cold beside her.
Around them the hall was silent.
Now the white grip of the ice was creeping gently over her cheek, spreading on her skin. With a great effort she
shifted a little, and the fine film cracked, but it formed again almost instantly, sealing her lips with a mask
of glass. She couldn't breathe.
Crystals of ice closed over her eyelids, crusting her lashes.
Darkness froze in her mind.
Whilst the people lie enchanted in the Jarl's great hall, Gudrun steals Signi's soul away and leaves her in a death-like
state. There is only one way to get Signi's soul back: Kari will have to go north and confront his mother. He isn't sure if
he has the power to overcome since he has not devoted his life to the study of evil sorcery, but unless he can beat her
now, he will never be free of her, nor will the people of the Jarlshold.
The journey to the land of the Snow-Walkers is dangerous and terrifying, going beyond all maps but one, an ancient almost
unreadable map that Kari takes with him on his journey to the land of the Snow-Walkers. But he does not journey alone; his
old friend Jessa, his guardian Brochael, Skapti the poet, and the former thrall Hakon accompany him on his quest. And it is
not merely Signi's soul that is at stake. Gudrun's spell has been designed to eventually overcome everyone in the
Jarlshold, so that eventually there will be nothing but soulless shells left behind.
Catherine Fisher's writing is descriptive, poetic, and tense. Her descriptions of magical beasts and phantoms are totally
spellbinding, and the narrative pace matches the movement of her characters through the snow-bound landscape.
The Fetch
by Chris Humphreys
I like the cover of this book.
It's not often I comment on cover artwork because, on the whole, I don't find pictures very meaningful, but this black and
blood-red cover suits the tale within.
Chris Humphreys' The Fetch is the first book in the Runestone Saga, rather like the Norse sagas of old, with
which it has things in common.
15-year-old Sky's ancestor was a great Viking warrior, and his Norwegian grandfather, Sigurd, knew the secret magics of the
runes. When Sigurd's old sea chest turns up at his house, Sky investigates and finds an old journal and a drawstring bag of
Norse Runestones hidden in the lid. When Sky's cousin Kristin, who is a year older than him, comes for a holiday visit to
his new Shropshire home on Wenlock Edge, they start to learn about Runestone magic. Sky discovers that he can send his
Fetch back through time and get involved in his ancestors' lives. His first trip takes him to inhabit the body of his
ancestor, Bjorn, a 15-year-old Norwegian boy who is going a-Viking for the first time, and is on a raiding trip to England,
to York. Inhabiting Bjorn's body, Sky fights as a Viking warrior and Berserker (a warrior who fights like an animal, rather
than a human—most of the Berserkers about whom I've read are wolves, but Bjorn is a bear).
However, Sky learns from his grandfather's Fetch that the runes demand a price for the knowledge they give, just as Odin
the Allfather had to pay a price for the Runes when he was first given them. Sky slowly discovers what kind of price that
means—a blood price, and when his grandfather reveals whose blood, Sky is horrified.
Sky is a likeable character, with just enough immaturity left in him to allow him to make mistakes and to learn from them.
He has a bit of a tendency to act without thinking things through properly, but he's redeemed by his willingness to accept
the consequences of his rash actions without complaint.
Since this is book one of the series, I will note, without giving away too much, that the ending of the book resolves the
immediate conflicts well although, as you would expect, it doesn't wrap up some of the central issues regarding Sky's
ultimate fate. The teenage dialogue is a little dull, but the narrative style is strong and direct. The only thing that
really annoyed me (and it's a fairly small thing), was this rather unnecessary jibe: "[Kristin] was reaching into her bag
again. Like most girls' bags, it was overflowing with rubbish." (p. 91) That is such a cliché! Plus, I know plenty of men
whose bags/briefcases also overflow with rubbish.
That aside, this book is a strong start to the series and I hope Humphreys maintains that strength. I shall eagerly look
out for the sequels.
Changeling
by Delia Sherman
I get the impression that Delia Sherman's tongue was quite firmly in her cheek when she wrote Changeling. This is
a contemporary tale of Faerie that combines children's literature with pop culture in a witty, clever and intriguing manner.
Neef is a mortal changeling who lives in New York Between, a parallel version of our New York where fairies, elves,
vampires, demons, dragons, and numerous other familiar beings exist. Neef was stolen by fairies who replaced her with one
of their own, a fairy changeling. She is protected by her fairy godmother, a large talking white rat named Astris. Neef is
in search of Adventure and one day she runs into Peg Powler, an old bogeywoman, who lets slip the information that a Dance
takes place every Winter and Summer Solstice and all the denizens of Central Park (where Neef lives) attend, including the
other mortal changelings. Unlike Cinderella, Neef's fairy godmother has never allowed or encouraged Neef to attend, but she
is determined to go this summer. She finds a Kazna Peri, who sells her some keep-awake (coffee to you and me!), and she is
able to stay awake on Solstice night, despite the usual visit from the Sandman. Neef then sneaks out to attend the Solstice
Dance, but in doing so she breaks the geas laid on her when she was Changed, and loses the protection of the Green Lady,
the Genius of Central Park. Neef, however, nothing daunted, refuses to panic when she discovers she's about to be handed
over to the Wild Hunt, and bargains with the Green Lady. If she can successfully accomplish three tasks, she won't be
thrown out of the Park or lose the Green Lady's protection. Neef agrees to get hold of the Mermaid Queen of New York
Harbour's Magical Magnifying Mirror, a ticket for an orchestra seat for Peter Pan, featuring the original Tinkerbell, and
the Scales of the Dragon of Wall Street.
Prior to making this bargain with the Green Lady, Neef encountered her fairy changeling at the annual Eloise Awards for the
Most Spoiled Child, to which she was taken by Carlyle, a Japanese tengu, who had already found Jennifer (Neef's fairy
changeling). Changeling, as Neef calls her, helps Neef with her quest to bring back the required objects for the Green
Lady, startling Neef quite often in the process.
This book is riddled with allusions to children's books (the Water Rat from The Wind in the Willows and
Stuart Little both live in Central Park), fairy-tale motifs, and contemporary culture (including references to
computers, the New York Stock Exchange, Broadway ticket sharps amongst others).
I confess, I only know New York secondhand (thanks in large part to Helene Hanff's memoirs), but I could still recognise
it in the descriptions of New York Between. I thoroughly enjoyed Changeling.
The Snow-walker Trilogy, by Catherine Fisher. Red Fox, 2003. ISBN: 0-0994-4806-8.
The Fetch, by Chris Humphreys. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006. ISBN: 0-3758-3292-0.
Changeling, by Delia Sherman. Viking Juvenile, 2006. ISBN: 0-6700-5967-6.
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