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by Michele Fry, Scholar's Blog
The Darkling
The Darkling is Charles Butler’s debut novel. Since childhood, 15-year-old Petra has loved to scare herself with the
Darkling, a make-believe creature created from night time shadows on the wall. But what happens when the Darkling takes on
a life of its own and when it reveals the tragic secret of nearby Century Hall and its elderly owner? And why does Mr.
Century insist on giving Petra gifts? No one, not even Petra, could guess at the terrifying events that will be unleashed by
the Darkling, or the way they will change her life.
Timon's Tide
Timon's Tide is Charles Butler's second novel. It focuses on 16-year-old Daniel, whose elder brother Timon, was
drowned six years ago. His body was found near the Bristol docks, bound with plastic cords. Or so Daniel has always
believed. Yet Daniel does not doubt that the down-and-out who accosts him in the street is Timon. Daniel already finds his
complicated family life, with a step-father and a step-sister, difficult enough, without the unnerving presence of Timon,
and the guilt Daniel feels over his brother's death, which he is now uncertain took place.
As with all Charles Butler's novels, Timon's Tide is chilling yet gripping; the pace is swift and the conclusion
looks terrifyingly likely to be another tragedy for a family that is being haunted mercilessly.
Calypso Dreaming
Charles Butler's Calypso Dreaming is set on Sweetholm, a small island out in the Bristol channel, which is best
known for its seal and seabird colonies. When Geoff and Hilary Robinson are offered the opportunity to look after a house
there for the summer, they see it as a good opportunity to work at patching up their disintegrating marriage. Tansy, their
teenage daughter sees it as a chance to put behind her the unnerving experiments she and her best friend Kate have been
making in magic. Unfortunately trouble is not so easily outrun and Sweetholm is far from the idyllic retreat it appears to
be. It is, as the tagline on the dustjacket says, "one of the places where the world is frayed," a place where the dividing
line between ordinary life and ancient magic has become dangerously thin. The key to the troubling events on Sweetholm is
Calypso, a strange child with round lidless eyes and webbed feet that hint at her ancestry. Her prophetic dreams have power,
but will anybody dare to believe the truth?
As with all of Charles Butler's books I have read, the supernatural in this book is disturbing and unnerving; it seems
all too easily possible. The book is also gripping and a page turner. Some of the things that happen to the characters, such
as Calypso's uncle Dominic, and Tansy's dad Geoff, are frightening, but for all that, I couldn't put it down. If you have
an impressionable nature, this book is best read in broad daylight!
The Fetch of Mardy Watt
Something is haunting Mardy Watt. It's been in her room, it's fooling her friends, and it's upsetting her home life. And the
trouble is, nobody realises what is happening except Mardy herself. Exactly why the Fetch is picking on her, Mardy doesn't
know—but she does know that she has to find out, before it takes over and replaces her completely. But whatever spell
had been put on her is growing stronger. And suddenly, rather than fear, she feels a rush of burning anger. How dare anyone
do this to her! How dare anyone steal her life!
The Fetch of Mardy Watt is a supernatural thriller; there is a mystery relating to why the Fetch is trying to take
over Mardy's life, and just who or what is Rachel Fludd. It's also a race against time—can Mardy's best friend Hal help
her to reclaim her life before she is trapped forever in her horrible half-life? And just who is the mysterious Mayor? I'm
not going to answer these questions, because then there would be no point in you reading the book, and I strongly recommend
that you do read it. Charles Butler's books deserve to be far better known than they are at present. If you don't believe me,
you can download a PDF extract from Charles's publisher's website
(Harper Collins) and read
it for yourself. I was reminded of Alan Garner’s Elidor when I was re-reading The Fetch of Mardy Watt,
with Uraniborg overlying Mardy’s everyday world, yet also lying separate from it.
Death of a Ghost
Charles Butler's latest novel Death of a Ghost is a timeslip ghost story. When 16-year-old Ossian returns to
Lychfont House from America with his artist father, he finds things are both familiar and yet oddly different. He
reacquaints himself with the Frazer family, who live at Lychfont, and finds himself questioning the accuracy of certain of
his childhood memories and wondering just why the place seems to hold such power over him. Of one thing he is sure,
however: the ghosts are still haunting him. Whilst Ossian is puzzling over his existence, a Celtic goddess is searching for
her lost love. Sulis calls in the scryer to track down her lover, wherever he may be, for their wedding must go ahead.
After all, she and Ossian were made for each other! But which Ossian is which ? There's the 15th century apprentice to a
goldsmith/alchemist, the latter having a sideline in torture for the government of the day; there's the Iron Age son of a
priest of Sulis; and then there's the 21st century son of an artist. But for whom of these three is Sulis searching?
This is a supernatural thriller that grabs the attention from the first page and refuses to let go. The twist in the tale is
quite astonishing and chilling. I won't say more or I'll spoil it! Death of a Ghost reminded a little of Diana
Wynne Jones’ The Time of the Ghost, although Butler’s “ghost” moves across a far greater timespan than Jones’
does.
Charles Butler’s books have more than one key theme in common (aside from the supernatural element). All his teenage
protagonists suffer from loneliness, having very few friends (usually they have just one friend on whom they can count); and
all of them come from fractured homes. Only Tansy’s parents are still together (but only just); every other protagonist has
lost at least one parent: Daniel’s father left home before his brother Timon’s death; Mardy’s father is dead, as is Petra’s
mother; and Ossian’s artist father is not with Ossian’s mother. It appears that the loneliness of these teenagers gives the
supernatural beings a foothold in their lives, allowing them to interfere. The other key theme of Butler’s books is time:
whilst time is never as fluid in Butler’s books as it is in Death of a Ghost, it is nevertheless clear from
The Darkling onwards, that the past and the present are far more interrelated than anyone really believes, and
that it is occasionally possible for an individual to see into, or even move in, the past. In each book there is a key
event that is directly linked to the events recounted in that book, an event which acts almost as a trigger for the
subsequent events. Usually the event is several years in the past, but occasionally it took place only a few months before
the events of the book. Thus, Butler explores the idea that one individual is linked to another individual from a lifetime or
more ago, and that time is not necessarily linear.
The Darkling. Orion, 1997 and McElderry, 1998. ISBN: 1-8588-1383-2.
Timon's Tide. Orion, 1998 and McElderry, 2000. ISBN: 0-6898-2593-5.
Calypso Dreaming. HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0-0071-2856-8.
The Fetch of Mardy Watt. HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN: 0-0071-2857-6.
Death of a Ghost. HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN: 0-0071-2858-4.
Forthcoming: The Lurkers. Usborne, 2006.
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