ISBN 0 00 330087 0
Elidor is a children’s fantasy story that is set in the modern world, or at least the world of sixties England, when it was written. Four children find a way to travel to another world, and enter on a quest for treasures to save this world. Later, the other world, (Elidor), bleeds into ours, putting the children at risk. They must fight back, closing the gap between worlds.
There are 188 pages of text, and a few black and white illustrations to help the imagination of readers. The language of the text reflects the time that the book was written. For instance, children no longer say “it’s smashing,” or “Titchy, isn’t it?” Many of the things that happen in our world also reflect those times. Most households no longer have a supper trolley of sandwiches and cake; much less have all the family sitting together in the evening for such a meal. Nowadays no group of children would be left to roam freely about the City of Manchester, or indeed stay home alone for the evening whilst their parents attend a dinner dance.
The story uses sound as a means of opening a path to another world. This is a fresh idea for me, as is the concept of an old man playing the fiddle to create the right song for the process to work. The fact that this old man is later revealed as a slightly younger man in his world, the warrior Malebron, adds to the initial confusion and complexity of the new world. As this is exactly how the children feel, this is intended to help us travel with them on their journey. As they find out information, so does the reader.
In fact, the reader participates mostly through Roland, the youngest sibling. It is he who is identified as the strongest by Malebron, and he is named to save that world, and his siblings, whilst he is doing it. This creates a wish for Roland to succeed, not just for a good story, but in the traditional triumph of the underdog sense as well.
The fact that the children know what is going on and the adults do not, creates a bond with the reader. We are in on the secret too. As this book is aimed at children, I’m sure that they would enjoy the sense of being more in the know than adults.
A quest is a traditional element to any fantasy story, and there is an element in this story. The four siblings, Nicholas, David, Helen, and Roland, are all asked to retrieve “treasures” from inside a mound. It is dangerous in the mound, as the darkness will try to trick you. In fact the older three siblings try first, but end up trapped by the darkness. It is left to Roland, who saves his siblings, and organises the recovery of the four treasures in order to save Malebron’s world. Malebron then urges the children to take these treasures home with them to keep hope alive, preventing the darkness from winning. They agree to this.
As the treasures pass into our world, they transform into everyday objects to protect themselves. However, they give off static electricity, and begin to cause problems for local people. The treasures also become the focal point for darkness trying to send shadow men after the children in our world. This cause chaos, and only the children know what is really going on. In this story, the children are the heroes, and they bring resolution to the tale.
I thought that it was a good story with some intriguing ideas, and I didn’t mind the sixties setting in the least. However, I found the ending rushed in comparison to the rest of the novel, and the resolution was not as clear as it could be for my liking. Having said that, it is still worth a read on a rainy afternoon.
What I have learned;
Sound can be used as a way of opening transition between worlds or realities.
Interesting use of historical artifacts in the description of a fantasy realm.
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