The Moon of Gomrath

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Fun, fantasy romps; you can’t just stop at one. This week the adventures of Susan and Colin continued with The Moon of Gomrath.

This tiny novel chronicles the second adventure of Colin and Susan and the world of high magic, which they unwittingly discovered in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen. Although nothing more has been heard of Nastrond, the children are far from safe, as the shape-shifting Morrigan is still at large and looking for revenge. Soon, for a second time, the kids are thrown headlong into the world of magic as Susan is possessed by a dark being, they unwittingly unleash an ancient hunting party that can’t be stopped by modern magic, and Colin is kidnapped by the Morrigan. With the help of the wizard Cadellin, the dwarf Uthecar, and the elf Albanac, Susan is set on an adventure bigger than her first one, full of magic, wonder, and danger.

The Moon of Gomrath proves to be a solid, if slightly generic fantasy story filled with recognisable tricks and tropes of the genre. Like Weirdstone, the pace is fast-moving, but somehow still very easy to keep up with and the all the loveable characters and exciting influences of Norse mythology are there to keep us enthralled, as well as the obvious dramatic theme of the old vs the new. 

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Being a second book, Gomrath is a little more exciting and captivating than its predecessor, as there is no long travel story to be told and no need to introduce readers to the world of magic in bouts of tutorial exposition. Readers are pretty much just thrown into the madness of the adventure and, physically, a lot more happens in terms of action.

Garner continues to create an exciting, dangerous, and beautiful-sounding world and that fun and refreshing level of other-worldliness continues to be made through the phonetic accents in the characters’ dialogue.

The Moon of Gomrath is fun and exciting; a good read for the young adult, fantasy junky.

The Moon of Gomrath was written by Alan Garner and published by William Collins, Sons in 1963. It follows the characters and adventures first introduced in The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (1960).