#alangarner — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/fi/79500/ Joel Harkimon tempaus hämmentää: ”Milloin oot skidin tehnyt?” #AlanGarner #AlanWalker #Entertainment #FI #Finland #Finnish #Halloween #JoelHarkimo #purjehdus #Suomi #viihde

My first play of the D&D board game reminded me of it and I couldn't remember details about it then, 10 years after I'd read it. Spent time off and on looking for it. Asked Reference Librarians and Children's Librarians and used LitFinder to no avail. So gave up and assumed I dreamt it.

The comedians Eleanor Morton and Alasdair Beckett-King talked about it on their audio show "Eleanor & Alasdair Read That".

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

My first play of the D&D board game reminded me of it and I couldn't remember details about it then, 10 years after I'd read it. Spent time off and on looking for it. Asked Reference Librarians and Children's Librarians and used LitFinder to no avail. So gave up and assumed I dreamt it.

The comedians Eleanor Morton and Alasdair Beckett-King talked about it on their audio show "Eleanor & Alasdair Read That".

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

My first play of the D&D board game reminded me of it and I couldn't remember details about it then, 10 years after I'd read it. Spent time off and on looking for it. Asked Reference Librarians and Children's Librarians and used LitFinder to no avail. So gave up and assumed I dreamt it.

The comedians Eleanor Morton and Alasdair Beckett-King talked about it on their audio show "Eleanor & Alasdair Read That".

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

My first play of the D&D board game reminded me of it and I couldn't remember details about it then, 10 years after I'd read it. Spent time off and on looking for it. Asked Reference Librarians and Children's Librarians and used LitFinder to no avail. So gave up and assumed I dreamt it.

The comedians Eleanor Morton and Alasdair Beckett-King talked about it on their audio show "Eleanor & Alasdair Read That".

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

My first play of the D&D board game reminded me of it and I couldn't remember details about it then, 10 years after I'd read it. Spent time off and on looking for it. Asked Reference Librarians and Children's Librarians and used LitFinder to no avail. So gave up and assumed I dreamt it.

The comedians Eleanor Morton and Alasdair Beckett-King talked about it on their audio show "Eleanor & Alasdair Read That".

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

I think I've discovered this before:

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley" By Alan Garner.

I somehow got this story mixed up with the story of "The Snow Queen" which made it hard to track down. I couldn't remember the title or the author or the cover and vaguely remembered a boy and a girl trapped in a cave in England. That was all I could remember, besides that I really enjoyed it.

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

1/2

I think I've discovered this before:

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley" By Alan Garner.

I somehow got this story mixed up with the story of "The Snow Queen" which made it hard to track down. I couldn't remember the title or the author or the cover and vaguely remembered a boy and a girl trapped in a cave in England. That was all I could remember, besides that I really enjoyed it.

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

1/2

I think I've discovered this before:

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley" By Alan Garner.

I somehow got this story mixed up with the story of "The Snow Queen" which made it hard to track down. I couldn't remember the title or the author or the cover and vaguely remembered a boy and a girl trapped in a cave in England. That was all I could remember, besides that I really enjoyed it.

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

1/2

I think I've discovered this before:

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley" By Alan Garner.

I somehow got this story mixed up with the story of "The Snow Queen" which made it hard to track down. I couldn't remember the title or the author or the cover and vaguely remembered a boy and a girl trapped in a cave in England. That was all I could remember, besides that I really enjoyed it.

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

1/2

I think I've discovered this before:

"The Weirdstone of Brisingamen: A Tale of Alderley" By Alan Garner.

I somehow got this story mixed up with the story of "The Snow Queen" which made it hard to track down. I couldn't remember the title or the author or the cover and vaguely remembered a boy and a girl trapped in a cave in England. That was all I could remember, besides that I really enjoyed it.

#p_lit_pr_english #WeirdstoneOfBrisingamen #AlanGarner #Books #pz_lit_children

1/2

From the British Fantasy Society:

In his semi-regular column on the TV that made us SFFH fans, Gary Couzens revisits The Owl Service, a formative book and series for many of today’s folk horror writers.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/the-tv-that-made-us-the-owl-service-1969-70/

#britishfantasysociety #theowlservice #alangarner #fantasy #horror #folkhorror #nostalgia #1970s

From the British Fantasy Society:

In his semi-regular column on the TV that made us SFFH fans, Gary Couzens revisits The Owl Service, a formative book and series for many of today’s folk horror writers.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/the-tv-that-made-us-the-owl-service-1969-70/

#britishfantasysociety #theowlservice #alangarner #fantasy #horror #folkhorror #nostalgia #1970s

From the British Fantasy Society:

In his semi-regular column on the TV that made us SFFH fans, Gary Couzens revisits The Owl Service, a formative book and series for many of today’s folk horror writers.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/the-tv-that-made-us-the-owl-service-1969-70/

#britishfantasysociety #theowlservice #alangarner #fantasy #horror #folkhorror #nostalgia #1970s

From the British Fantasy Society:

In his semi-regular column on the TV that made us SFFH fans, Gary Couzens revisits The Owl Service, a formative book and series for many of today’s folk horror writers.

https://britishfantasysociety.org/the-tv-that-made-us-the-owl-service-1969-70/

#britishfantasysociety #theowlservice #alangarner #fantasy #horror #folkhorror #nostalgia #1970s

Fantastic Fiction: A Rough-Cut Jewel: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first book by Alan Garner. While it is not his greatest work, it is still solidly written. Its publication history is also interesting, speaking to the post-Tolkien publishing world. … (#AlanGarner)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/07/fantastic-fiction-a-rough-cut-jewel/

Fantastic Fiction: A Rough-Cut Jewel: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first book by Alan Garner. While it is not his greatest work, it is still solidly written. Its publication history is also interesting, speaking to the post-Tolkien publishing world. … (#AlanGarner)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/07/fantastic-fiction-a-rough-cut-jewel/

Fantastic Fiction: A Rough-Cut Jewel: The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first book by Alan Garner. While it is not his greatest work, it is still solidly written. Its publication history is also interesting, speaking to the post-Tolkien publishing world. … (#AlanGarner)

Full post: https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/07/fantastic-fiction-a-rough-cut-jewel/

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first book by Alan Garner. While it is not his greatest work, it is still solidly written. Its publication history is also interesting, speaking to the post-Tolkien publishing world.

If you are ever so lucky as to delve deep into a subgenre, and its subgenres within that (plans within plans…), you will well know that some authors are functionally unknown outside of the small(ish) core of devoted followers but are required reading within that group. One of these is Alan Garner and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.

The British depictions of “children’s weird,” particularly in terms of “folk horror,” are deeply tied to Garner and his work. In particular, his book The Owl Service (and its TV adaptation) manages to pack a lot of magic into its slim 176 pages, and it also raises issues of class, madness, trauma (interpersonal, generational, cultural), and horror. But Garner did not begin with The Owl Service. His first book was The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, first published in 1960.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen feels like an artist beginning to arrange their palette. There are moments in which different styles are being experimented with and moments that are clearly trying to do something new with the familiar base materials. The nature of Weirdstone‘s publication is significant here. While Garner did not set out to do so, his publisher signed him on the basis of the title alone, as the name was mockbuster-similar to The Lord of the Rings, which had just become a success. There’s a wizard, dwarves, a piece of magical jewelry, great evil to be fought, and a quest; there, it’s Dollar Tree LOTR, and nobody will notice the difference, or so the publisher thought. Had Garner led with his trippier, more experimental works and ideas—let alone his more scathing views on class—we might not have heard of him at all.

In detail, Weirdstone follows children Colin and Susan as they are caught up in a quest about the strange jewel in Susan’s bracelet, the titular weirdstone. A shape-shifting sorceress, an evil wizard, and the dark spirit Nastrond all want the weirdstone and its magic for themselves, while a good wizard and his dwarvish retinue help the children protect the stone’s power. The characters travel through gardens, thickets, pine forests, snowy mountain peaks, and everything in between.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the sense of place that Garner gives. The pressure of spelunking, the smothering feeling of sand, the cold damp of mud and the weathering effect of wind. I do not recommend this book for people who have claustrophobia, as there are a lot of tight spaces in this story.

In actuality, there’s a firm avoidance of knockoff Tolkien that (from my perspective, decades removed and long entrenched in less wise but more cynical publishing decisions) seems like a bold choice. That’s not to say one is better or worse, just that Weirdstone has very little relation to The Lord of the Rings beyond a few broad strokes. The wizard Cadellin, for instance, is a surprisingly vague and desperate figure. Garner, even at this early stage, does not condescend to his audience. Characters do their best and make good choices based on their knowledge at the time, and sometimes that is not enough. When evil triumphs, it is not because of their wickedness or the weakness of good, but rather because evil happens to be better prepared or simply gets lucky.

Have you read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, or other works by Alan Garner? What are some other not-quite-Tolkein tales that deserve to stand on their own merit? Let’s meet up for a retro-themed Weirdstone-type quest in Seattle!

https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/07/fantastic-fiction-a-rough-cut-jewel/

#AlanGarner

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the first book by Alan Garner. While it is not his greatest work, it is still solidly written. Its publication history is also interesting, speaking to the post-Tolkien publishing world.

If you are ever so lucky as to delve deep into a subgenre, and its subgenres within that (plans within plans…), you will well know that some authors are functionally unknown outside of the small(ish) core of devoted followers but are required reading within that group. One of these is Alan Garner and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen.

The British depictions of “children’s weird,” particularly in terms of “folk horror,” are deeply tied to Garner and his work. In particular, his book The Owl Service (and its TV adaptation) manages to pack a lot of magic into its slim 176 pages, and it also raises issues of class, madness, trauma (interpersonal, generational, cultural), and horror. But Garner did not begin with The Owl Service. His first book was The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, first published in 1960.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen feels like an artist beginning to arrange their palette. There are moments in which different styles are being experimented with and moments that are clearly trying to do something new with the familiar base materials. The nature of Weirdstone‘s publication is significant here. While Garner did not set out to do so, his publisher signed him on the basis of the title alone, as the name was mockbuster-similar to The Lord of the Rings, which had just become a success. There’s a wizard, dwarves, a piece of magical jewelry, great evil to be fought, and a quest; there, it’s Dollar Tree LOTR, and nobody will notice the difference, or so the publisher thought. Had Garner led with his trippier, more experimental works and ideas—let alone his more scathing views on class—we might not have heard of him at all.

In detail, Weirdstone follows children Colin and Susan as they are caught up in a quest about the strange jewel in Susan’s bracelet, the titular weirdstone. A shape-shifting sorceress, an evil wizard, and the dark spirit Nastrond all want the weirdstone and its magic for themselves, while a good wizard and his dwarvish retinue help the children protect the stone’s power. The characters travel through gardens, thickets, pine forests, snowy mountain peaks, and everything in between.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the sense of place that Garner gives. The pressure of spelunking, the smothering feeling of sand, the cold damp of mud and the weathering effect of wind. I do not recommend this book for people who have claustrophobia, as there are a lot of tight spaces in this story.

In actuality, there’s a firm avoidance of knockoff Tolkien that (from my perspective, decades removed and long entrenched in less wise but more cynical publishing decisions) seems like a bold choice. That’s not to say one is better or worse, just that Weirdstone has very little relation to The Lord of the Rings beyond a few broad strokes. The wizard Cadellin, for instance, is a surprisingly vague and desperate figure. Garner, even at this early stage, does not condescend to his audience. Characters do their best and make good choices based on their knowledge at the time, and sometimes that is not enough. When evil triumphs, it is not because of their wickedness or the weakness of good, but rather because evil happens to be better prepared or simply gets lucky.

Have you read The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, or other works by Alan Garner? What are some other not-quite-Tolkein tales that deserve to stand on their own merit? Let’s meet up for a retro-themed Weirdstone-type quest in Seattle!

https://seattlein2025.org/2025/03/07/fantastic-fiction-a-rough-cut-jewel/

#AlanGarner

The third book is the #Weirdstone of Brisingamen by #AlanGarner which I have never read (though I listened to the #BBC #audio dramatisation once). Although published in 1960, this book didn't make it onto #Gygax 's list in #AppendixN . I'm not sure of the reason for this omission, the book was certainly known in USA (In 1970 it was given an award by the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education).

Finished reading
#books #literature #AlanGarner

Finished reading
#books #literature #AlanGarner

Finished reading
#books #literature #AlanGarner

Finished reading
#books #literature #AlanGarner

Finished reading
#books #literature #AlanGarner

Rezension: »Treacle Walker – Der Wanderheiler«
Auf »Treacle Walker – Der Wanderheiler« von Alan Garner stieß ich durch Zufall, und ich fand, dass ich »den wichtigsten britischen Fantasyautor seit Tolkien« ja wohl gelesen haben muss …

Das im Klappentext versprochene phantastische Abenteuer voller magischer Begegnungen erwartet einen in
https://lass-den-wookie-gewinnen.de/2023/08/11/rezension-treacle-walker-der-wanderheiler/
#Rezension #AlanGarner #KlettCotta #Rezension

Rezension: »Treacle Walker – Der Wanderheiler«
Auf »Treacle Walker – Der Wanderheiler« von Alan Garner stieß ich durch Zufall, und ich fand, dass ich »den wichtigsten britischen Fantasyautor seit Tolkien« ja wohl gelesen haben muss …

Das im Klappentext versprochene phantastische Abenteuer voller magischer Begegnungen erwartet einen in
https://lass-den-wookie-gewinnen.de/2023/08/11/rezension-treacle-walker-der-wanderheiler/
#Rezension #AlanGarner #KlettCotta #Rezension

Managed to nab me one last Network release I’d missed and should have got. Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1969) remastered on Blu-ray. Barely in print due to Network going into liquidation a couple of months after release. Out of stock most places but found a marketplace seller on Amazon with new stock. I haven’t seen this in many decades. Limited edition Blu-ray box includes a thorough booklet full of info. #BritishTV #Wales #AlanGarner #Horror #Folklore #FolkHorror #Myths #Myth #60sTV #Network

Managed to nab me one last Network release I’d missed and should have got. Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1969) remastered on Blu-ray. Barely in print due to Network going into liquidation a couple of months after release. Out of stock most places but found a marketplace seller on Amazon with new stock. I haven’t seen this in many decades. Limited edition Blu-ray box includes a thorough booklet full of info. #BritishTV #Wales #AlanGarner #Horror #Folklore #FolkHorror #Myths #Myth #60sTV #Network

Managed to nab me one last Network release I’d missed and should have got. Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1969) remastered on Blu-ray. Barely in print due to Network going into liquidation a couple of months after release. Out of stock most places but found a marketplace seller on Amazon with new stock. I haven’t seen this in many decades. Limited edition Blu-ray box includes a thorough booklet full of info. #BritishTV #Wales #AlanGarner #Horror #Folklore #FolkHorror #Myths #Myth #60sTV #Network

Managed to nab me one last Network release I’d missed and should have got. Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1969) remastered on Blu-ray. Barely in print due to Network going into liquidation a couple of months after release. Out of stock most places but found a marketplace seller on Amazon with new stock. I haven’t seen this in many decades. Limited edition Blu-ray box includes a thorough booklet full of info. #BritishTV #Wales #AlanGarner #Horror #Folklore #FolkHorror #Myths #Myth #60sTV #Network

Managed to nab me one last Network release I’d missed and should have got. Alan Garner’s The Owl Service (1969) remastered on Blu-ray. Barely in print due to Network going into liquidation a couple of months after release. Out of stock most places but found a marketplace seller on Amazon with new stock. I haven’t seen this in many decades. Limited edition Blu-ray box includes a thorough booklet full of info. #BritishTV #Wales #AlanGarner #Horror #Folklore #FolkHorror #Myths #Myth #60sTV #Network

Hollow way track up the side of Alderley Edge. #AlderleyEdge #AlanGarner

Hollow way track up the side of Alderley Edge. #AlderleyEdge #AlanGarner

This is Jenkin Chapel, a small CofE church between Macclesfield and Buxton. Very close to Thursbitch. Very primitive, but wonderfully calm atmosphere. Sound of sheep and rooks from outside. #PeakDistrict #AlanGarner

This is Jenkin Chapel, a small CofE church between Macclesfield and Buxton. Very close to Thursbitch. Very primitive, but wonderfully calm atmosphere. Sound of sheep and rooks from outside. #PeakDistrict #AlanGarner

Currently (re)reading: #TheOwlService by #AlanGarner. Because sometimes you need to go back to old favorites.

#reading #AmReading #bookstodon #mastobooks @bookstodon

Currently (re)reading: #TheOwlService by #AlanGarner. Because sometimes you need to go back to old favorites.

#reading #AmReading #bookstodon #mastobooks @bookstodon

Currently (re)reading: #TheOwlService by #AlanGarner. Because sometimes you need to go back to old favorites.

#reading #AmReading #bookstodon #mastobooks @bookstodon

Currently (re)reading: #TheOwlService by #AlanGarner. Because sometimes you need to go back to old favorites.

#reading #AmReading #bookstodon #mastobooks @bookstodon

Currently (re)reading: #TheOwlService by #AlanGarner. Because sometimes you need to go back to old favorites.

#reading #AmReading #bookstodon #mastobooks @bookstodon

Wedi gorffen “Jack” #MarilynneRobinson, ac eisiau ailddarllen yr holl gyfres nawr, ond ymlaen â fi at yr un nesa o’r pentwr Nadolig, sef “Treacle Walker” #AlanGarner - wedi darllen rhyw draean ohono fe cyn codi’r bore ‘ma. #DarllenNawr

Wedi gorffen “Jack” #MarilynneRobinson, ac eisiau ailddarllen yr holl gyfres nawr, ond ymlaen â fi at yr un nesa o’r pentwr Nadolig, sef “Treacle Walker” #AlanGarner - wedi darllen rhyw draean ohono fe cyn codi’r bore ‘ma. #DarllenNawr

"She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting."

#TheOwlService #AlanGarner

"She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting."

#TheOwlService #AlanGarner

"She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting."

#TheOwlService #AlanGarner

"She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting."

#TheOwlService #AlanGarner

"She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting."

#TheOwlService #AlanGarner

Who are 5-7 of your favorite authors? Add them as hashtags so we can find each other, boost this, share your own, etc.

#Bookstodon #folklore #myth #fantasy
#MartinShaw #AlanGarner #AmyJeffs #LouiseErdrich #CatherynneValente

Who are 5-7 of your favorite authors? Add them as hashtags so we can find each other, boost this, share your own, etc.

#Bookstodon #folklore #myth #fantasy
#MartinShaw #AlanGarner #AmyJeffs #LouiseErdrich #CatherynneValente

Who are 5-7 of your favorite authors? Add them as hashtags so we can find each other, boost this, share your own, etc.

#Bookstodon #folklore #myth #fantasy
#MartinShaw #AlanGarner #AmyJeffs #LouiseErdrich #CatherynneValente

Who are 5-7 of your favorite authors? Add them as hashtags so we can find each other, boost this, share your own, etc.

#Bookstodon #folklore #myth #fantasy
#MartinShaw #AlanGarner #AmyJeffs #LouiseErdrich #CatherynneValente

Who are 5-7 of your favorite authors? Add them as hashtags so we can find each other, boost this, share your own, etc.

#Bookstodon #folklore #myth #fantasy
#MartinShaw #AlanGarner #AmyJeffs #LouiseErdrich #CatherynneValente

Just finished a rewatch of Granada TV’s adaptation of #AlanGarner The Owl Service. If they hadn’t done recaps before each episode, viewers would have been even more baffled. That said it’s a strange, mesmerising, unsettling series, attuned to Garner’s equally obfuscating prose. Still can’t believe it was made for children given the adult themes it was dealing with.

Just finished a rewatch of Granada TV’s adaptation of #AlanGarner The Owl Service. If they hadn’t done recaps before each episode, viewers would have been even more baffled. That said it’s a strange, mesmerising, unsettling series, attuned to Garner’s equally obfuscating prose. Still can’t believe it was made for children given the adult themes it was dealing with.

Just finished a rewatch of Granada TV’s adaptation of #AlanGarner The Owl Service. If they hadn’t done recaps before each episode, viewers would have been even more baffled. That said it’s a strange, mesmerising, unsettling series, attuned to Garner’s equally obfuscating prose. Still can’t believe it was made for children given the adult themes it was dealing with.