Faerie Wars [Hardcover]

Faerie Wars, by Herbie Brennan follows in the footsteps of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl with its tale of fairy-folk and derring-do. But whereas Colfer's little people have a thoroughly modern edge throughout, Brennan comes at them from a slightly different angle in a highly original novel that weaves modern science with a good, old-fashioned fantasy story.

Henry, an ordinary boy, is thrown into turmoil when his mother apparently has an affair with his father's secretary and it looks as if his hitherto safe, if a little dull, world is about to fall to pieces. To avoid the arguments and the tense silences he heads for the haven of Mr Fogarty's house to spend time with the old man whose passion lies in scientific experiments and the accompanying paraphernalia.

Meanwhile, on an altogether different plane, Pyrgus Malvae, son of an emperor, has fallen out with his father and sets about making mischief. What he doesn't realise is that there are greater forces at work than his teenage tantrums, and not only his life, but that of his family's, is under serious threat. To save his life he transports, accidentally ending up in Mr Fogarty's back garden (where he appears as a tiny fairy--bizarre but true!). Before long, Pyrgus Malvae, Henry and Mr Fogarty are trapped in battle between distant worlds and dark forces, the result of which will change all their lives forever.

The aforementioned Eoin Colfer reckons that Herbie Brennan is a master of mythology, science and fantasy. Indeed he is, and despite a few hiccups in the handling of Henry's situation which seem somehow ill at ease with the rest of the book, he pulls off his first major work of fiction with admirable poise in a pleasingly challenging fantasy for older readers. (Includes some strong language and subject matter). Recommend for ages 11 and over. --Susan Harrison

"'Faerie' is an astounding blend of fantasy, mythology and science. Herbie Brennan is a master of all three."

"At 368 pages, his novel is still not long enough: read it, and enjoy."

"one of the best fantasy works to hit the shelves in a long time."

Henry thinks he is simply saving a butterfly from being eaten by Mr Fogerty's cat - but he is in fact saving the life of a mis-directed exiled fairy prince. A prince who has to get back to his own land in order to thwart a threatened attack by Fairies of the Night. But time is against Pyrgus Mulvae and soon he is relying on Henry and Mr Fogarty not just to get him home but also to solve the puzzle that surrounds his exile. A wonderful, gripping page-turning read full of the kind of detail that will ensure that this fabulous fantastic novel will have readers young and old holding their breath as the story unfolds.

I want to tell you why you should read Faerie Wars and the best reason I can think of is because my wife loved it.

I gave her the manuscript like I always do and tried to pretend I was cool about it like I always do. A book that length takes her ten days to read if she likes it, longer if it’s heavy going, so having handed it over, I tried to forget it.

But sometime in the middle of the night I woke up because she was giggling. She had her little reading light on .

"What’s wrong?" I said.

"Go to sleep," she said.

Which I did, but not properly. I kept drifting off and waking up and each time her light was still on and she was still reading.

Next morning she was sleeping like a corpse and there were 480 manuscript pages strewn all over the bed. She’d finished the lot, one sitting. When I shook her awake, she didn’t want to talk about the book — she wanted to talk about the characters.

— What was Comma up to?

— What would Pyrgus do next?

— Why didn’t Henry murder his mother?

I’ve published ninety-something books and I’ve never had that reaction from her, not once, not ever.

It cheered me up a lot. I wrote Faerie Wars because I wanted to. It was way different from anything I’d done before and when you’re in the middle of something like that you can’t tell if anybody will like it. (Actually you can’t even tell if you like it yourself.)

Since then other people have read the book and I’ve noticed something else that’s never happened to me before. Lots of them wanted to get in on the action.

A publisher in Europe wanted me to change the lesbian affair between Henry’s mum and his dad’s secretary. ("She could just fall for one of his male colleagues, couldn’t she?")

A movie producer thought it would be better if Mr Fogarty never robbed banks.

Another publisher wanted me to cut the business with the kittens in the glue factory because she ‘just couldn’t bear it.’

A writer friend rang up and seriously suggested I rewrite to have Aisling put up for adoption.

I can be very slow at times, but it gradually dawned on me that all this fuss was because the book was stirring up emotions. Which meant that it had to ring true. Even though it’s basically a fantasy, there were things in it that reached out and touched the readers in their daily lives.

I liked that. In fact I liked that a lot.

I hope you’ll buy the book, because I honestly believe it’s the only way you can judge something like this. If early reactions are anything to go by, you’ll find parts disturbing, maybe even upsetting. (I haven’t cut the bit about the kittens and Mrs Atherton is still gay.)

But that’s because it’s an honest book — and I suspect there’s nothing you like better.

Herbie Brennan is the author of many other books for adults and children including our own FAIRY NUFF and NUFF SAID. This novel marks a new and exciting departure for Herbie. Herbie lives in County Carlow, Ireland.