Goblin Moon [Paperback]

This is a reissue of a book that was first published some time before the only other novel that I can compare it to, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel. Both combine the doings of society gentlefolk (and their less elevated contemporaries) with menacing folkloric elements and magic; both are set in that neglected (in fantasy) Regency period (though Goblin Moon is set in an imagined world that is intended to feel like northern Europe of the late 18th century); and both have a strong narrative voice that gives the feel of literature of that period.

I have to say that having looked again at Clarke's book, Edgerton's language feels more authentic and is certainly more elegant. The narrative voice is almost a character in its own right: lushly descriptive and perfectly poised. This narrative style might be off-putting to those who want the kind of immediate identification with character that's possible with a close-in point of view; but it would be a shame if they were put off, as though it takes a while (or did in my case) to really sympathise with the characters and worry about their fates, by the time that happened it was the icing on an already delicious cake.

The plot itself has two main strands: the efforts of Miss Sera Vorder to discover the dark machinations that lie behind the betrothal of her cousin, and the work of Sera's alchemist grandfather to create a homunculus. So twisted is the plot (though rarely difficult to follow) that it seems incredible that the book is only 300 pages. Despite the lavish description, the alchemical details etc, the style is actually very economical, and the story never drags. This economy is one way that it differs from Clarke's book; it is also set in a world where the fantasy element is much more obvious than in the Regency England of Strange and Norrel, and in which men live alongside dwarves and gnomes, and hobgoblins are a known danger at new moon.

So why not five stars? As mentioned above, the narrative voice, despite its advantages, does slightly hinder really getting into the characters' heads; it also has the effect of slightly prettying the darkness: evil seems perhaps less evil when so elegantly described. There were also a couple of occasions which seemed to merit stronger drama than they got.

But these quibbles are all far outweighed by the book's many strengths, and I would give it 9 out of 10 if possible. All in all, it's a very good read, and so original and different that it deserves to be tried by everyone. Where else could you encounter a "gentleman troll"?

This is a reissue of a book that was first published some time before the only other novel that I can compare it to, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel. Both combine the doings of society gentlefolk (and their less elevated contemporaries) with menacing folkloric elements and magic; both are set in that neglected (in fantasy) Regency period (though Goblin Moon is set in an imagined world that is intended to feel like northern Europe of the late 18th century); and both have a strong narrative voice that gives the feel of literature of that period.

I have to say that having looked again at Clarke's book, Edgerton's language feels more authentic and is certainly more elegant. The narrative voice is almost a character in its own right: lushly descriptive and perfectly poised. This narrative style might be off-putting to those who want the kind of immediate identification with character that's possible with a close-in point of view; but it would be a shame if they were put off, as though it takes a while (or did in my case) to really sympathise with the characters and worry about their fates, by the time that happened it was the icing on an already delicious cake.

The plot itself has two main strands: the efforts of Miss Sera Vorder to discover the dark machinations that lie behind the betrothal of her cousin, and the work of Sera's alchemist grandfather to create a homunculus. So twisted is the plot (though rarely difficult to follow) that it seems incredible that the book is only 300 pages. Despite the lavish description, the alchemical details etc, the style is actually very economical, and the story never drags. This economy is one way that it differs from Clarke's book; it is also set in a world where the fantasy element is much more obvious than in the Regency England of Strange and Norrel, and in which men live alongside dwarves and gnomes, and hobgoblins are a known danger at new moon.

So why not five stars? As mentioned above, the narrative voice, despite its advantages, does slightly hinder really getting into the characters' heads; it also has the effect of slightly prettying the darkness: evil seems perhaps less evil when so elegantly described. There were also a couple of occasions which seemed to merit stronger drama than they got.

But these quibbles are all far outweighed by the book's many strengths, and I would give it 9 out of 10 if possible. All in all, it's a very good read, and so original and different that it deserves to be tried by everyone. Where else could you encounter a "gentleman troll"?

I love reading books, both fiction and non-fiction, but I rarely find myself smiling as I do so, at least not all the way through. Yet Goblin Moon had precisely that effect on me. What makes Teresa Edgerton's achievement even more striking is that when I read fantasy - my preference is for SF - I tend to opt for the grittier stuff: GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire or Joe Abercrombie's First Law trilogy.

So why the smiles? The most obvious answer is that the book is a little work of art: its style perfectly matches its content. There is no feeling of a twenty-first century eye looking down upon the foolishnesses of an earlier age (albeit one with added magic). Where flaws in that society are examined, it is with the sensibilities of someone who must live by its rules. The reader is drawn into the world and becomes immersed in it, begins to see it as entirely normal. And so, when odd things occur - and they do - they stand out, to reader and characters alike.

(As an aside, I believe much poor SF and Fantasy is a merely a cataloguing of strangeness. Its authors seem to think that every page should contain a new wonder, forgetting that where everything is (meant to be) amazing, nothing really stands out as being truly exceptional.)

The only book with which I can really compare this one is Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. There too, the telling (and showing) matched the subject. However, though I thoroughly enjoyed that immense volume - a real tour de force - I don't recall the degree of wit with which Ms Edgerton has imbued her prose.

Before anyone gets the impression that Goblin Moon is a triumph of style over substance, I ought to add that the plot is complex and intriguing and the characters are three-dimensional.

Overall, an excellent read.