Hyddenworld: Spring [Paperback]

Right from the start, this story immerses you in the natural elements - for example when the action isn't revolving around henges and white horses carved in hillsides, it's describing characters that have spiritual and cultural bonds with rivers and canals. The writing is very well structured; precise and at times lushly descriptive, it sounds both very English and also very traditional, in that the wording used makes the story sound like a old-fashioned bedtime story - or maybe a legend that has been handed down from a good few generations back - it starts with "There was once a metal-smith named Beornamund who lived in Mercia, one of the seven great kingdoms of Englalond, that land of mist and mystery that lies on the north-western edge of things.". The useage of names such as 'Englalond' jarred with me a little at first, but it was only a short time until I had grown accustomed to it.

So there's a sense of timelessness to the narrative that works very well with the modern-day setting. Although there is an appealing bedtime quality to the language, it is by no means written for children; the words are erudite and demanding of the casual reader. Rather, it uses language that is familiar to those of us who grew up with Edwardian writers like E.E.Nesbitt - the novel lends itself well to be read aloud in the same way that Nesbitt's were.

The structure of the book starts off with very short chapters, almost as if the reader is being acclimatised bit by bit to the world that lies within the pages. We are not kept waiting for the introduction of the magical world as in some books of this kind - we are initiated into the ways of 'The Hydden' straight away, and it's all the better for it. I found at first that I wanted the chapters to last longer so that I could enjoy the images and the rhythm of the text, as it really brought the countryside it describes to life in a vivid and fond way. I would bet that Horwood has spent time in this part of the world because it feels at times as if you are there.

The only criticism I have of 'Spring' is the pacing - there are times when it moves along at an almost regal pace, devoting a lot of time to passages where very little actually happens, then dashes madly through frenzied periods of intense activity - the last part of the book fairly speeds along. It feels very much like watching water flow into a plughole - it's not until it's nearly all gone that you realise how quickly the pace of the flow has sped up. I'd have liked a bit more action at the end of the first third of the book, as it didn't really hook me in that delightful 'can't stop reading' way until at least half the book had moved to the left side of the unfolded paperback. Also after having read 500 pages, when I think back and reflect upon the story, it seems to me that not that much actually happens to justify the length of the book - some writers would have crammed in a lot more plot.

As for the plot, all you need to know is that there exists within our world another place - a world inhabited by the Hydden, a race half our size, whose lives are invisible to our human eyes because we no longer see that which is so far outside of our expectations. A few individuals, both Hydden and human, have the knowledge to move between these worlds using henges, and this first part of four novels follows Jack, a 'giant-born', foretold of in prophecy, and his best friend Katherine as they play their part in the unfolding story. But there's little point in describing the plot to you: as William Horwood writes towards the end of the book:

"There are things best not recorded, best left unsaid. Each must discover them in their own way, in their own time, for that is is the nature of their being, that they are discovered anew each time".

It's a charming book that manages to restrain itself from being 'too magic-oriented'; the physics and logic of the Hydden world works well in relation to ours within the modern setting, and William Horwood has a nice way with words. Recommended - especially to read to a child (which would be a lovely experience for both the reader and the listener!)

Hyddenworld: Spring, tells the story of Jack and Katherine, a young girl and a Hydden giant-born whose lives are thrown together by what the Hydden call Wyrd (or fate). It follows their adventures as they grow up and discover how they are intricately entwined with an ancient prophecy of the Hydden which predicts the end of the universe.

The story felt somewhat like a prequel to the main tale which I expect will unfold in future books and as such was preoccupied with world building, introductions and sometimes rambling detours at the expense of plot and character development. The story also unfolded with a sense of nostalgia and a dream-like quality that felt distinctly twee and made reading slow.

There are many wonderful things about the book - Lord Festoon and Master Stort, the Bilgesnipe and the wyrd. Imbolc and the prophecy too. But the story had too little pace and depth to really grip my attention.

Within the first few chapters I was enthusiastic about the promise of the book, its a story I really wanted to like and for that reason I fought my way to the end and maybe in the last couple of chapters, the story finally came into its own.

I will probably look to read 'Summer' when it arrives - in the hope that there is where the story will really pick up pace and begin.

Back in the early 1980s, I read Horwood's bestselling animal fantasy about moles - Duncton Wood. I remember enjoying it immensely, but never read the sequels, and I can't remember what it was really about apart from religion and war in mole-dom.

But it was remembering the enjoyment of the former that attracted me to Horwood's new fantasy epic - Hyddenworld. This will be a quartet of novels named for the seasons, being published over the next couple of years, and Spring is the first. I found it to be an interesting hybrid - on one hand a contemporary urban fairy tale, and on the other a dark ages fantasy. Let me explain ...

Humankind has long co-habited with the little folk - the Hydden; however with the advent of technology, humans have almost all lost the ability to see the Hydden in the normal world. At the start of the saga, we learn about an ancient prophecy of the CraftLord involving a giant-born Hydden who must live amongst humans until ready to take his rightful place as leader of the Hydden of Englalond. Imbolc, the aged Peace-weaver, rider of the White Horse, must see that he survives and also finds her successor - this is his wyrd, (an Anglo-Saxon word for fate or destiny).

Jack is that child born of German Hydden folk, and shipped to England to find a foster family to bring him up. The Foales, a childless couple who live near the Uffington White Horse, are going to foster him, but he is involved in a car-crash on the way to them engineered by the evil Hydden - the Fyrd. He heroically rescues Katherine, the daughter of the car's driver, but at great cost to himself - being badly burned. Thought not to have survived, he was then able to grow up without the Hydden's attentions. However, when he and Katherine, for their destinies are forever linked, come of age, the Hydden come to get him to bring him to their big city Brum (Birmingham), and thus begin his adventures in that inbetween world.

Having stood on the Ridgeway above the amazingly beautiful and ancient white horse at Uffington, (it dates from around 1000BC), you really do feel part of the Earth. It's 110m long, and can only be truly appreciated from the air, so how they made it I do not know. The view from the top of the hill is astounding and you can see for miles and miles and miles. The first part of this book is anchored in this area of the country around the rolling hills and ancient sites and henges - which are the portals into the Hyddenworld, and it is implied that the White Horse itself is Imbolc's steed. There is Earth-magic aplenty waiting patiently to be activated, and when it does, Jack and Katherine are thrust into a very different world. I particularly enjoyed these settings and the landscapes evoked.

Katherine is captured by the Fyrd and taken to Brum; the Fyrd know that Jack will follow, but they don't reckon on the skills of the Hydden band who help him. The Hydden themselves, although they live in harmony with the Earth, are happy to use human artifacts to help them. The wonderfully inventive Bedwyn Stort has shoes with soles made from old car tyres; and the band frequently jump trains to get around. Reduce, reuse, recycle as they say ...

"The fire crackled and so did the surface of the venison.
'Smells good,' he said.
'Roadkill,' she murmured by way of explanation."

It was things like this that endeared me to the Hydden, and gave a contemporary urban twist to their green faery-ness. When we get to meet more Hydden types, it becomes clear that this is a race with issues that often mirror our own; for instance in Brum, there are the Bilgesnipe - brown-skinned Hydden that are skilled waterfolk and keep the canals and sewers from flooding Brum, but are looked down upon almost as slaves by the Fyrd, who are gradually taking over governance of the great city and want to oust the toff Lord Festoon.

I liked the good Hydden very much, even though I couldn't help thinking of them as hobbit-like, with Imbolc as a female Gandalf who appears at critical times to help things along. They were well-characterised, interesting folk; compared with them, Jack and Katherine were underwritten, but I hope will come into their own in the subsequent books. Just topping 500 pages, there was quite a lot of explanation which, while necessary to an extent, did slow down the pace considerably in the early stages. Despite the length, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and would certainly be suitable for young adults. I find myself actually looking forward to the next installments with anticipation.