Alex and the Druids' Eclipse: A Cornish Tale

by Carolyn Griffin

Overview

After witnessing a total solar eclipse high on the Cornish cliffs with his father, Jory, ten-year-old Alex Pitts tumbles from the familiar, safe world he knows into one filled with uncertainty and danger.

Summoned by the ancient druids to the time of Merlin and King Arthur, Alex is sent to recapture a magical cauldron. This journey takes him on a long and perilous quest to a lost island, and into a world of witches, giants, and age-old rituals that evolve into a living nightmare. His only comfort is the enduring love and relentless loyalty of a wolf.

Alex and the Druids Eclipse throws open a portal to a time long past, to a land where lore and magic reigns.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781480847057
Publisher:	Archway Publishing
Publication date:	06/22/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	278
File size:	380 KB

About the Author

Carolyn Griffin is an author who delivers phantasmagorical tales of her beloved Cornwall, a land of myth and legend, located on the southwesterly tip of the British Isles, and where her family has lived for more than 600 years. Griffin now lives in Manitoba, Canada, and returns to Cornwall as often as she can.

Editorial Reviews

A debut fantasy displaces a boy in time and sends him on a medieval quest.

Ten-year-old Alex Pitts lives in Penmellyn, a village on the coast of Cornwall, England. While witnessing a solar eclipse with his father, Alex is thrown back across centuries to the days of King Arthur. The landscape is the same but there is little sign of civilization. At first, Alex thinks he must be dreaming. He takes shelter in a fogou (a refuge fashioned from buried stone walls) but is attacked by barbarians and saved by a wolf. Alex then meets the wizard Merlin and is sent on a quest to reclaim King Bran’s cauldron of rebirth, which has been spirited away to Ireland. On his journey, Alex encounters witches, faeries, spriggans, and giants. Back in the present day, Alex’s dad begins looking for him, vowing not to return home until his son is found. These quests play out in parallel as, relentlessly, the months pass. Griffin draws on the fairy tale tradition of “tell, not show,” and takes pains to elucidate each thought, word, and deed. Despite this, the principal characters remain undistinguished. (Merlin is kindly but generic; Alex is all but forgettable, relying constantly on others to save him.) As with “Hansel and Gretel,” though, it is the myth and magic of the land that will draw readers in: the haggish witches; the faithful wolf; the ugly giant yearning for friendship. Griffin shows a deep appreciation of place, and it is Cornwall and Cornish folklore that take center stage. The modern-day action is, conversely, a weakness. The search that Alex’s dad undertakes intrudes on the main story, and readers will likely be less forgiving of the stage dialogue that prevails throughout this thread: “No. Look, Jory. I have a really powerful torch that will illuminate the whole cliff face. Let’s walk slowly along the shingle.” Nonetheless, the story’s moral—do not judge by appearances—is strongly presented, and middle-grade readers should find enough in Alex’s adventure to tug at their imaginations.

A tethered but appealing introduction to Cornish legend and Odyssean narrative.

Kirkus Reviews

Addressing themes of independence and self-reliance in age-appropriate and considerate ways, Alex and the Druids' Eclipse accomplishes what any good Arthurian fantasy should do-establishing a world and characters that are believable, imaginative, and thoroughly engrossing.

Foreword Reviews

All the characters are well sketched and they complement the plot beautifully. For all those who love fantasy, intrigue, suspense, and adventure, this book is a must-read.

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