The Curse of the Silvan Oaks

This delightful and engrossing debut fantasy takes recognizable elements of much-loved favourites like The Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings and weaves them into a tale which creates a fantastical world inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Here the descendants of Titania and Oberon, in the kingdoms of Silvanland and Penumbra respectively, are waging a cruel and bitter war. In a short novel packed with fascinating characters, the plot centres around a human child called Oli, who has recently lost her father and been moved away from all she knows. Her mother has found work at Foxley Hall, and it is here that Oli discovers a mirror through which she witnesses a kidnapping and a portal (behind a bookcase – not a wardrobe!) which plunges her into the fairy world in conflict. At this point she does not know how important a role she will have in first rescuing the kidnapped Prince Corylus of Silvanland, from the clutches of the evil Penumbran Queen Hellebore, then breaking the curse and saving the ancient forests. Nor at this point does she realise the significance of the items she discovered in a box that belonged to her father. Gradually we come to realise that she is the descendant of the Indian Child Arun who, as Shakespeare tells us, was the cause of the rift between Titania and Oberon in the first place. When Titania hid Arun in the human world she gave him the sacred Dark Stone from her crown to protect him. Oli learns that her perilous task is to return the Dark Stone to its mountain origins (just as Frodo did with the Ring) Oli and Prince Cory are somewhat reluctant heroes, but the way they develop resilience and demonstrate their innate courage and moral strength is hugely engaging and believable. Their adventure is action packed and peppered with genuinely perilous moments and not a little bit of violence. Fantasy lovers will certainly feel they are in familiar territory, but the originality of the Shakespearean elements add a fascinating twist. One can tell that this is a complex world that has been developing in the author’s mind for a long time, and readers will relish her rich and evocative descriptions of this vividly imagined world and the people who live in it. We have many tempting references to things that we would like to know more about and so I suspect this is a story which will continue, and I suspect there will be lots of keen readers who will enjoy returning.