Friday, May 9th, 2008

kittiwake: (history)
The Weathermonger
Heartsease
The Devil's Children


Having picked up all three of these children's books at a BookCrossing meeting, I decided to read them in the order they were published, rather than in chronological order of the events in the stories. The Changes is what the inhabitants of England, Scotland and Wales call the sudden aversion to all machines which has lead to millions of refugees fleeing abroad, the emptying of the cities, and reversion to a mediaeval way of life. Anything mechanical or modern is shunned, and anyone who uses them or even shows any interest in anything forbidden is likely to be accused of witchcraft and stoned to death.

"The Weathermonger" is set about five years after the Changes began and is the story of how the source of the Changes is discovered, and things return to normal. "Heartsease" is the tale of how some children find an American spy who has been stoned as a witch and left for dead, and organise his escape by boat down a ship canal and the Bristol Channel to Ireland, and "The Devil's Children" tells how Nicky loses her parents in the chaos in the first few days of the Changes, and falls in with a band of Sikhs who aren’t affected by the anti-machine madness, but need her to act as their canary, to tell them what it safe for them to do and what would lead to attacks from other people. All three stories are very exciting, with inventive protagonists between the ages of twelve and sixteen who by their own determination and ingenuity manage to overcome any obstacles in their way.

I remember watching the television series based on these books when I was about 10 and reading at least one of the books around the same time. I'm fairly sure that I have read the "The Weathermonger" before, as the Rolls Royce from Beaulieu Motor Museum and the stroppy pony definitely rang a bell, but I'm not sure about the other two, as I could be remembering the television series rather than the books.

Recommended!

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