Reviewed by: Rachel A Hyde, MyShelf.com
Buy a US || UK Copy

Fairyland? This sounds a bit twee for the age range it is aimed at - namely teenagers - but in the hands of Garry Kilworth somehow it is all rather fun, and funny to boot. This is one of a handful of titles, which launch Time Warner's latest new imprint in July ATOM (the others are also reviewed on this site). What they have in common is that they are all fantasy or SF, and are all aimed at teenagers.

Young Jack is on his way to a college interview on his motorbike when he ends up in Liofwende, or Fairyland. Suddenly his dreams of being an engineer and finally making his parents proud of him seem rather remote. His companions are Spiggot, a young boggart who is delivering a suit of golden armor made by his father to the King of the Northumberland fairies and Kling, a large talking water rat who is also from "Mortaland". Along the way they keep having adventures and finding that they have to fight giants and dragons, or escape from the clutches of evil fairy folk. They all want to know the same secret, and think that Jack knows what it is. Trouble is, he doesn't.

If you are looking for a very robust read, you won't find it here. I felt that this was aimed at the younger end of the teenage spectrum and would appeal more to girls than to boys. At times, I felt that it could do with beefing up a bit and being less episodic although it ought to appeal to quite a few fantasy fans and does indeed seem to fit right in the middle between things like Redwall and adult fantasy.
The humor - of which there ought to have been more - is at times delightfully topical and a nice touch. If you enjoy Piers Anthony's Xanth books then this is certainly going to appeal to you. I will be interested to see what he does with book two.

Check out the Website at http://www.atombooks.co.uk