The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

The Weirdstone has always been a favourite of mine, so finding it on Audible in unabrdiged form was a treat. I didn't expect too much from Philip Madoc as a narrator, but must say that his delivery and characterisation are superb. The characters come alive, and are are so distinct that the narration fades into the background and a vivid play is performed within ones imagination and Alderley Edge, the Svarts, Colin, Susan, Gowther, Bess, the Dwarves and Cadelin appear before you.

Throughout the childrens' adventures, you are there with them; in the bog, the caves, and other wonderfully presented dark, evil, scary places and you will find yourself right in the middle of the action with them, as they tackle their final desperate challenge.

I would recommend this book in written or audible form to anyone!

I remember this book fondly from my youth, and the narration does the book justice. Strongly recommended to anyone with a taste for the Tolkein-esque! I just wish the BBC radio play was also available.

This book is very enjoyable overall although the writing has weaknesses. The story has a gripping start, a slow middle, and a gripping concluding part, although the actual ending came so suddenly I felt cheated of a final chapter which would have brought everything to a more satisfying conclusion. Philip Madoc is a star reader, and I could not imagine anyone else bringing the story and characters to life as he did for me. He is just marvellous.

This book scared and thrilled me as a child and it's great to hear it read so well by Philip Madoc, who manages the accents very convincingly. Alan Garner has a deep knowledge of British myth and folklore and writes wonderful stories where 20th century life becomes entangled with the stuff of legend.

Didn't read this book as a child, but enjoyed it. Worth getting just to hear Philip Madoc's wonderful voice narrating it, but a good buy in its own right.

I had this book on audio as a child and very much enjoyed re-listening to it after ten years. It's a good story, very exciting and full of adventure. The narrator is superb. Would recommend this to kids aged over about 8-9 and adults as well.

A wonderful story with some memorable characters the good guys Cadellin and Durathror and the baddies the Morrigan and Grimnir, living hidden from the inhabitants of Alderley Edge and unexpectedly stumbled on by two children Colin and Susan. I remember reading this when I was 11 and forty years later it is still full of wonder for me. A childrens book that even an adult can enjoy and sets your feet firmly on the path to discovering new worlds. A magical book with The Moon of Gomrath coming next.

Colin and Susan are sent to stay with their mother's nurse in Alderley Edge and while exploring the landscape, as children are wont to do, they become embroiled in an age-old conflict and the adventure begins.

Alan Garner weaves together myth, folkore and landscape in a wonderful children's tale. Although Garner takes great pains to describe landscape and the feeling it invokes in the characters, the characterisation of the various players in the tale is somewhat absent apart from what we learn from their actions. As the tale is aimed at children, this is not really a drawback as imagination is brought into play and attributes can be allocated to each character as desired.

As an audio version, and not having read the actual book, I was pleased with the choice of Philip Madoc as narrator. Different voices were employed, as well as accents though these might seem very out of place in modern-day Alderley Edge which has a rather different populace from that of when the book was penned. I found Mr Madoc's voice rather soothing, though he held my attention throughout.

As an adult I enjoyed the tale, and, had I read it as a youngster I would have relished the book and probably have become a firm favourite.

I enjoyed these books when I was a child, so I got this for my daughter to listen to. She didn't enjoy it as much as I thought she might - this was mainly because she found the narration hard to understand sometimes. I think this was because Gowther has a broad accent, and Philip Madoc's voice, while doing the accent well, made it hard to understand for someone not used to similar accents. A different narrator may have made it easier to follow.
On the other hand, I enjoyed listening to it again, but since my daughter gave up half way through, I was disappointed.

Highly recommended, eery atmospheric music between the chapters adds a creepy charm, all the characters are well-performed, my favourites being the cautious Fenodyree the dwarf and the earthy tones Gowther Mossock. It's wonderful to hear them brought to life and I finally know how to pronounce Brisingamen!