I first read this, as a child, back in the 70's and vaguely remembered it. Garner's power of description and the creating of atmosphere means that the quality of writing is good; but for me too many questions are left unanswered. The opening scenes as the four children explore the Manchester slums being demolished draw you into a feeling of discomfort. The descriptions of family life and the impact of their adventure are drawn out but the actual climax of the book felt rushed and left me feeling unsatisfied. ( )

I remembered reading Elidor as a teenager and it left a couple of strong images in my mind. The children with the four treasures standing next to a ruined church in Manchester, a door set into a green mound and a dying unicorn.
Turns out on rereading the book that this is pretty much all there is to it. There's so much more that it could have been.

The 'Treasures' have no purpose. We never learn who made them or why. Elidor itself is never seen beyond a passing glimpse. What is this place that we should care about it?

Findhorn has no existence other than to die. Why is his singing important? Again, no reason. In Narnia, we understand Aslan's death - it has a meaning in mythological terms.

Last, but not least, who are the bad guys? There are people trying to kill Findhorn, but why? What do they gain from his death? Why do they wish to destroy Elidor?

The whole book seems to be a sequence of atmospheric scenes, but with no real plot behind them to grant them any meaning. ( )

This was a book we all read in class at Primary School. I remember it being a great adventure and a little bit scary. A recent re-read has confirmed what a great author Alan Garner is. Well worth a read at any age, but if you are between 7-11 you may enjoy this very much! ( )

(This is a somewhat expanded version of a review that was originally on amazon.com.)

Alan Garner is an extremely underrated fantasy author. Elidor is a perfect example of the magic he can weave. The plot is simple enough - the four Watson children must save the world of Elidor, one step removed from our own. To do this, they are given four magical Treasures that guard Elidor from harm. But doing this may be more trouble than they think...

Garner is a lyrical writer. Such sentences as "The blade was like ice, and the hilt all jewels and fire" would be impressive in even an adult's book. He manages to establish the world he has created well, even though we are given few details. He also mixes our world and the one of Elidor well, with neither being more interesting than the other. The books have lots of adventure in them for the younger set, and fine prose for adults. I recommend this to all readers, even those that don't like fantasy.

Not as good as his Alderley novels, but still a pleasant read. ( )