Nigel Quinlan

Every year, there is a festival in Knockmealdown. Every year, it is rubbish. This year, it might not be just rubbish, it might be lethal.

Brian Nolan is a recent resident in Knockmealdown, ‘a thick, lumpy soup of legends’, where the annual festival features inedible, peaty, bread, and events so bad that the Tourist Board has warnings against attending. It is also a place that is peculiarly adjacent to the Otherworld – it is said that the Gentry Below were so angry about a pig factory show more being built there that a boar, Mulkytine, crossed the border and led the freed pigs on a riot.

At the same time, Knockmealdown has a sort of Brigadoon element – despite its polluted lake, derelict houses and invasive Helweed, there are still fleeting glimpses of the beautiful place Brian’s father recalled from his youth, where getting a lift on the back of a swan-graceful cow was just the sort of thing that might happen.

Brian is coerced into helping with the annual festival, along with Derek and Helen (a ‘thick-headed hooligan’ and ‘a horsey princess’ respectively), and this festival is due to be literally a once-in-a-lifetime event. The Gentry Below attend the festival once a century, and this year is the year. The Gentry Below arrive in style, and Brian, momentarily forgetting how they hate being referred to directly, calls them fai…er…uses the f word.

As if that isn’t bad enough, he gets bowled into the King and Queen by Fester, a sooty tangle of something with a beak. The monarchs, already furious at the miserable state of Knockmealdown and devastated at the disappearance of their daughter, are in no mood to be forgiving. For the humans to have a chance of surviving the rage of the King and Queen of the Otherworld, Brian (on the advice of Fester) issues the Challenge of the Four Feats to the devious Cluaracan.

What follows is a magnificently bizarre series of adventures. Naturally, everything is stacked against Brian and naturally, the Cluaracan seems to hold all the cards. Every word is devious and twistable, and the action progresses at a hurtling pace as success seems to breed the threat of a following failure. As in the best fai…folktales, it is not cunning but clear-sightedness that wins and in the course of events, the real reasons behind the curse on Knockmealdown are revealed.

If there is any unevenness in the tale, it is that the start of the story has a slightly rushed feel, before the narrative gets the bit properly between its teeth. This haste means some of the backstory and location take a second reading, and there is only partial exploration of some really good concepts, especially the ‘wild form’ of the Gentry Below, or banshees on bicycles. At the same time, the story is told at a cracking pace, so there is no time to linger on absences.

Brian, who narrates, is determined, indefatigable, and quick-witted enough to cope with what is thrown at him, whether it is enchanted dancing or a hurling match resembling something from the Boyhood Tales of Cúchullain. There is also a strong sense of the importance of the location of events, that it is the place, even more than the people, who were cursed, and that maltreatment of the place that both the humans and the Good Folk call home is an action that demands consequence.

It is a very satisfying read, not only because of the ingeniousness of the challenges, but the humour and inventiveness with which they are answered, and the latter gives the tale a distinctly joyous feel. show less

Every one hundred years the fair folk come to Knockmealdown and join the locals in their festival and this year they're supposed to come. A pig factory has polluted the land and many young people have left but there's doubt that the fair folk will come. When they do it will cause chaos and Brian Nolan will have to work to free a fairy; rescue his parents and hopefully help the village and hope that everyone survives the wrath of the fair folk.

It reflects the legends of Fair Folk in Ireland show more very well and I enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to more by the author. show less

THE MALONEYS’ MAGICAL WEATHERBOX by Nigel Quinlan is an unusual middle-grades fantasy adventure featuring wild weather, evildoers, and meteorological magic.

Ireland is stuck in Summer when the Weatherman’s special weatherbox is disconnected by a power hungry neighbor who wants control of the seasons. The Maloney family including children Neil, Liz, and Owen must fight and sacrifice in their battle with their evil competition and the angry elementals.

While the rural Irish setting is show more familiar, everything else about this unconventional tale is slightly out of kilter. From the mysterious tourist to the magical cat creature, Quinlan keeps readers guessing as they explore a weird world closely connected to our own. While some children will find this type of fantasy disorienting, others will enjoy suspending disbelief and immerse themselves in this fictional universe.

Librarians will find an audience for this strange story among children who enjoy magical situations, odd characters, and unusual weather phenomena. Those middle-grade youth with strong roots in reality and science may simply find the premise silly and nonsensical.

To learn more about Nigel Quinlan, go to http://nigelquinlan.tumblr.com/.

Published by Roaring Brook Press on July 28, 2015. ARC from Edelweiss and NetGalley. show less

This is a cute and unique read though the writing lacked that spark I need in middle grade and there was a lot of info dumping. If you know a kid who is a weather geek, this is perfect!