Sinead O'Hart

I dislike reading books on computer, or, indeed phone, once the PDF has been converted to whatever it is that phones let you read, but the advanced digital copy of this book overcame that prejudice and had me scrolling bleary-eyed through screen after screen in breathless pursuit of Emmeline and Thing as they embarked on their perilous journeys. A fun and riotous mix of steampunk mad science and mythological fantasy set in the far frozen north, I was instantly reminded of the writings of show more Joan Aiken and Philip Pullman, but O'Hart stamps her own style on this old-school tale of high adventure.

Emmeline grows up in an unusual household. Her scientist parents have a rather detached, hands-off approach to child-rearing, leaving their young daughter to learn by herself the skills and instincts necessary to survive the various extremely dangerous living specimens lurking around the house and its environs. These skills stand her in good stead when her parents vanish and she is dispatched to Paris across the rising seas. Despite her tendency to assume everyone she meets is trying to kill her, she befriends a stowaway who calls himself Thing and helps her elude a gang of thugs intent on kidnapping her. Ultimately, the thugs succeed, and Emmeline is carried away on a north-bound ship, but Thing and others are in pursuit, and the mad scientist with an eye on immortality is underestimating his captive.

This just rushes along from twist to turn, from wonder to cliffhanger, with a thoroughly engaging pair of protagonists to cheer on and a truly horrible set of villains to boo and hiss at. Lovely writing and a fertile imagination in a unique setting make this a truly enjoyable read. show less

Rose is entrusted with a stone by an Ice Giant and this starts her on a path that intersects with Ancient Irish Mythology. She becomes pivotal in the defeat of evil and has to learn how to use the ancient tales to answer some very tricky questions.
I really enjoyed this one (and the cover is glorious) Rose reacts in a pretty realistic way to the mission and to the idea that myth is real. She is determined to do right and to get herself past troubles. It's very Irish and not in a twee way.

Irish Fantasy

The old magic is in danger and with it the future of Ireland, maybe even the world. Rosaleen Darke is an ordinary schoolgirl, but sometimes it's in the humble things that magic can be found.
An ancient object of power, a few magical sweets, an enchanted hammer, a school bully in bunny slippers, a giant elk, a last stand.
Will they be enough?

Sinead O'Hart imbues a clear love for Ireland and her mythology in every chapter of this book. Young readers will be introduced to a cast of show more characters and places, all of whom have a bearing on the culture and history of Ireland. I can picture kids searching the library for books of Irish lore after finishing The Silver Road, and that's a wonderful image.
The book is peppered with words and phrases in the Irish language, adding a rich cultural layer to the relatively simple narrative.
O'Hart weaves environmentalism into the story through references to the current climate crisis, and I think that it is very much in keeping with the Irish tradition of respect for nature, and the importance of protecting the land.

On the one hand, this book achieves what many have tried and failed to – portraying the main character, Rose, as a very ordinary and magically useless young girl. On the other hand, when I read pure fantasy I want a lot of escapism, and that was only delivered at the very end of the book. I related to Rose, but I was frustrated by that. I didn't want her to be quite so ordinary when it came right down to it. I wanted her to stand up to Emer, or tell someone what was happening with her. I wanted her to keep the tathlum safe, and learn how to be magical from Grace and Nellie. But alas, It matters not what I wanted, because this is not my story. There is of course a lot to be said for the story of an ordinary, messy girl finding the inner strength to stand against evil, despite having none of the knowledge or experience required to do so. She presents the idea that maybe we could all be brave, if push came to shove.
My final criticism is that for me personally, I hated the timeline of the Emer story. It gave me the same emotional feelings as if Harry Potter had not managed to leave the Dursley's abusive household until the very end of the book. I understand that Emer relates more obviously to the character of Malfoy, but the fact is that we were given no initial breakthrough in this book. She starts out being terribly bullied, and that just carries on throughout the story. Maybe if there had been something else at the start, something that Rose really conquers and gets past it would have been fine. But instead I felt this sadness and anger at the bullying from the beginning, and for me at least nothing broke that feeling until the end.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this immersive story of magic breaking into modern day Ireland. I enjoyed the ancient characters being brought to life as well as the new creatures and stories created by the author. I find myself more interested than ever in ancient Irish folklore, and look forward to reading more. show less

Having seen all the positive reviews for this novel, I really wanted to love "The Tide Timers" — the premise sounded intriguing and the world had potential, but unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into the story. The pacing was slow, and I struggled to connect with the characters. While the writing was thoughtful and imaginative, it didn’t quite pull me in the way I’d hoped. A solid effort, but not quite the right fit for me.