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Is there a world outside of what we know and experience everyday. A world that we don't see filled with creatures and magic that is just off the edge of our existence? It's this thought that fills Will with even more questions as he begins to experience things he never thought possible.
Will was orphaned after a house fire in his family home, he was the only survivor. However with no recollections about how he got out none of the superstitious locals would give him a room. So young Will was sent off to the local Abbey to work serving the Monks at Crowfield. After a few years, whilst out collecting firewood Will finds a strange creature trapped in a hunters trap. This creature is a Hob and starts opening Will's mind to possibilities. Very quickly Will gets drawn into the understanding of Fay folk, magic, Hobs and much more. Something that the Abbey and the Prior in charge would frown on if he found out. However when 2 visitors come to the abbey things get even stranger.
Pat Walsh has done a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere in this book. The Abbey and it's surroundings are a deeply gothic setting. The cold in the rooms and the dark feeling creates a feeling of superstition and secrecy not only inside the Abbey but also in the village. There is some secret that has been covered up by the Monks in the past, but no-one will talk about it. The whole setting and situation is believeable and then into this we have the added idea of the Fay. Creatures that are magical, only half-believed in because most people can't see them if they don't have the Sight. Will does have the Sight, only he doesn't really know it, until he comes across the Hob.
The Hob is a clever bit of characterisation which reminds me on It from "Five Children and It". maybe a slightly different concept, but a similar grumpy character, but amiable enough. He is a good conduit to fill in information that Will wouldn't have known otherwise, and this works really well.
Of course there is the creature in this book that is supposed to be an Angel that is possibly buried somewhere. This of course adds a theological problem for the monks, how can an Angel, an immortal possibly die without undermining a lot of their basis of faith? This is cleverly dealt with in the book and doesn't undermine the Christian understanding of Angels at all.
I enjoyed the mystery, the confrontation and the complex simplicity of this read. If that doesn't make sense let me explain it. The characters, setting and everything else is detailed and well set up that you easily pick up the atmosphere behind the story without have huge chunks of descriptive prose, making this easy to read.
This book has been shortlisted on the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize and rightly so, it's a magnificent read and the start of a new series!
