Faerie Wars (The Faerie Wars Chronicles, #1)

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Faerie Wars (The Faerie Wars Chronicles #1)

3.62 of 5 stars 3.62 · rating details · 6,355 ratings · 318 reviews

Henry Atherton thinks his life is spinning out of control. But nothing prepares him for the invisible portal in old man Fogarty's backyard . . . and the unexpected stranger who comes through it.
Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the Faerie realm, is on the run. Too many people want the rebellious young heir dead: a scheming sorcerer, a powerful demon, the malignant leader of...more

Paperback, 368 pages

Published February 4th 2008 by Bloomsbury (first published May 16th 2003)

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Jan 10, 2010 Amelia, the pragmatic idealist rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: series-books, ya-kids-teen, bloomsbury, mc-guy

Okay, I'm going to give my critique! I still am glassy-eyed from staying up *literally* all night to finish this book! When you cannot pry a book from your fingers, that means it's good, right? I certainly think so.
- To be fair: This is a down-the-line sci-fi/fantasy, IMO. As someone who has extremely little patience for and limited understanding of fiction technology, I could have done with less "science" but that's a person-to-person thing. My little brothers read this series and recommended...more Okay, I'm going to give my critique! I still am glassy-eyed from staying up *literally* all night to finish this book! When you cannot pry a book from your fingers, that means it's good, right? I certainly think so.
- To be fair: This is a down-the-line sci-fi/fantasy, IMO. As someone who has extremely little patience for and limited understanding of fiction technology, I could have done with less "science" but that's a person-to-person thing. My little brothers read this series and recommended it to me, and they both loved it for these aspects. I give the author props for just being so darn creative! Creativity, to me, should generally outweigh and outshine the more technical aspects of writing, like your "literary elements" and your actual writing style. This is most certainly a "third person omniscient" story in that you as the reader follow literally EVERY character. Most 3rd persons don't do this: they pick one or two characters to follow and you learn about other events through their subsequent discoveries. Sometimes I felt a bit overwhelmed by the back-and-forth coverage, but as the story progressed, it became very necessary to see the plot unfold from different directions. So bravo to that, Brennan! It just took me a few hundred pages to get used to!
- Characters: I tend to like "good" good guys and "bad" bad guys, so when I read other reviews that criticize Brennan for not being "complex enough," I dont give those much weight. Evil is very one-dimensional. The baddest villains are the ones that really have no complexity: they're just bad to be bad. And thank god, not every protagonist is Holden Caulfield. I found the main protagonist - Henry Atherton - very enjoyable and relatable, if not a little dorky. He reminds me of a modern Taran from (IMO the greatest childrens fantasy EVER) The Chronicles of Prydain in that he's sweet but maybe a tad dorky (girls, we all know boys like this!). I can certainly deal with the "lovable loser" character type.

**I feel like I do need to address this aspect of the story, as everybody does**
- Umm okay I found the series in the YA section, and to me that's a very appropriate place. This is a very action-packed series, and yeah there's conflict: and not wishy-washy glossed over conflict, either. These are bad guys who do bad things. I wouldn't use the word "pervasive," but there certainly are violent aspects of the story. To me, I didnt find the violence out of place or even unnaturally heightened...it had a purpose: to be contrasted with good. To make the reader think: "Wow, these dudes need to be stopped". I wouldnt recommend this series for anyone under middle-school (with the exception of the above-average-intelligence 5th grader).

CON:
- Really, there's only one definite negative I have to gripe about: This is FANTASY--I don't want to read about melodramatic, "Eastender-like" family drama! It is necessary to a point to set up the emotional characterization of Henry: we need to see a bit of his background in order to understand and relate to his situation. What we dont need is over-the-top melodrama, which IMO is what we are given. It seems as though it's not good enough for Brennan to present a relatively normal family problem: he has to write a rather specific and uncommon family situation that to me was just put in to be a "shock factor." There's no development, no substance, because that's not the point. So why bother?
Anyway, that's my beef.

Overall? Excellent. I will proceed to the next book in the series promptly! This is not exactly a well-known series in the US, though a few of my English friends have read the books and quite enjoyed them. If you are reading this review, give the FAERIE WARS CHRONICLES a try! (less)

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Dec 19, 2008 Martha rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently picked up several fantasy books in the young adult range, this one being the first. The book begins with our main hero, Henry, a young boy living in England. Henry is friends with a weird and highly paranoid old man, is saving up for an ipod, and just found out that his mother is having an affair with his father's secretary. A bit harsh for an opening, but there's certainly no doubt that Henry lives in the real, modern-day world.

Then there's Pyrgus, the other hero of the story. His wo...more I recently picked up several fantasy books in the young adult range, this one being the first. The book begins with our main hero, Henry, a young boy living in England. Henry is friends with a weird and highly paranoid old man, is saving up for an ipod, and just found out that his mother is having an affair with his father's secretary. A bit harsh for an opening, but there's certainly no doubt that Henry lives in the real, modern-day world.

Then there's Pyrgus, the other hero of the story. His world sounds a bit older, maybe 17th/18th century, and magic exists in this world. Pyrgus is also a prince, next in line for the emperor's throne. We like Pyrgus because he doesn't want to be emperor; he spends most of his time dressed incognito and rescuing (i.e. stealing) mistreated animals, including a basket of kittens (aww) from an evil glue factory. I know, a bit much, but the rescue part was very exciting.

How the two worlds come together is rather interesting, combining magic and science in a fairly coherent way. Pyrgus travels to Henry's world through a portal, as both worlds exist in different dimensions. But something goes wrong -- when Pyrgus gets through the gate, he's quite tiny and has grown a set of wings. Later it's discovered that this transformation is temporary, and that the denizens of Faerie (Pyrgus's world) don't normally have wings.

I have to admit that bothered me a bit. The Faerie world and it's people are not very different from the modern world, making the term Faerie a bit of a misnomer. In fact, the title Faerie Wars is pretty awful -- the book was much better than I expected by the title alone. But come on, these people aren't fairies. Faeries. Whatever, they're normal people in a fantasy world, but that's about it.

I found the book very engaging, and read it rather quickly. There are some wonderful characters and truly fabulous villains, and lots of descriptive yet succinct writing. I would have given this book 4 stars (I almost did), but I felt the book tried to do too much. In addition to the two worlds, a third comes into play about halfway through the book, the world of demons (called Hael in the book). Although fascinating, especially the Demon Prince, it just got to be too much. When the demons' 'true' forms were described as skinny gray aliens with big eyes, I thought, 'Right, this book is getting one less star for that.'

The book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I enjoyed the first one enough so I've picked up the second one already.(less)

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Mar 08, 2013 Adeline Pangilinan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“Faerie Wars,” by Herbie Brennan is an enthralling, well written novel. I chose this as my fist good reads because the title sounded intriguing. Faeries fighting wars? It got me really hooked. This book is about a deceitful, young fairy prince, Pyrgus Malvae. In the book, Pyrgus escapes from the evil fairy realm and must return back to his world in time before all chaos breaks lose. But Pyrgus can’t return alone. With the help of his new human friend Henry, Pyrgus fights to keep his throne and h...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to be honest... This book got off to a s-l-o-o-o-w start for me. I had probably read about a third of the book or more before things picked up. I can't say that Henry's backstory about his family situation added much to the book, either--it didn't seem very relevant to the plot, but rather a chance to introduce the idea of the possibility of having a parent who turns out to be a homosexual. And no, I am not suggesting there is something wrong with that, and I assume that Brennan gives us...more

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Sep 23, 2011 Katherine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-in-2011, urban-fantasy

I think I would have liked this much better if I were under the age of 15, appreciated British humor, and was more interested in action & adventure instead of just science fiction/urban fantasy. It's a pretty good story, with a bit of silly humor and a bit of potty humor (boils on the bottom). The villains were laughable in their ridiculousness and the younger characters really took charge and made the important and adult decisions. Some scenes may be unsuitable for particularly sensitive ch...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Tip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked this book up at the dollar store because I love fantasy novels and anything to do with faeries.

One reviewer said there was a lot of point of view changes that happened too fast and made it hard to keep up. I do not agree. There were a few times where the point of view changed quickly (but never in the same scene).

To the best of my knowledge, there are only four different points of view used throughout the entire story, and only three of them frequently. If you read a lot of plot heavy fi...more Picked this book up at the dollar store because I love fantasy novels and anything to do with faeries.

One reviewer said there was a lot of point of view changes that happened too fast and made it hard to keep up. I do not agree. There were a few times where the point of view changed quickly (but never in the same scene).

To the best of my knowledge, there are only four different points of view used throughout the entire story, and only three of them frequently. If you read a lot of plot heavy fiction novels that juggle quite an assortment of main characters and develop multiple subplots you should have no trouble with this book as it's not that complex.

The main characters are developed enough for them to be interesting but not as thoroughly developed as in say, The Fable haven Series characters. But, despite that, its an interesting story.

I am not going to review the plot of the story as so many people have done so already, but, there are a few things I found interesting regarding the details in the story.

I knew of Herbie Brennan before this because I had seen a video of him talking about a ceremonial magic practice he took part in (in the real world). I study ceremonial magic a little and found it interesting that he threw a few pieces in from rites used in the real world into this fantasy story.

Sure, it is blown way up and out of proportion from anything that happens in the real world--that's the fun with fantasy. If you have read books like The goatia or any other type of grimoire involving evocation magic you will be able to tell the author has studied it too and draws inspiration from that for his story. I'm sure the Harry Potter book burners would love to get their hands on this (especially if they knew the author has studied real magic.) But I guess they are too caught up burning some other type of fiction book. LOL.

Anyway I think it is worth a read. It may not be the best fantasy book I have ever read but it was worth the time and I plan to read the next books in the series.

(less)

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Apr 21, 2009 Steph Su rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

After someone tries to kill Pyrgus, the Crown Prince of the faerie world, his father, the Purple Emperor, sends him off into the Analogue World (aka the world we humans live in) for safety from their political enemies, the Faeries of the Night. However, the translator they used to send Pyrgus into the other world has been sabotaged, sending Pyrgus drastically off course, landing him in the middle of present-day England, in the backyard of a paranoid old Mr. Fogarty. Mr. Fogarty enlists the help...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Eustacia Tan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Note: About 3.5 stars (I rounded up)

I actually read this on the plane. But I was busy and I haven't had time to review. Until now.

Anyways, Faerie Wars is supposed to be the first in a series. It has two protagonist, the human boy Henry, who finds out that his mom is having an affair with his dad's (female) secretary; and the fairy boy Pyrgus, the Crown Prince who's more interested in saving animals. They meet when someone sabotages a portal and Pyrgus ends up in our world.

I have to say, it's a...more

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Sep 21, 2011 ke-sha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

(Contains Spoilers)I really liked this book. It was slow in the start but picked up some steam. My favroite Character in this book by far is the old guy Fogarty He was the most Hilarious and loveable character. Pyrgus at first was annoying and frankly for a while there I was sideing with the people who wanted to kill him(yeah he got on my nerves that much) but the feeling lessened somewhat over the course of the book.I hope it continues to lessen over the course of the next book. I really like H...more

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Feb 24, 2012 R rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to R by: a friend

Where to begin...
Ah! I have a question! IS THIS REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE A YOUNG ADULT STORY? It was more like something I would have read when I was 10. This book is classified as YA and the reviews hype it as, "The next Harry Potter!" I had high hopes for this book and they fell short; oh so short. I will not say it was poorly written grammatically or structurally. I would give it somewhere between a 3 and a 4 out of 5 in that respect. However, the story-line is a 2 out of 5 without a doubt—in so...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Abby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult

This was a pretty decent book, though not something that gripped me from start to finish, even though I had hoped it would. It's difficult for me to write anything less than a stellar review, but in all fairness, I'll be honest. "Fairie Wars" was not written for me and mine. This book would fit very nicely on the shelf of a young guy - maybe a Tolkien fan who's looking to upgrade his geek standing (not that there's anything wrong with Tolkien, I'm just borrowing the stereotype here...).
It's an o...more This was a pretty decent book, though not something that gripped me from start to finish, even though I had hoped it would. It's difficult for me to write anything less than a stellar review, but in all fairness, I'll be honest. "Fairie Wars" was not written for me and mine. This book would fit very nicely on the shelf of a young guy - maybe a Tolkien fan who's looking to upgrade his geek standing (not that there's anything wrong with Tolkien, I'm just borrowing the stereotype here...).
It's an odd mix of fantasy and science fiction. Without giving away plot details it's hard to elaborate, but I will say this: We call them aliens, they identify them as demons. We have engineers, they have wizards.
Story-wise, it has a fairly solid mis-placed fairy prince idea, with a few subplots that more or less get tied in by the end. There is a bit with the MC henry (well, one of them) and his parents that seemed quite forced. Rather like Henry lacked depth, so an additional subplot, and a sister, was added. The other subplots seemed to take up a lot of space in the writing itself, and often came across as confusing. I found myself wondering "Why does this matter?" even as they technically came together toward the end. This problem was no doubt complicated by the many point-of-view changes throughout the story. The POV changed quite frequently, and there was no consistent MC to fall back on. Technically, I suppose Henry got more "screen time" than the others, but with the other characters each having a turn on the POV wheel, it was still dodgy, and often confused the story's timeline.
I do have to give the author props for his characterization of Henry - he is very much a young adolescent boy, and the glimpses into his mind are well-done (I wish there were more of them).
Again, this book, given to the right audience, will likely be very much enjoyed. It's success and continuing success (and sequels!) are proof enough of that. It would be very much at home in the library of a middle school, even high school - and it's probably well past time guys got to play around with this Fairy-fad. But keep in mind, although it LOOKS like it should fit in with "City of Bones" or "Tithe," it's a much different, oddly traditional take on science fiction and fantasy- heavy on the science, but not quite steampunk, either.
I think I'll give it to my brother.
PS: It's British - which is kind of fun, after you get over the weird punctuation... ;-)(less)

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May 13, 2012 Kris rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Henry Atherton is an ordinary fourteen year old boy. His hobby is making paper sculptures, and in his spare time he does odd jobs for old Mister Fogarty who can't get around quite as well as he used to. His mum and dad are going through a bad patch. He doesn't know the half of it.

Pyrgus Malvae is the eldest son of the royal house of Iris, the ruling house of the Faerie World. In his spare time he lobbies for animal rights. Unfortunately, his idea of animal liberation has brought him into directi...more Henry Atherton is an ordinary fourteen year old boy. His hobby is making paper sculptures, and in his spare time he does odd jobs for old Mister Fogarty who can't get around quite as well as he used to. His mum and dad are going through a bad patch. He doesn't know the half of it.

Pyrgus Malvae is the eldest son of the royal house of Iris, the ruling house of the Faerie World. In his spare time he lobbies for animal rights. Unfortunately, his idea of animal liberation has brought him into direction confrontation with the Faeries of the Night and now they want his blood.

Prince Beleth is the Prince of Hell. For some reason, he wants Pyrgus Malvae dead, and that means manipulating everyone around the boy until one of them kills him. And Beleth can be *very* persuasive when he wants to be.

When Pyrgus' dad, the Purple Emperor, discovers the plot on his son's life by the Faeries of the Night, he does the only thing a protective father with the resources of a royal house can do; he has him transported to a different plane of existence, where he ends up in old Mister Fogarty's back yard.

This was a fun light read with some interesting characters and cool ideas. I especially liked the spell cones that cast their enchantment when the incense burned down, and Kitterick, The Painted Lady's servant. Kitterick is an orange coloured dwarf with an implant in his skull which allows his mistress to slot tarot cards into his skull - adding a little extra wtf-ery to a fate reading. He can also disable you with a single poisonous bite, and whistle loud enough to shatter glass.

What I didn't like so much didn't really heavily affect my enjoyment of the book. I'm not sure I totally enjoyed Brennan's portrayal of Henry's mother as emotionally controlling, for example, though I can see how it was used to illustrate his growth as a character when he decides to stand up to her (albeit, at the end of the book). The other thing I didn't like so much was the obvious nod in the direction of Comma as the main antagonist, and the often times brainless way some of the characters chose to comport themselves. This is a book aimed at children (even if they are older children) and that doesn't mean you can't employ subtlety, which this book sometimes lacked.

Still, it was good fun (and short) and less forgettable than I thought it would be (Kitterick counts for a lot of that), and the ending was open enough that it left me wanting to read more (what became of Chalkhill, for example). All in all then, thumbs up.(less)

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May 31, 2009 Tortla rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: dragons, chidderbooks

One star off for spelling it "faerie." Otherwise, this book was really good. An absorbing fantasy-world-meets-real-world story that manages to go kind of dark places without the oh-look-at-me-I'm-so-gritty feel some books like that have (*cough cough* Tithe *cough*). I can definitely see the similarity to Harry Potter, what with its being about a young British boy whose world is disrupted by a parallel world of magic. But the way magic is treated in this is so deliciously matter-of-fact; everyon...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Andy rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm sorry, but this fantasy and science-fictionish story is terrible. The three main characters, Henry, Pyrgus, and Blue, are cheap variations of a typical hero. None of them are very good at being heroic. And Mr Fogarty and the orange-skinned dwarf are really the same character in different dimensions. The demons and bad guys... it was terrible.

I get that the book is supposed to be charming and it should appeal to younger readers--but then again I hope not. Is that supposed to appeal to childre...more

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Aug 26, 2009 Jose Prado rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fearie Wars by Herbie Brenan is a wonderfull book filled with mystery, action, magic, science, and love. It all starts out with Henry who found out a magical faerei in the back yard of Mr.Fogarty, an old man who believes in faeries and aliens and thinks that the CIA is always after him. After a few days with the little Fearie boy (Pyrgus) they realize that he is actually a prince from another world sabotaged and nearly killed by many Nighters in his world.

With the faerie boy there Henry found a...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Evan Teters rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Faerie Wars is an exciting science fiction/ fantasy book about the main protagonist Henry Atherton. The story, without giving too much away, is about Henry's interaction with a hidden parallel realm from which "fairies" come from. The fantasy aspects of the story were excellent and suspenseful, and full of unique characters. The story developed well and always had an aura of suspense, mystery, and urgency. The biggest downside to this book was Henry's conflict concerning his family. He had exper...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Lori rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: do-not-read, fantasy, fiction, series

*Did not finish

So 70 pages in and not much is happening. The book had a strong start with interesting characters, but when it barely shifts focus to introduce the fantasy aspect, it, instead, switches scenes entirely to a different set of new characters with no hint that they're ever going to intersect with the first story being told. Baffling is the best description. The plot isn't bad; it isn't good; it's MIA.

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Jun 17, 2011 Marilag rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads, adventure, fairy-tale, fantasy, humor

Not trying to sound cliche, considering Eoin Colfer did review the book positively, but it does have that style reminiscent of Colfer's Artemis Fowl series. Faerie Wars mixed the real world, the faerie realm, and science--yes, science (I'm pretty sure I saw "particle physics" mentioned at least once!)--all in one pretty little salad bowl. And then the dressing that is the plot got poured into the mix. It was funny, it was cute, and it was definitely exciting to read from beginning to end.

I'm onl...more

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May 16, 2011 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I really liked this and do plan to read more of the series. It looks like there are quite a few more books ahead - we'll see if the story gets old.

But for now, I feel like the plot was smart. The writing not only held my interest but made me think. Like a puzzle, it was put together piece by piece, but not always in the order you'd expect. It left me satisfied, but wanting more. I liked all of the main characters. I liked Henry. He is a kid, not a super star, but not an idiot either. A smart, g...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Karlein rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After hesitating whether to continue reading this book after having read the first few chapters, I am glad I did because it was pretty amazing.Despite the weird beginning where kittens are used as glue, there is a boy thinking of flying pigs and a mother who is having an affair with another woman, the remainder of the book was surprisingly good.

This book had a unique combination of traditional fantasy blended with the modern advances of science. Though I would like to make a comment on the faer...more

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Jan 23, 2009 Jaemi rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, ya-fiction, series, faeries, scifi

Henry Atherton thought he was living a pretty normal life. Sure, working for Mr. Fogarty could be strange, as the man was completely paranoid, but all in all things were good. He even made his cardboard pig fly–and that’s no mean feat. But when he comes down to breakfast to find his Mother acting strangely, and his father turns up acting even stranger, he starts to get the feeling something is amiss.

He mulls it over on the ride to Mr. Fogarty’s with his father, and bites the bullet when he gets...more Henry Atherton thought he was living a pretty normal life. Sure, working for Mr. Fogarty could be strange, as the man was completely paranoid, but all in all things were good. He even made his cardboard pig fly–and that’s no mean feat. But when he comes down to breakfast to find his Mother acting strangely, and his father turns up acting even stranger, he starts to get the feeling something is amiss.

He mulls it over on the ride to Mr. Fogarty’s with his father, and bites the bullet when he gets let off, and asks his father if he’s having an affair. The answer he receives sends him reeling. So, while cleaning out Mr. Fogarty’s shed and realizing the cat has caught a miniature person with winds, and NOT a butterfly as he first suspected, he captures the thing in a jamjar and takes it to Fogarty, sure things can’t get much weirder.

At home later, he starts to think he must have been crazy to believe in faeries, even if he had been just talking to one. But he knows it was real. When he arrives the next day to find Fogarty with a youth about his own age, things get better and odder all at once.

As promised, Pyrgus has returned to his actual size.

Pyrgus and Henry break into Henry’s school to gather components needed to build a portal to enable Pyrgus to get back home, where he’s certain plots against his father are unfolding. After delivering the parts, Henry’s bit is meant to be done. He’s promised never to see Mr. Fogarty again. But after many days of unanswered calls, he can’t take it anymore, and heads to Fogarty’s to make sure everything is all right.

By this time, Pyrgus has disappeared through the portal and no one’s sure where he is, and his father has come through and gone back with Mr. Fogarty in tow. Henry manages to find the clues left behind and open the portal himself to get through.

After arriving at the Purple Palace, things take one unfortunate turn after another. Only though a stroke of imagination does Henry manage to turn things back around.(less)

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Mar 14, 2009 Barbara rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 17, 2013 Michelle Kelley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, fantasy

British fantasy where the Faerie World and Analogue Worlds collide. Pyrgus, heir to the throne of Faerie, runs into trouble with two Faeries of the Dark and a host of demons. Meanwhile, the entire Faerie realm is facing a civil uprising of sorts. Meanwhile Henry is struggling with some heavy family issues in the Analogue world. When Pyrgus accidentally gets transported to the Analogue yard of Mr. Fogarty, Henry's employers, humans and Faeries must work together to save Pyrgus and the Faerie worl...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Susan Francis rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-reviewed, children, five-star-reads, read-in-2013, ya, ya-fantasy

I found the Faerie Wars to be a fun read from the start. The story begins with Henry Atherton a boy in his early teens who is not having an easy time at home. His younger sister is a spoiled brat who enjoys tormenting him and he has just discovered that his parents’ marriage is falling apart. It is during the school holidays and Henry spends his days working for an old aged pensioner named Mr Fogarty, which is a welcome escape.

Mr Fogarty is known to be strange. He believes in faeries (although...more I found the Faerie Wars to be a fun read from the start. The story begins with Henry Atherton a boy in his early teens who is not having an easy time at home. His younger sister is a spoiled brat who enjoys tormenting him and he has just discovered that his parents’ marriage is falling apart. It is during the school holidays and Henry spends his days working for an old aged pensioner named Mr Fogarty, which is a welcome escape.

Mr Fogarty is known to be strange. He believes in faeries (although he has never seen one), aliens and is big on conspiracy theories. Henry takes it all with a pinch of salt until he discovers a tiny winged creature in Mr Fogarty’s garden that looks very much like a miniature boy of about his age - with wings. Henry soon realises he has come across a faerie and takes him to Mr Fogarty.

The faerie found in the garden is Pyrgus Malvae, Crown Prince of the Faerie Realm. He was transported to the analogue world (our world) to be safe from those who are conspiring to kill him. Unfortunately, the portal he was sent through was sabotaged and he ended up in the wrong place and in miniature form. He convinces Henry and Mr Fogarty to help him to return home because his father the Purple Emperor, ruler of the Faeries of the Light, is in danger. The story moves to the Faerie Realm where we discover Holly Blue, Pyrgus’ sister. She dabbles in magic and has a network of spies that help her know what is going on in the realm and the dangers that fall on her brother Pyrgus and her father. We also learn about the enemy, Lord Hairstreak, ruler of the Faeries of the Night, and the demons who are plotting to bring down the Purple Emperor.

I loved this book. I found Henry’s back story about his dysfunctional family refreshing and entertaining and it was a nice contrast to the fantasy elements. It was both comical and entertaining throughout with strong characters, my favourite being Mr Fogarty who on the surface appears to be a miserable old man, but has some interesting skeletons in his closet and hidden depths. I also liked Blue as she is wiser than her years and a true heroine.

The style of this novel reminded me of a combination of Terry Prachett’s Disc World series and Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials – both huge favourites of mine. Although aimed at children it is by no means patronising and can be enjoyed at any age.
(less)

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Jan 11, 2011 Ithlilian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I decided to give Faerie Wars a try after reading Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange. This book didn't wow me in any way. Faerie Wars starts off with a bang. The son of the emperor of light faeries is on the run after stealing a Phoenix, he stumbles upon a secret, gets captured and escapes a few times, just to be scolded and exiled by his father. Then it goes down hill. We meet the human and hear about his problems while a sister searches for her lost brother. There is some sort of war looming in th...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Bryan rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was recommended to me as a YA blend of "Heinlein and Martinez with a bit of Bova/Gaiman". I definitely see the Gaiman influences as the setting and villains carry the dark edge that Gaiman does so well. Overall, I enjoyed the book and have started reading the next book in the series. I would give this a 3.5 rating if that was allowed because it was better than a '3' but not quite up to the '4' level. Holding it back was a rushed ending: It felt as though the author was contractually bo...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Becky Savoie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: faerie-books, fantasy

Faerie Wars was definitely an interesting read. I love the explanations it gives for everything from faerie sightings to Hell to alien abductions. It mixes science with fantasy, and teaches you that you have to believe in something to make it work. Harry's life gets turned upside-down even before he discovers his neighbors cat trying to munch on a faerie, but then he has twice the life drama to deal with. And isn't that always the way? One thing never goes wrong at a time; they all go wrong at o...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Fuchsia Rascal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, audiobook, youngadult, 2013

This book has a slow start and has a wide scope that doesn't really work to its advantage. I feel that it tries to be epic like Lord of the Rings [okay, maybe not quite that epic but close] but falls flat more often than not. A more simple approach would have benefitted this story much better. The first third of the book is spent just setting up the plot, and at a fairly slow pace. It took me forever to get into it [it took me exactly a month, even with the audiobook, to get through that first t...more This book has a slow start and has a wide scope that doesn't really work to its advantage. I feel that it tries to be epic like Lord of the Rings [okay, maybe not quite that epic but close] but falls flat more often than not. A more simple approach would have benefitted this story much better. The first third of the book is spent just setting up the plot, and at a fairly slow pace. It took me forever to get into it [it took me exactly a month, even with the audiobook, to get through that first third] but once it got into the actual plot, it was fast moving and kept me interested, finishing the rest in just a week. Plus, some of the stuff that we spent chapters on in the beginning, like all the stuff with Henry's parents, weren't even important in the long run. [Maybe they'll be important later in the series, I don't know, but then they shouldn't have been given so much page time here.]

This book was also told from many characters' points of view, but with no real consistency that I've come to expect with other books. Three chapters from Henry's POV, one from Pyrgus, two from Brimstone, a chapter split between the Emperor and Holly. It was jarring and, to be honest, I didn't think we needed quite so many POVs. Especially when it came to "the bad guys"-- I don't generally like stories where everything's spelled out and there isn't at least a large bit to work out for myself. Sure, sometimes it can work but mostly, it doesn't. In my opinion, it didn't.

This book makes no claims to be a feminist fantasy novel, I will admit, but I still always keep that in mind whenever I read, well, pretty much anything. So, I will say: it isn't terribly bad in terms of feminism, but it's not spectacularly good, either. There's only one female character of any relevance to the plot [the aforementioned Holly] and she doesn't show up until, again, at least a third of the way into the book. However, she does have complete agency and is a pretty great character, so there's that. If you're looking for a feminist fantasy book, this isn't it but it's also not grossly on the side of misogyny. I'd give it a neutral rating.

As a non-feminist fantasy novel, though, it is solidly good, especially once you get deep into the plot. It's not terribly surprising or too original, although I did like how alien conspiracies and demons and fairies were all tied together in the end. And multiple universes! Who doesn't love multiple universes? So, there's that.

A note on the audiobook: the reader, while having a pleasant voice, was not a very versatile voice actor. He only had a range of about 3-4 different voices and so, with so many characters, a lot of them sounded exactly the same. All the bad guys had the same voice [and a character, once revealed to be on the bad side, would suddenly adopt the voice too], and Henry and Pyrgus, the two main characters, had the same [different] voice which definitely made for some confusion. It would have been better if he had just tried not to do different voices at all, really, and just read the lines straight. Definitely not the best audiobook I've listened to this year.

Overall, the book's got some good things and some bad things. I won't be rushing out to get the second in the series but I will eventually check it out and will even operate under the assumption that the second book, like in most series, will be better.(less)

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Jan 16, 2012 Carey Gibbons rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Predictable, but fun. I'm not usually a fan of humor in my fantasy, but I read this for my book club and enjoyed it enough to go onto the next book in the series. This book is classified as YA, but has some graphic descriptions of animal sacrifice. It also gets overly silly at times and parts of the resolution were stupidly anticlimactic (the demon Belas tripping in his pool of molten lava, undoing decades of preparation). But I liked Henry, Pyrgus, Blue, and Mr. Fogarty and I'm curious to see w...more

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May 01, 2009 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While this book was written for young adults....there are some things in this novel that I would not like my tween or even teen reading.
The book begins with Henry finding out his mother is having an affair with his fathers secretary. I found this totally irrelevant other than to leave Henry in a horrible situation. This could have been arranged by many other means.
Further more there is graphic discriptions of demon congering with the use of animal sacrifice. While the "demons" are really just i...more

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About Herbie Brennan

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Name: Herbie Brennan

Occupation: Author

Favourite book: The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber.

Favourite subjects: Esoteric matters, psychical research, anomalies, Mac computers, other people and cats.

Favourite journals: Journal of the Society for Psychical Research, Mac Format.

Favourite holiday spot: Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland.

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Books by Herbie Brennan

The Purple Emperor (The Faerie Wars Chronicles, #2)

Ruler of the Realm (The Faerie Wars Chronicles, #3)

Faerie Lord (The Faerie Wars Chronicles, #4)

The Faeman Quest (The Faerie Wars Chronicles, #5)

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Quotes from Faerie Wars

“Brimstone: '...I shall smite thee with my fightful blasting wand so that thy teeth shall drop out, thy skin shall wrinkle, thou shalt have boils on thy bottom and be subject to night sweats, ringing in the ears, falling sickness, flaking dandruff, arthritis, lumbago, uncontrollable dribbling, deafness, runny nose, and ingrowing toenails. Amen.” — 14 people liked it

“He caught me stealing his golden phoenix.'
Tithonus closed his eyes briefly. 'Good grief!' He opened them again. 'I was half hoping it wasn't true. Have you any idea of the implications?'
'He was mistreating it!' Pyrgus protested.
'Of course he was mistreating it. This is Black Hairstreak we're talking about. He mistreats his own mother. I don't suppose you stole her as well?” — 7 people liked it

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Faerie Wars (The Faerie Wars Chronicles #1)

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