The Golden Book of Faerie

Chronicles of Faerie #1-4

by O.R. Melling

Large format compendium of The Hunter’s Moon (revised edition), The Summer King, The Light-Bearer’s Daughter, The Book of Dreams.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Fairies, Canada, Fae, Childrens

960 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born in Ireland, raised and educated in Toronto, Canada along with my seven sisters and two brothers, now living back in Ireland again. I have a beautiful daughter, Findabhair, doing her M.A. in Marine Biology and a beautiful cat, Emma, who would love to eat the fish Finn (great name for a marine biologist, eh?) wants to protect. My favourite author of all time is CS Lewis. I've read everything he ever wrote including non-fiction and adult fiction, but the Chronicles of Narnia are the best of all.

Reviews

[Nicole Acheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Golden Book of Faerie is actually a series of four novels put together in one volume. The first book in this volume is The Hunters Moon. I enjoyed reading this book. It was a good introduction to the main characters in this series. This first novel is unpredictable and hard to determine what will happen next. This first novel contains some Irish Celtic mythology, how I determined this was the mention of two Celtic Gods named Finvarra and Crom Cruac, who is also known as the worm..not really sure why. Without giving the entire book away I will briefly summarize what the book is about. A young girl named Gwen Woods is in Ireland visiting her cousin Findahair(pro;finavere). During this visit the girls get the adventure of their lives, Gwen rescueing her cousin, the creating of the company of seven in Ireland and the sacrifice of Finvarra which leads to the loss of his immortality. If you want to know more..read the hunters moon.

The second book in this series is called The Summer King. This book seems to be the shortest book in the series but just as good as the hunter's moon. I enjoyed reading this book.This book introduces us to some new main characters in the series. A young girl named Laurel is in Ireland visiting her grandparents..unfortunately she is haunted by the mystery of her twin sister Honour's death. While on her visit she meets some fairies who start her on her quest to find the Summer king who has mysteriously disappeared. While on her quest she carries the hope and the promise from the fairies that she will see her sister again.

The third book in the series is called The light bearer's daughter. A young girl named Dana half-fairy and half-human, raised by her father from the age of three discovers the secret about who her mother really is and who she is. There is not as much magic in this book as in the others but it is a very touching story and ends well.

The fourth book in this series is Called the book of dreams. It is the best book in the entire series to read and is the longest book in the series. It contains mythology from different people; Irish Celtic mythology, Ojibway and mythologies from many other native people. It was an action and suspense filled book and had a great storyline..although the book could have had a better ending.

[Deirdre · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I would have really liked this in high school. I've outgrown these kinds of books, I suppose...the characters felt a bit like cardboard to me, the romances were all entirely predictable, and I never fell under the thrall of the Faerie world the way you're expected to. This is supposed to be an epic fantasy series about saving our worlds, and it has all the right components, but I was often just bored.

Also Melling freely borrowed religious and cultural motifs from Irish, Christian, indigenous, Chinese, Quebecois, and Indian history and worldviews...I think it was with the best of intentions and I appreciate her effort to write a diverse world back in the 90s/00s (the whole last book's message is 'we are all family,' WHICH I AGREE WITH, SO DON'T GET YOUR KNICKERS IN A TWIST hammered home ad nauseum) but it didn't sit entirely right with me.

I am all for celebrating diversity, but the thing that made me be like 'nah, b, we're done here' is that in the last book Dana (a recent immigrant from Ireland) in embracing her new Canadian identity ends up dressing in indigenous regalia as she saves the world of Faerie. Melling actually did a decent job of talking about the evils of colonialism and even referenced other injustices in Canada's history - the forced removal of the Acadians, how the railroad was made mostly by Japanese and Irish labourers - but that moment and many others over the course of the last book were pretty inappropriate. No #ownvoices here.

Anyway. I would give anything else by Melling a pass. Life is too short to read mediocre books.

[firelightfantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is by far one of my favorite books of all time. This is a collection of four stories, and the first/last ones were the best.

The first (Hunter’s Moon) was a fun adventure following two cousins. I found the main female character, Gwen, far more relatable than her cousin, and enjoyed seeing her character progress throughout the series. This story held a bit of a Ragnarok vibe to it.

I found the second book (The Summer King) a difficult and depressing addition to the series. It was a bit of a slog for me.

The third story picks back up again, but the fourth story I found especially fascinating, as I’m Canadian, and this story took place in Canada.

Some may find issue with all the different cultural references in this book, but I thought that the author did well at weaving so many cultural influences together (Native American, French Canadian, Gaelic, Indian, and Chinese- I believe that’s all of them, but I may have missed one). I didn’t find one over-powered the other, but felt more like a coming-together of all the unique cultures.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. I really tried. The plot is just too flat. The characters too rushed into emotions. I could not feel any connection to the characters, if anything I found them annoying. I have read many fantasy books and these ones just don't grip me. I like the authors description of the places and you can tell he did his research.

[Britt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book growing up. Still one of my favourite modern faerie tales. Equal parts whimsy, romance, and adventure make it a book I continue to re-read in my adulthood.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had wanted to like it but it was so boring and long to me. Plus I had no interest or attachment to the characters.

[B.M. M. Polier]

An absolutely stunning series based around old English and Irish folklore. When I read these books I feel like I have fallen back in time, into a wonderful and especially terrifying and beautiful at the same time, world. You can't help but wish that it was you in the place of the main characters. Captivating, moving, and amazingly beautiful in detail and writing. I loved the first three books in the series. However, in the last book, The Book of Dreams, my favor for these books waned. I wasn't as fascinated with the folklore of Canada.

[Sarah Insomnia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captured me from the first few pages of the first story. The ending of the last story made me cry- you really feel like you get to know these characters through time, and each of the 4 stories are very compelling and unique in their own way. This is a book for lovers of fairylore of all ages!

[Rose Kluin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to be honest , I only read the first book out of the four included in the 4in1 , I did find the book somewhat enjoyable and if I were younger I'm sure I would have liked it more ! A great book for someone who is just starting to enjoy reading fantasy however if you have more experience in this type of read you may find it a bit dull and under developed .

[Heather]

I've read the first two books out of this collection and I love them. I still have the rest to read.

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is more to us than just everyday ordinariness. You simply have to look a little harder to find the magic.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love. One of my favourite series when I was younger, and still is. Ireland and Faerie seem just magical but there is also such a great mix of Canadian characters and culture.