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Fen Runners
Wintertime in the moody, atmospheric mists of East Anglia. Diving into the cold, murky water of a lake, Kit and Joe find an elaborate patten - a Fen word for ice skate. Its return to the surface is not widely welcomed and, as it emerges, the story of how the skate became detached from its owner fifty years ago leads the boys deep into a chilling mystery whose conclusion is yet to be played out. What could have been surging up through the ice that day half a century past that so frightened young Tom Townley? Why has Tom suffered constantly from nightmares and visions of beings who make no noise, but so menacingly watch? Who are they watching now - and why?
A mystery from the past is hauled from the depths of the icy Norfolk fens in the new novel from the author of the timeless classic THE GIANT UNDER THE SNOW.
A mystery from the past is hauled from the depths of the icy Norfolk fens in the new novel from the author of the timeless classic THE GIANT UNDER THE SNOW.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
John Gordon
38 books26 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Gordon was an English writer of adolescent supernatural fiction. He was the author of fifteen fantasy novels (including The Giant Under The Snow), four short story collections, over fifty short stories, and a teenage memoir. For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gor...
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Gordon was an English writer of adolescent supernatural fiction. He was the author of fifteen fantasy novels (including The Giant Under The Snow), four short story collections, over fifty short stories, and a teenage memoir. For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gor...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 27, 2018
One of Gordon's short novels, Fen Runners, as with much of his work, is set around Wisbech, Norwich where the fens run out to the sea and which Gordon spent much of his youth exploring. The story follows Kit and Connie, both who have always lived close to each other but never met. Yet when an event brings them together, they both encounter that a mysterious, serpentine shadow invisible to all but them. Such an encounter draws them closer and deeper into an ancient mystery that lies deep beneath the River Nene (my guess re: place).
Although short, Gordon retains the complex, folk-tinged narrative with which he is so well known and he packs much into this story. What Gordon does well is the ominous, ever-growing threat of something invisible and ancient clawing at the young. His use of place and weather is wonderful and all help to build up tension. An excellent novel to share and discuss with others although I sometimes felt that the narrative jumped a little in places.
Although short, Gordon retains the complex, folk-tinged narrative with which he is so well known and he packs much into this story. What Gordon does well is the ominous, ever-growing threat of something invisible and ancient clawing at the young. His use of place and weather is wonderful and all help to build up tension. An excellent novel to share and discuss with others although I sometimes felt that the narrative jumped a little in places.
April 7, 2018
I'd love to give this more than three stars because John Gordon successfully evokes the odd allure of the Fens, a man-made landscape that feels more earthy and organic than it should, precariously balanced between sky and water. He also does a great job of summoning up the magic of winter. But for me some of the writing is awkward (the family scene with Kit and Jenny), some of it lifts too much from his Giant Under the Snow, and the peril at the climax is resolved a bit too easily.
March 28, 2022
Decades ago, a boy called Tom Townsend was skating with friends along a Fenland canal named Dutchman's Cut when he fell through the ice under Cottle's Bridge. Afterwards he felt sure that something pulled him down into the dark waters. Switching to the present, a boy swimming in the very same spot finds a piece of metal and a small shell-like scale under the mud on the bed of the channel. Taking it home, Kit (Christopher) discovers that the metal is one of Tom's lost ice-skates. From the time he brings the ice-skate to the surface, he becomes aware of the same shadowy figures that Tom’s granddaughter Jenny has been seeing for some time, and together they gradually learn that an ancient evil is stirring out in the fens. Of course, it is Kit and Jenny who are tasked with the responsibility to take the action needed to make things right again.
Fen Runners is not as long, intense or thorough as The Edge of the World. However, its charm lies in its succinctness and appropriate turn of phrase. Although it is a relatively quiet book, there is nevertheless excitement, a slight element of horror, shadows in the darkness, and a vividly-realized winter setting. It takes an author of great skill to draw a reader completely into another world in relatively few pages, and John Gordon manages this superbly in Fen Runners.
Fen Runners is a short read with a compelling and memorable atmosphere, solid characters, and a timeless sense of adventure. Indeed, an impression of timelessness permeates the whole book, especially when the lonely areas of fenland are described. I think I enjoyed this book as much as I did The Giant Under the Snow, but the plot was perhaps not as convincing as that which unfolds in The Edge of the World.
Well, now that I have read the three works by John Gordon which I have as etexts, the challenge is to acquire his other fantasy books!
Fen Runners is not as long, intense or thorough as The Edge of the World. However, its charm lies in its succinctness and appropriate turn of phrase. Although it is a relatively quiet book, there is nevertheless excitement, a slight element of horror, shadows in the darkness, and a vividly-realized winter setting. It takes an author of great skill to draw a reader completely into another world in relatively few pages, and John Gordon manages this superbly in Fen Runners.
Fen Runners is a short read with a compelling and memorable atmosphere, solid characters, and a timeless sense of adventure. Indeed, an impression of timelessness permeates the whole book, especially when the lonely areas of fenland are described. I think I enjoyed this book as much as I did The Giant Under the Snow, but the plot was perhaps not as convincing as that which unfolds in The Edge of the World.
Well, now that I have read the three works by John Gordon which I have as etexts, the challenge is to acquire his other fantasy books!
October 8, 2023
John Gordon's unfailing ability to capture the sense of place and the essence of every single character, no matter how minor, is what makes his work so marvellously enjoyable. This book is relatively short but that does not work against it at all, rather there is no wasted moment from start to end. I just wish Mr. Gordon had written more.
May 25, 2017
Not one of Gordon's best books, but not bad. A couple of details in the early chapters are unnecessarily confusing, in a way that can sometimes be typical of novelists tending toward the poetic as Gordon does. The story's climactic scene is very good.
December 3, 2021
Thus book has the same tone as all the books I read as a child in school making this book feel weirdly nostalgic but at the
end of that day that's all it did.
A children's book with bear bones characters that didn't really make any impression on the reader and a slightly random but forgettable plot.
end of that day that's all it did.
A children's book with bear bones characters that didn't really make any impression on the reader and a slightly random but forgettable plot.
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January 3, 2016Lastekõhedik ja sellena väga hea, kuigi mulle meeldiks ehk pikem ja põhjalikum. Kuigi oma võlu on ka lühidusel ja konkreetsusel. Aga lapsena? Ma ei tea, oleksin ehk peljanud, aga see ongi ju asja mõte: põnevus, kerge õudus, varjukujud pimeduses ja lumes. Tekitas suure himu uisutamise järele.
March 25, 2012
Sublime, but could have used better editing advice towards the end, where for at least one chapter the reader is ahead of Kit and wondering why he's being so thick. Otherwise ok.
May 15, 2012
Spooky, engrossing, beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews