Synopsis: When shadowy forces begin attacking the little skiing village of Wintersheim, an unlikely band of friends set themselves to defeating the Shadows who have trapped their town in sticky black clouds and snow. Manfred, the scientist, Dieter, the mountain boy, Anne, the visiting cousin (and her cockatoo), Ziggi, the spoiled American tourist, and IDK, so named because, due to mysterious memory loss he answers most questions (including, What's your name?) with the phrase 'I don't know...': together these five will travel to another planet in an attempt to save the world.

Review: The biggest problem I had with this novel was that the characters were largely two-dimensional and stereotypical, and very few hints are given as to the reasons for their particular temperaments. Otherwise the story is engrossing, if somewhat bizarre, combining science-fiction with fantasy, and the typical narrative of a group of children becoming friends through adversity. Being fairly similar to may other novels in the fantasy/sci-fi genre (it reminded me strongly of both The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, and The Snow Spider) it is a good read which I would not hesitate to recommend.

2007-04-28