I hadn’t got off scott free. I’d done something terrible and here, shivering in my soaking clothes I knew that life would never be the same. Everything, everything was my fault.

When Zed finds himself caught up in a seemingly innocent prank with his sister that goes horribly wrong and sees her in a coma in hospital his whole world falls apart. Zed has never quite fitted in with his adopted family, his mother seems to find him more of an inconvenience than a son and his father pays him very little attention. His sister, Cary, now away at university, was one of the few who accepted him, but when she returns after her first term there is an enormous shock waiting for them all. The shock turns nasty for Zed for he realises that the reason his sister has come home with a lightbulb superglued to her head is because in a rash moment her bet her she wouldn’t do it! To cope with the fallout Zed decides to escape form the house but Cary runs after him and then everything Zed has ever know changes for the worse.

With Cary desperately ill in hospital he is cruelly cast aside by his adoptive family and returned to what was an idyllic childhood home. Here he searches for the people, places and things that were once beloved but he is haunted by the legend of the Red Judge of Plynlimon Mountain, a legend that says to every child the Red Judge will come and get you if you are naughty and Zed knows he has been naughty. The legend forces Zed to leave his home, his comfort and what remains of a loving family, fleeing his terrors and demons he embarks on a magical journey searching for a place in which he can truly belong but it seems the Red Judge is never far behind him.

2009-03-21

 In this poignant story of rejection, familial love and self-discovery Pauline Fisk has once again brought to her reader a combination of modern and ancient, reality and myth. her love of the myths of Wales and particularly the mountain of Plynlimon are clear in her writing. She is eloquent, thoughtful and at times terrifying but always compelling. The reader is never certain how to feel towards Zed, does he deserve their sympathy for the wrongs he has committed or for the terror that is inflicted upon him or is it only right and just that he should suffer in this way. It is difficult to decide which way to feel and Fisk does not make it easy on her character, subjecting him to many hardships. However his journey is one of self-discovery of wonder, myth and magic. The imagery is fresh and strong drawing the reader into Zed’s world, ensuring they feel the harsh cold of the snow and ice, the terror of the Red Judge and the warmth of love and the possibility of resolution. A masterpiece of writing from a very talented author and a fascinating companion title to Sabrina Fludde.