There are three very different races living on and under the Moor,
who share a language but little else - the magical People, the
aquatic Dorig, and the Giants, who turn out to be humans. The focus
of the story is on Adara, one of the People, and her children Ayna,
Gair and Ceri, each of whom is special: Ayna and Ceri because of
their magical gifts and Gair because he is 'ordinary'. Adara's
brother kills one of the Dorig and steals its accursed golden
collar, setting in motion a series of events that threaten the Moor
itself. Only by negotiation between all three peoples can the
environment be saved for everyone. The moral nature of this tale is
clear as the various groups discover that force will not bring
salvation. Gair's latent gift turns out to be the most important
and his gesture of friendship and sacrifice finally brings the
adults to their senses. In this book, first published in 1976,
Diana Wynne Jones has created a microworld with parallels to some
of today's issues: her emphasis on peace and collaboration will
always be relevant. Her child characters have their own believable
problems, with themselves and their relatives as well as with their
enemies. The book presents humans alongside other 'peoples' and
shows that our perception of our own kind is very subjective. The
flavour of the writing, names and the accursed gold collar give it
a Celtic flavour and show the fantasy rooted in aspects of a real
past. Ages 10+ (Kirkus UK)
Gair spent his time gazing out onto the Moor and brooding. Ayna could answer questions about the future, Ceri could find things which were lost. Gair seems to have no Gift and knew he was a disappointment to his jovial, heroic father – who is Chief.
Perhaps his feelings of not fitting in was what made him so curious about these other different sorts of beings who lived on the Moor – the Giants and the Dorig. Certainly it was because he believed he was ordinary that he did his best to become wise, and to learn as much as he could abou the three great Powers of Sun, Moon and Earth.
And when the crisis came, Gair found the knowledge he had gained was to help save not only his own life but those of all his people.
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