Children of the Stones

By: Jeremy Burnham, Trevor Ray

Narrated by: Gareth Thomas

Length: 6 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Adam Brake, a professor of astrophysics, and his teenage son Matthew, arrive in Milbury, an English village surrounded by a stone circle. Adam has been commissioned to investigate the residual magnetism of the stones, but he and Matthew soon begin to realise that this is no ordinary village....

Based on the classic television series starring Gareth Thomas (Blake's 7) and Freddie Jones, this is the original novelisation, published for the first time in 35 years.

About the authors: Jeremy Burnham and Trevor Ray are both actor-writers. Children of the Stones for HTV was their first collaboration, closely followed by Raven and the children's novel Mystery of the Tower. Jeremy's writing credits include The Avengers, Paul Temple, When the Boat Comes In, Minder, C.A.T.S. Eyes, and Inspector Morse to name but a few. A stalwart of the National Theatre and the BBC Radio Drama department in both capacities as actor and writer, Trevor is best known to fans of Cult Television for his work on Doctor Who in 1969/70.

©2016 Fantom Publishing (P)2016 Spokenworld Audio & Ladbroke Audio Ltd/Fantom Publishing

An absolute joy!

This was an absolute treat! CHILDREN OF THE STONES was a mini-series for children's TV in 1977 which I adored. The show has stuck with me ever since. Despite the show being fondly remembered by a lot of people, it was never repeated. Having not seen it since it was televised, I was surfing for a DVD and found the writers of the show had adapted it into a book. The book stands up very well. The story itself is very much a John Wyndham style story featuring father and son, creepy villagers and their kids. Combining paganism, science and standing stones, it makes for great sci-fi story. I think one of the reasons it resonated with me at the time is that it's very adult in its telling. It doesn't talk down to its intended audience. The only criticism that could be leveled at the book is some of the science is hokum but it's such a fun book, I don't care. :-)

The classic TV series expanded and read well.

An enjoyable novelisation of the classic TV series. The novel provides extra insight to the characters while remaining consistent with the original show.

Gareth Thomas's reading is excellent, which shouldn't be surprising as he played the lead character in the original TV series (thirty eight years before recording the book!). Although recorded only two or three years before his death, he gives a performance that is full of life and variety.

Thomas's reading of the character Hendrick is particularly good, as he gives us a very good imitation of the actor Iain Cuthbertson, who played the role in the TV series. I'm guessing, since they had worked together more than once over the years, that Thomas had learned the cadences of Cuthbertson's voice, and he used that knowledge to great effect in this audio book.

The novel itself is fine, written with a good pace and suitable for all ages. It's somehow less spooky than the TV series, though that might be because it lacks the series' unique choral music. The novel also contains some of the same plot problems as the original series (for example, the idea of the time loop comes out of nowhere and is never adequately explained), but it's still an engaging and entertaining read.

Overall, if you're a fan of the series you'll be a fan of the book, especially the audio book. If you've never seen the show, the novel stands on its own, but I would still recommend tracking down and watching the series first of you can (it's on YouTube, but be sure to watch the individual episodes, not the cobbled together version).

I'm fact I enjoyed this novel so much in going to read the sequel, despite its mixed reviews.

The Wicker Man - for Kids

Recommended for children who want a scare, and adults who want a fascinating folk horror story. The book contrasts a homey feel around the protagonists' relationships as they work to uncover the mysteries of the town with an atmosphere of dread around the town and its residents without diminishing either. The performance - by one of the actors of the original TV mini-series that this book adapts - is memorable. It gives me the sense of a scary story being told to children in a British country home - a dark companion to the narrators of The Hobbit and the Chronicles of Narnia.
Highly recommended.