Many-Coloured realm Reviews
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
I feel as if my feet haven’t touched back into the real world yet. Many-Coloured Realm is like no other parable, fantasy, allegory or epic I’ve ever read before. What a stunning stand-off between the forces of good and evil! Those fantastic characters have still got a hold on my mind. Genius!
Robby and Chris have entered the shabby, colourless realm of the goblins to rescue Chris’ brother Stephen from a hopeless looking predicament. But how can they help when the king of the goblin realm is so deliberately vague about what their quest will involve? What is he trying to hide? Their journey to find out involves meetings with elves, sprites, sirens, a helpful muse and a forgetful phoenix. What they finally discover is mind-blowing.
As a fantasy author and homeschooling mother myself, plenty of fantasy has passed through our doors. Lewis, Tolkien, Rodda, Rowling, L’Engle and Colfer to name just a few. Many-Coloured Realm is second to none. A book that combines drama and science with nail-biting suspense is a book to be held onto. Add the whimsical and hilarious and you have a classic!
PV
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
I've just finished it too!
Most enjoyable part: About half-way through the story when the entire history of the Many-coloured Realm is explained (over about 10-20 pages from memory) by one of the characters. It helped me understand what was going on much more.
I found that part just about as interesting as one of the famous chapters of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, ‘A Shadow of the Past’, where Gandalf explains the history of Sauron and the One Ring etc.
Jasan
MANY-COLOURED REALM
A review for school by Sandy
My book review. Oh, I didn’t see you there! Well, welcome to Sandy’s Reviews. Today I’ll be reviewing Many-Coloured Realm by Anne Hamilton. This book is kind of special because it is not only an original signed copy (show signed page) but I also happen to be good friends with the author.
The plot. The plot for Many-Coloured Realm is an interesting one. Anne not being your typical author decided to do a kind of scientific, if you will, story. It starts out with a girl who is called Robby and is friends with a boy called Chris and another one called Neil and Chris’s brother Stephen. At school she follows Neil out of school through a drain pipe into the colourless world of the goblin kingdom. Robby, Neil, Chris and a penguin called Artemys to help free Stephen after he has fallen victim to the dreaded Immurement they can only open by knowing the goblin king’s name, which is a secret even to him. They have an hour to save him. That’s enough right now.
The characters. There are a number of different chararcters in this story: Robby, Neil, Chris, Stephen, the goblin king, Artemys, Lady Peddy, the Glee Squad, a demon named Zzael and lots of others. I would run out of time if I named them all.
The ending. You’re all wondering what happens at the end, aren’t you? Well, I won’t spoil it for you. I’m just going to tell you there is a big fight at the end between the goblin king and Zzael.
Bad things about the book. Of course every book has some bad things and Many-Coloured Realm is no exception. Most names in this book are very hard to pronounce. The book is 111,111 words long. The prologue is 1111 words and the blurb is 111 words. Making this book (laugh) one of the longest I’ve ever read. I found a few sentences strange but did you know Anne worked on it for more than 10 years! That’s mostly all of the bad things done there. If you want to I can read the blurb but only if I have enough hands. (If there are enough I read, if not I don’t) 1 nice girl 2 bad boys 3 tortuous tasks 4 strange ambassadors …after that it’s hard to keep count. Dozens of elves, hundreds of goblins, legions of demons- all converging of the colourless world ruled by the goblin king. Can Robby and Chris discover the goblin king’s name and rescue Stephen before time runs out? The goblin king’s eyes narrowed into almond slits. “No, its not Rumplestiltzskin.” He drew himself up and scowled. “Why does everyone say that?”
My favourite character. My favourite character is Artemys because of the personality Anne gave him and the sheer funniness of him. So overall I give Many Coloured Realm a 9/10. Thank you for listening.
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
YOUR BOOK RULZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I thought your book was awesome. A few questions, though. Can you plz tell me what Zzael was afraid of?
Plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz plz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The names were really hard to pronounce and I had to look in the book to see the correct spelling. In fact I have it right here as I'm typing. The book wasn't really obvious and oh I forgot: why didn't Chris swap places with Stephen when he wished it? Other than that your book was really cool, my favourite character was Artemys.
Sandy C (aged 10)
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
I've been reading Many-Coloured Realm for a while now and I think it's one of the best books I've ever read.
My favourite character was Artemys the penguin. He had great personality that fit him well. The goblin king was a character that to me seemed sort of a mystery but that made the book even more interesting. The part I liked best was when they met Neil again when they could either go to the place with the winged cats or go to the place with the thimblethorns. At first I thought they would go to the winged cats but then I started to lean more towards the thimblethorns. But when Neil told them the way to get past them was by throwing a shoe at them, well, that was a pretty good way to get them out of the way. Of course this meant that “pack mode” was pretty useless.
Great book, love reading it.
Jeremy C (aged 10)
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
Flying Friends and Faith:
Well written with a complex plot, Many-Coloured Realm is not for the impatient reader or someone out for a simple straight-forward read.
The plot of Many-Coloured Realm revolves around the attempts of notorious nice girl, Robby Alveretti, selfless and caring Chris Pierce, and flying penguin Artemys to save Chris’s step-brother, bullyboy Stephen. Other characters include the mysterious goblin King, the Sprite Queen Tamarlane, Lady Pedantica and a cohort of elves.
Along the way, they try to understand time in a strange world. They look for answers of the true nature of the war between elf and goblin and the true name of the Goblin King, known only as Majesty. Also adding to the drama and complexity is the sudden appearance of a third player in the war, one who can only be defeated by faith. The elves and goblins must combine forces to battle this enemy, but the elves are stubborn and their leader bears a burden of shame and guilt that could jeopardise the whole mission.
This book has many themes. The selflessness of friendship and love, the strength of faith, the need to know who you are and the nature of right and wrong are the most important ones.
If the book has one failing, it is that not all loose ends are tied up. Anne Hamilton introduces some extra talents for both Robby and Chris that end up amounting to nothing. Aside from that, it is a good book and one that I would recommend for more mature readers who are looking for a bit of depth.
Laura (aged 14)
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
Written in the style of CS Lewis, with a dash of Tolkien and a sprinkling of Lewis Carroll, Many-Coloured Realm has just what it takes to become a fantasy classic.
Delightful, zany, captivating and quirky are some descriptions that immediately leap to mind. Robbie and Chris are two ordinary children who enter the goblin realm to rescue Chris’ step brother, Stephen.
They are never endowed with magic powers; they never become super heroes; they always remain themselves but throughout the adventure they grow, learn and discover that it often hard to discern who is good and who is evil.
When what appears to be a tragic ending turns out quite differently, we have reassurance that all things really do work together for good, even when it appears otherwise.
I do not intend to ruin your enjoyment of this intricately layered book by giving away any spoilers so I will merely give a couple of proverbs from the walls of the goblins’ bedroom. ‘If covers told you all about books, then trolls and elves could be judged by their looks.’ ‘It is not fair to treat individuals UNequally, but it is not fair to treat them equally either.’
This is a book for the young adult market and I give it 10 out of 10.
DS
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
Robby and Chris are on a mission to the realm of the Goblin King to rescue Chris’s brother, Stephen. If they don’t discover the King’s name in time, Stephen will die. In this strange realm, threatened by demons, inhabited by fey beings and riddled with time anomalies, Robby and Chris have to discover if they’re made of the right stuff. This is an epic, fantasy adventure with lashings of science fiction and philosophical and spiritual challenges. Due to its complexity it is probably better suited to the older teen, but it’s certainly an engrossing story, which leaves the reader with plenty to ponder. WN
MANY-COLOURED REALM
Anne Hamilton
Wombat Books
This is the first fantasy novel that I have read since I was in secondary school - the age of the target audience. What an enjoyable way to revisit the genre .The story immediately engages the imagination with descriptive detail, unpredictable plot lines, and some detailed illustrations to enjoy. Robby and Chris cross the barrier from the common world into the kingdom ruled by the Goblin King, to rescue Stephen. They are joined in the fantasy world by four ambassadors, and compelled to take up the task of discovering the king’s name before time runs out. Goblins and elves, good and evil, grace, sacrifice and love are all inspected. I’m sure I don’t know nearly enough about writing or fantasy to recognize many of the features of this novel. A devotee of this genre would, without a doubt, would appreciate underlying meanings, time distortions, and numerous complexities below the surface. A beautifully written book, enriching to both mind and heart. AA
Many-Coloured Realm is available online via the author's website, the omega president and sponsor of Omegas. Or at your local independent or large chain bookstore.