Dragon’s Green is the first book for children by Scarlett Thomas, whose adult novels include The Seed Collectors and The End of Mr Y. Of course, doing well in one kind of writing doesn’t guarantee success in another. Many good writers for adults have tried their hand at stories for children only to fail, and vice versa. But I’m pleased to report that this opening volume of a fantasy trilogy is a cracker.
Fantasy stories live or die by the worlds they create, and this one provides a fairly standard “magical” background. A realm of magic (“the Otherworld”) is separated from the everyday world by a porous boundary, and good and bad sorcerers (“the Guild” and “the Diberi”) struggle against each other for mastery of both. But there is an original twist. Five years before the opening of the story, a massive, Earth-wide disturbance (“the Worldquake”) instantly reversed the last 25 years of technological development, wiping out the internet and mobile phones.
The central character is Effie (Euphemia) Truelove, 11, whose mother Aurelia went missing in the Worldquake and was presumed dead. Effie isn’t so sure, her hope fuelled by the ghastliness of life with her selfish, unloving father and appalling stepmother, a nutrition and exercise fanatic. Things are not much better at school, the wonderfully named Tusitala School for the Gifted, Troubled and Strange, where Effie’s teacher is the terrifying Mrs Beathag Hide.
The only light in Effie’s life is provided by her grandfather, Griffin Truelove, a sorcerer with a library of 500 esoteric volumes and a fine line in gnomic utterances. Griffin decides to pass on his wisdom to Effie, but dies in mysterious circumstances before he can complete her magical education. Effie is plunged into a dream-like adventure that takes her to the Otherworld. There she realises that things in her family and the world may not be quite as she has been led to believe.
Effie is not alone in her struggles for long. Several schoolmates are soon enmeshed in the intrigue – geeky Max, tough Wolf, helpful Lexy and troubled Raven, most of whom have tricky parents too. They take on the forces of darkness, fighting to save themselves, and in the process developing magical powers. By the end of the story there’s a fully fledged team of heroes ready to take on the Diberi in the rest of the trilogy.
There will be comparisons between Dragon’s Green and a certain well-known series of books about a boy wizard. But this novel has its own distinctive style and a lighter, funnier feel, and avoids the darkness that sometimes lies beneath stories about magic. It also takes a few delicious sideswipes at the failings of the grownup world, such as sexism: Effie has to deal with a dragon that likes eating princesses, but only pretty ones with the right hairstyles, makeup and clothes.
There are a few flaws. The cutting between the characters’ storylines can be a little confusing, and a couple go on too long. But in general Thomas is a safe pair of hands. I love the homage to Robert Louis Stevenson in the name “Tusitala” – Teller of Tales, his nickname in Samoa. Bring on books two and three.
Tony Bradman’s most recent novel is Anglo-Saxon Boy (Walker).
• Dragon’s Green is published by Canongate. To order a copy for £9.74 (RRP £12.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of £1.99.
