The Hounds of the Morrigan - Softcover

O'Shea, Pat

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0064472051 ISBN 13: 9780064472050

Publisher: HarperTeen, 1999

Synopsis

An Ancient Manuscript...

When ten-year-old Pidge finds the crumbling pages of an old manuscript in a second-hand bookshop in Galway, he unwittingly releases the serpent Olc-Glas--and the forces of good and evil gather to do battle. The Mórrígan, Goddess of Death and Destruction, has set her evil heart on gaining Olc-Glas and adding its poison to her own, thereby casting her shadow over the world.

A Lost Stone...

To thwart The Mórrígan, Pidge and his little sister Brigit are sent by The Dagda, Lord of Great Knowledge, on a quest to find a stone that has been lost for countless years--th only means of destroying the serpent.

A Perilous Adventure...

Pidge and Brigit's journey begins in Ireland...their destination is unknown. All true creatures help where they can, but ultimately, it is up to steadfast Pidge and courageous Brigit to find their own way. And always at their heels are the terrible hellhounds--the hounds of The Mórrígan....

When ten-year-old Pidge finds an ancient manuscript in a secondhand bookshop, he unwittingly sets into motion an epic battle between Good and Evil. In order to save the world from the Mrrgan, the Goddess of Death and Destruction, Pidge and his little sister, Brigit, go on a quest to find a stone that has been lost for countless years. And always at their heels are the terrible hellhoundsthe hounds of the Mrrgan. . . .A classic tale that has been unavailable in paperback for almost ten years, The Hounds of the Mrrgan is a book to treasure and to keep alongside the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and Philip Pullman.A splendid fantasy . . . rich and satisfying. Starred Review/The Horn Book[A] brilliant tapestry. Starred Review/ALA BooklistSpellbinding . . . entirely original. Publishers Weekly

About this title

About the Author:

Pat O'Shea was born in Galway in the west of Ireland in 1931. The Hounds of the Morrigan is her first novel for children.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 5-8 After he unwittingly releases an evil force long imprisoned in an old Irish manuscript, Pidge and his little sister, Brigit, are drawn into a series of adventures to help the good god, the Dagda, destroy this evil before it is found and used against the world by the Morrigan, Celtic tripartite goddess of battle. The Morrigan, in both hilarious and terrifying personae, is seen mostly in mod guise as a pair of motorcycle-riding hags, who set up a command post in Galway to observe and meddle with the action. (In one terrific touch, their fingerprint, suspended in air, becomes elsewhere a maze to entrap the children.) Their mean sense of humor lets them create a "watch frog" (who speaks in bog-Irish malapropisms); comb their blue and red hair with a live hedgehog; and make chess moves by sticking pins into chess pieces given temporary life. And constantly, their shape-changing, flick-tongued, slyand dominatedhounds track the children, but they may not kill unless they see their quarry run. The unfolding quest baffles and challenges the pair as it will readers, as shapes shift and dreams take on independent life. The writing is wonderful, but inventive to distraction; one can lose track of names and allusions to earlier events as episodes multiply, and some of the episodes seem superfluous. (The glossary is for traditional material only.) Large collections should have this book, by a new Irish writer, and those libraries with dedicated readers of fantasy should try it. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0064472051
• ISBN 13: 9780064472050
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 688