Kerrie O'Connor

Move over, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe – make room for the tiger, the Bull Commander and the time tunnel. Kerrie O'Connor's Through the Tiger's Eye may be reminiscent of C.S. Lewis' children's classic, but her jungle land of Telares has more pythons, monkeys and bats than Narnia ever did! This book certainly meets all the criteria for a successful children's novel – quick-paced, easy to read and ingeniously creative, with two young, adventurous protagonists and (of course) a splash of magic. This is, in fact, exactly the kind of book that I used to read by the truckload when I was in primary school – the kind of book that first instilled me with my enduring love of fantasy.

While the fantasy genre encompasses millions of books across a range of styles and age-groups, they all have one thing in common: magic. All fantasy novels, old or new, have used magic to add power and intrigue to their stories – but not all novels have used it the same way. While recent authors such as Rowling and Paolini have laid magic bare, analysed it, explained it, and drained nearly every drop of mystery from it, O'Connor has opted for a much older, more mysterious style of magic. Her novel reminds us that magic isn't meant to be explained – the mystery is what makes it magical. After seeing magic too often reduced to a cold, exact science, it is wonderful to see it restored to the subtle enigma that it used to be.

While O'Connor's writing has its moments of brilliance, however, it also has its moments of weakness. The descriptive language is clunky in places; (while the moon may 'sail' or 'glide', it definitely does not 'march'.) The dialogue is unrealistic at times, particularly where the exaggerated character of Grandma is concerned. The third person limited narration fluctuates indecisively – at times we hear Lucy's thoughts narrated casually by Lucy, while at other times we hear them narrated formally by O'Connor. While these flaws are easy enough to ignore, they are still disappointing in a novel of such creativity.

Through the Tiger's Eye is an enchanting adventure story that is sure to delight young readers of fantasy. I would not hesitate to recommend it to my younger siblings, and I look forward to reading its sequels.… (meer)