Into a Strange Land

The McGunnegal Chronicles #1

by Ben Anderson

It's 1846 in Ireland, and two children discover that Grandpa has been hiding a secret down in the potato cellar - a relic of a lost age that transports them into the land of the Others. The strange and marvelous creatures of Irish and Celtic legends lurk between the pages of this incredible adventure - leprechauns, goblins, fairies, and more. Other mysterious secrets are also waiting to be whispered to the curious reader...

Genres: Fantasy

295 pages, Paperback

First published July 22, 2013

Reviews

[M.L.S. Weech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange Land is a charming fantasy story that goes into interesting places with creatures that haven’t had the limelight in quite some time. I enjoyed it. True, a younger cast indicates a younger target audience, but the story had enough wit and intrigue to keep most audiences engaged.

I enjoyed Strange Land so much, I picked up the second audiobook in the series. I actually own a few versions as I tend to like to collect multiple editions of the same book. I’m odd that way. Sometimes I buy an audio and e-version of a story and sort of race to see which version I get to first. In this case, the audio version one, so I’ll stick with that format.

The characters are equally adorable and compelling. This is the main reason I’m rushing to get the audio version of the book as I don’t want to wait to finish what I’m reading (still reading Magic Price if you’re wondering) when I had time to listen to more audiobooks. This is one way I’m able to keep moving through books at such a fast pace. I digress: the most fascinating part for me was the use of leprechauns and gnomes. Oh sure, we see goblins and dwarfs. We hear tell of many other magical creatures, but it’s nice to read a fantasy story that doesn’t just regurgitate Tolkien elves and orcs. I enjoyed Tolkien’s work, but seeing someone go to a different set of lore was a big plus for me.

This is a solid story that has me wanting to see how it ends. While Strange Land is clearly the beginning of a series, it doesn’t just drop off in a cliffhanger like some modern dystopian fiction sequences tend to do. It leaves the reader at an acceptable pause point. Also, the whole trilogy is available, so there’s no need to wait to see what will happen.

Though the best audience might be younger readers, I think any fan of Irish folklore will find at least something to enjoy with this book.

[Shylock · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would really like to rate this a 3.5 of five stars. All in all, the novel is a good value at the Kindle price. It's decent and fun enough to read. The POV muddles at times and I would have rated this higher if Mr. Anderson had devoted a little more page space to setting and setting detail. Ireland is a beautiful land and grave mounds are very mysterious. Except for chapter one, his writing often sacrificed the nuance of mystery and foreshadowing for the sake of rushing things along. It also wouldn't hurt Mr. Anderson to put a little more historical detail into his writing. Clothing, tools, weapons, etc. are all small details that when referenced consistently throughout the story give it a fuller sense of journey for a minimal effort on the author's part. I'm glad he went with the Omniscient viewpoint, as it facilitates fantasy in fuller ways than First Person often cannot. Having made the choice, the author could have done more to leverage the setting to make his novel even more enjoyable. I'm looking forward to see if his other books improve on a decent start.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great middle grade Fantasy! I just loved it! Now on to book 2.

[Hannah Rauh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Decided to dip back into fantasy after a really long hiatus and this was a perfect easy and entertaining read to do it with. Met the author at the pittsburgh Irish festival he was so cool and I am hoping to get the next book of the series soon. Maybe Xmas? We’ll see.

[Kelly Zed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a lot of fun! All the differing kinds of characters made it interesting and exciting. Looking forward to book 2!

[Allison Kopelowitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. It was okay. Everything just seemed a little too perfect and easy. I will say I'm older and not the target demographic though. Will not continue the series.

[Emily Sparks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a promising first book of a children's fantasy series. Children who love fairy tales, Tolkien, or Lewis would love this series. The reading level is for older children (upper elementary and up), but there are no content concerns. Anderson imitates Lewis in that there are bits of explicit Christian allegory in his stories.
His use of fairy tales and Celtic folk tales as a basis for his world is creative and engaging. The McGunnegal children, while not developed much in the book, are charming and fun to be around.

[Kimberly Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading Into a Strange Land and enjoyed it thoroughly. It is a delightful book and reminds me a little of the Hobbit. I appreciated the pace of the book. It was never boring. The best thing about it was the refreshingly clean writing, which allows me to recommend the book for any age. I especially liked the allegory and allusion to scripture. Into a Strange Land is full of hope and good. It does indeed whisper of deep things and give clean adventure.

I would recommend the book for any age and am sure it would make a nice bedtime storybook to read to kids. I just have to read the next book and am looking forward to it.

[Michelle Syska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and look forward to seeing how the story unfolds in the next book in the series. Had the pleasure of meeting the author recently at an Irish Festival, and I was eager to read the series he described. No regrets here. Love that it takes place in Ireland and involves Irish folklore. Very easy read, really like the characters as well and I look forward to learning more about each, throughout the series!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot of this book it has history, lore, in multiple perspectives. I am quite engaged at the start, I regretted putting it down when I needed to. I think maybe One criticism is though each character is interesting they are a little hard to keep track of for an example I thought a sister for character was another character's brother for a little bit.