The Cockatrice Boys

by Joan Aiken, Jason Van Hollander (Illustrator )

Without warning the world is invaded by a myriad of horrible monsters. A little orphaned girl named Sauna sees them first, as oddly shaped packages that disappear from the baggage claim at Manchester Airport. Originating in England, the invasion causes the precipitous downfall of civilization in the British Isles as most of the population is eaten by the monsters. The countryside has become a dangerous wasteland, and the cities isolated fortresses. In a desperate attempt to bring food to the starving people of Manchester, a heroic band known as the Cockatrice Corps sets out aboard an armed and armored train.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Horror, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Juvenile

221 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Joan Aiken was a much loved English writer who received the MBE for services to Children's Literature. She was known as a writer of wild fantasy, Gothic novels and short stories.

She was born in Rye, East Sussex, into a family of writers, including her father, Conrad Aiken (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his poetry), and her sister, Jane Aiken Hodge. She worked for the United Nations Information Office during the second world war, and then as an editor and freelance on Argosy magazine before she started writing full time, mainly children's books and thrillers. For her books she received the Guardian Award (1969) and the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1972).

Her most popular series, the "Wolves Chronicles" which began with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, was set in an elaborate alternate period of history in a Britain in which James II was never deposed in the Glorious Revolution,and so supporters of the House of Hanover continually plot to overthrow the Stuart Kings. These books also feature cockney urchin heroine Dido Twite and her adventures and travels all over the world.

Another series of children's books about Arabel and her raven Mortimer are illustrated by Quentin Blake, and have been shown on the BBC as Jackanory and drama series. Others including the much loved Necklace of Raindrops and award winning Kingdom Under the Sea are illustrated by Jan Pieńkowski.

Her many novels for adults include several that continue or complement novels by Jane Austen. These include Mansfield Revisited and Jane Fairfax.

Aiken was a lifelong fan of ghost stories. She set her adult supernatural novel The Haunting of Lamb House at Lamb House in Rye (now a National Trust property). This ghost story recounts in fictional form an alleged haunting experienced by two former residents of the house, Henry James and E. F. Benson, both of whom also wrote ghost stories. Aiken's father, Conrad Aiken, also authored a small number of notable ghost stories.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her strong enchantments failing,
Her towers of fear in wreck,
Her limbecks dried of poisons
And the knife at her neck,

The Queen of air and darkness
Begins to shrill and cry,
‘O young man, O my slayer,
To-morrow you shall die.’ […]

— A E Housman

The ozone layer helps to protect both the environment and life on earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Through the 1980s and 90s however the depletion of stratospheric ozone, creating holes in the layer over the poles, increased alarmingly, only significantly lessening at the turn of the millennium, largely due to the phasing out of ozone-depleting substances in manufacture.

This comic horror fantasy first appeared in 1993; mostly set in a United Kingdom fast descending into chaos made possible by the enlarging ozone holes, the story rapidly takes us not along conventional lines associated with speculative fiction but into curious byways such as only the creative imagination of the likes of Joan Aiken could conceive.

The reader is advised to buckle up for the ride, because it’s certain to be bumpy.

It’s on “a wretched rainy Sunday in the month of September” when the invasion of the British Isles began. Red-haired orphan Sauna Blow spots misshapen lumps on the baggage carousel at Manchester airport; an old lady in a Glasgow high rise block of flats claims she sees a face at the window thirty floors up before, inexplicably, never being seen again; a group of carol singers at Chiddingly in East Sussex disappear into the air. Soon it’s evident that fantastic monstrous creatures out of legend and nightmares are infesting Britain (and nowhere else) and preying on the population, with no end in sight even after five years.

People had fallen into the habit of calling all the creatures Cockatrices. There were too many kinds to remember their individual names: Kelpies, Telepods, Bycorns and Gorgons, Footmonsters, Brontotheres, Shovel-tuskers, Glyptodonts, Bonnacons, Cocodrills, Peridexions, Basilisks, Manticores, Hydras, Trolls, Sphynxes, and Chichivaches. And, worst of all, the deadly Mirkindole.

In order to relieve the besieged and now starving Mancunians the government decides to send them supplies of food on an armoured train, manned with armed troops and powered by wind and solar power. Next, in a bid to counter the infestation, the Cockatrice Belle will be despatched around the country to seek out and destroy various nests of the monsters. Assigned to the troops on board is a young Londoner, a drummer called Dakin Prestwich, who happens to be Sauna’s cousin.

So begins a last-ditch desperate expedition by rail which, crisscrossing the country, goes from London to Manchester, then from Willoughby-on-the-Wolds to Newcastle and on into Scotland to the town of Dollar in Clackmannanshire where, legend has it, a key text may be found, along with the source of all the country’s sorrows, perhaps where the dolorous blow may have originated.

This is an extraordinarily intriguing novel, ostensibly for teenage readers but clearly confusing many adult readers (as can be seen from online reviews). As always in her longer fictions Aiken packs a lot in here – references to the Queen of Air and Darkness from a Housman poem, legends of the medieval mathematician, alchemist and astrologer Michael Scotus, monsters from ancient bestiaries as well as her own imagination, a citation of Goya’s aquatint The Sleep of Reason produces Monsters, and much more.

But she then weaves in apparently even more incongruous items – whimsical names like Mrs Monsoon and Sauna Blow, a railway network as it was in its heyday, closet parallels to governments which had caused havoc with industry and social housing, precognition, the hole in the ozone layer, a nonsense rhyme referencing a Falkirk Town Drummer called Thomas Aitkin; to this medley she adds her own trademark motifs – a young female orphan prone to kidnapping, a young man with whom the female protagonist has a platonic relationship, a villain who has a literal downfall, a train journey from the south to the north in winter, and music, rhymes and gnomic texts which hide a secret.

Is it fair to say that this isn’t always entirely successful? The basic scaffolding of a plot in which youngsters attempt to right wrongs, despite the machinations of a villain and their minions, seems to wobble at times under the weight of so many disparate ideas; and much as I love teasing out the sources for quite a few of the motifs they aren’t always integrated convincingly or even resolved. Comic horror? YA fantasy? Social commentary? Dystopian fairytale? It’s all these, but it often slides uncomfortably from one genre into another.

But it’s the cast of characters I really appreciated even when they approached the level of caricature or stereotype: Sauna who found inner reserves when she needed them; Dakin, occasionally petulant but steadfast in action; Major Scanty and the Archbishop of Lincoln Dr Wren, both with their fund of obscure lore, common sense and lateral thinking to balance out the Colonel’s military acumen.

And finally there’s Sauna’s aunt, the genuinely scary Mrs Monsoon who proves impossible to pin down. Will drummer boy Dakin be for Mrs Monsoon what the young man in Housman’s poem was for the queen of air and darkness?

‘O Queen of air and darkness,
I think ’tis truth you say,
And I shall die tomorrow;
But you will die today.’

—‘Last Poems’, III (1922)

The Cockatrice Belle, the train that hauls its brave complement around Britain, is also Aiken’s vehicle to emphasise the importance of stories. “People need stories,” remarks one passenger, “to remind them that reality is not only what we can see or smell or touch.” Why are they important? “People’s minds need detaching, every now and then, from the plain necessities of daily life. People need to be reminded of these other dimensions above us and below us. Stories do that.”

One final note to finish. This North American edition, published three years after its UK issue, is embellished with distinctive line drawings by award-winning artist Jason Van Hollander, many extremely effective in conveying the requisite atmosphere of horror. However, his visions of quaint old Britain, its buildings and its trains is so at variance with what the reality was like as to be, if not insulting, at least amusing; and his depiction of Sauna and Dakin as if in their 20s doesn’t accord with descriptions in the text. A pity as they’re quite stylish.

[Althea Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I always particularly liked Joan Aiken's books, especially the spooky and grim, 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase' and the funny 'Arabel and Mortimer' series. Somehow, I never got around to 'The Cockatrice Boys,' (or, looking at her bibliography, a whole bunch of her other books that I guess weren't at my public library!
I also hadn't heard that Aiken passed away last year... a belated R.I.P.!!!

When England is reduced to a near post-apocalyptic state by a sudden plague of monsters, the military builds a great train to attempt to combat the vicious creatures. Laying track up north, and getting decimated by assorted grotesques at every step of the way, they make their way closer to what may be the source of the problem... Our heroes are young drummer boy Dakin Prestwich and his cousin Sauna, an orphan who's spent the last few years tied up at her aunt's house so that she doesn't break the china. These two kids may be the last best hope of England...

Deftly melds the dark and the funny.... mixing classic legends of England with superstitions regarding Manchester United, etc... Imagine Terry Pratchett with a gothic horror feel...

[Anna Hepworth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Usually I love Aiken's books, but this left me cold. The big problem -- the unrelenting Boys Town aspect of the story. The deliberate and foregrounded misogyny against the (very) few female characters was unpleasant.

And this is a book that probably passes the Bechdel test (I'm not going back to check, because ick). The story focuses on a train heading across England, to fight the monsters who have taken over. And while it is a train for males only, there are two female characters, one of whom is the cook, the other of whom is a little girl. Given that there is at least one scene with these as the only two in the kitchen, there was at least a conversation between them. Whether it was about The Men, I don't remember.

I'm not sure if this was deliberately written as so horrible. But whatever the message was that it the author was going for has completely missed me.

I finished it. Because I'm an obsessive story completer. Because maybe it got better. Because maybe the explanation for the world would make up for everything else. And I wish I hadn't.

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, I enjoyed it, but but she has written much better books. Monsters attack the British Isles, but not the rest of the world. The monsters are fought by soldiers and two kids on a train traveling through Britain. Her explanation for the origin of the monsters that they somehow came through a hole in the ozone, and were directed by witches, just didn't seem to hang together, and I say this as someone who's willing suspension of disbelief is very powerful. It really felt like there was no reason to assume that all the monsters had been eradicated at the end, and yet all the characters did just that. It ended with a strong feeling that there should be another book after it. Still it was a fun read, with dome funny scenes.

[Mr. D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two and a half, really, almost three.
Nice little book, quite the british one.
Enjoyable and mostly well written, if a mite repetitive in its use of verbs and adverbs related to speaking (a lot of "snapped" and "smartly" thrown about) with characters having their own distinctive voice and that's quite a feat, really; for a YA novel it's fairly grim and while bloodless, a lot of characters die.
The only flaws are an abrupt ending where everything comes back to normal in a couple of pages, an underplotted backstory and a certain repetitivness in its dialogue and narration; it still reads well and fast and I will surely search other works from Aiken.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsters overrun England and an eclectic military team has to save the day. We are on our second reading of this—we read it the first time last year—and it’s my one of my 8 year olds favorite books. She brought it to school to share on favorite book day but the cover was deemed too scary and she was forced to leave it in her backpack. She loves scary things and adventures and this has lots of both with two strong young people thrown in to give their perspective. Some of the attitudes about gender roles are outdated but the two main female characters are brave, resourceful and strong. Despite many culturally specific words, the kids had no trouble following the story.

[Charis · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book hasn't aged particularly well over the 20+ years since first printing, it remains a thrilling YA horror. A solid good vs evil storyline. I loved this book as a child - couldn't sleep with the curtains open even a smidge after reading it (in case of Snarks!) and still hold it in great fondness. My only real issue is the rushed quality the story has, a little more flesh to the characters and plot would improve reading greatly.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

This, alas, is no Wolves of Willoughby Chase. Aiken phones in a story here about dark forces and monsters threatening England that just never catches fire. For one thing, the illustrations are really, really bad, and for another, who can like a heroine whose name is Sauna? Sauna? What? A disappointment from a writer who can do so much better.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

This dark, rather detached MG story sees an odd cadre battling by train across an England overrun by fantasy monsters. Like much of Aiken’s writing it is unsettling, compelling, but totally lacking in resolution (or even intent)—a beautifully described bad dream.

[Emma Grace Blumer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pratchett meets steam punk. Fun read!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The publisher claims this is an adult fantasy but I don't know whether it is or not. The reading level is probably early high school but the story is a bit dark, but then there are some holes in the fabric of the plot that adults might want patched and kids might not notice. For instance, what they eat, and how they get it. And there are good illustrations, which seem to be aimed at kids.

I really like the pictures. Dakin is drawn as a nerd with glasses and bad hair. Sauna has nice hair and a prominent nose, and both of them look lively enough to step off the page and into your room. I like the way everybody talks. And I like how much I got to like the characters.

The only other Aiken I can recall reading is The Faithless Lollybird, a collection of short stories that the Carnegie Public Library shelved in the adult section. That one was weirdly good as well.

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the UK invaded and the population depleted by swarms of horrible monsters, the surviving populations has been forced to live in hiding. A Cockatrice Corp is formed to battle the menace, travelling the country on an armoured train powered by wind, solar and stellar energy and compressed diesel bricks. Drummer boy Dakin Prestwich is on board, and soon so is his cousin Sauna, along with her mysterious precognitive powers. Travelling first to Manchester and then to Scotland and the heart of the outbreak, fighting monsters every step of the way, can the Corp defeat the monsters once and for all?

A brilliantly demented book that manages to be hilariously funny even as characters get devoured and vanished and turned to stone by the score. The premise is amazing, though, and the whole thing is fantastically entertaining.

[Despair Speaking · Rating 4 out of 5]

This scared me as a kid. I found it really creepy although reading it now (I reread it) it's not as creepy as I thought then. But it's good. The descriptions of the monsters were detailed in a not-boring way and the bad guys, save for the main bad guy, got their just desserts. I just wished it happened sooner. The characters themselves were awesome, I loved everybody in the good side, especially the dog! :

The slight downside is how quick things got to a close and the fact that some of the characters weren't mentioned enough to make me understand them fully. Still, it's something I definitely recommend!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming, strange tale in which Britain is overrun by monsters previously thought to be imaginary. It has a definite sort of "War of the Worlds" flavor, with British soldiers complaining about the quality of the tea, then dashing off to perform heroic acts. It's billed on the jacked as Aiken's "first adult fantasy," but I would also recommend it to teens who like a touch of the bizarre.

[S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story about fantastic and bizarre things that happen from a very stiff-upper-lip-cuppatea perspective. If Hitler had used demons instead of bombs, he still would not have won.

One minor flaw? Global warming tie-in seems anachronistic and a hair preachy.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining book, but it ended rather abruptly and with a bit less satisfaction than I'd hoped. I'd like to read Aiken's other work - I read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase about a thousand years ago and may need to revisit it.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark and creepy with an overall oddness. Not bad, just not for every reader.