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Snow Spider Trilogy #3
The Chestnut Soldier
The thrilling conclusion of the award-winning fantasy trilogy from The New York Times-bestselling author Jenny NimmoGwyn can feel danger coming in the wind. Somehow he knows the warnings have to do with the broken toy horse that holds the evil spirit of a prince who lived long ago. When Gwyn discovers that the prince's dark soul has escaped from the horse and is seeking revenge Gwyn, Emlyn, and Nia have to figure out how to save the mysterious soldier who claims to be Nia's distant cousin. With the help of the Snow Spider, can they recapture the prince's soul without hurting the Chestnut soldier?
Audio CD
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Jenny Nimmo
135 books963 followersJenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England and educated at boarding schools in Kent and Surrey from the age of six until the age of sixteen, when she ran away from school to become a drama student/assistant stage manager with Theater South East. She graduated and acted in repertory theater in various towns and cities: Eastbourne, Tunbridge Wells, Brighton, Hastings, and Bexhill.
She left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Almafi, Italy. On her return, she joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then as an assistant floor manager, studio manager (news) then finally a director/adaptor with Jackanory (a BBC storytelling program for children). She left BBC to marry a Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in her husband's family home. They live in a very old converted watermill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, as it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on her youngest child's first birthday. During the summer they run a residential school of art, and she has to move her office, put down tools (type-writer and pencil, and don an apron and cook! They have three grown-up children, Myfawny, Ianto, and Gwenwyfar.
She left Britain to teach English to three Italian boys in Almafi, Italy. On her return, she joined the BBC, first as a picture researcher, then as an assistant floor manager, studio manager (news) then finally a director/adaptor with Jackanory (a BBC storytelling program for children). She left BBC to marry a Welsh artist David Wynn Millward and went to live in Wales in her husband's family home. They live in a very old converted watermill, and the river is constantly threatening to break in, as it has done several times in the past, most dramatically on her youngest child's first birthday. During the summer they run a residential school of art, and she has to move her office, put down tools (type-writer and pencil, and don an apron and cook! They have three grown-up children, Myfawny, Ianto, and Gwenwyfar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
July 27, 2016
I don’t really do half-stars but… this one might be 3.5? I think I overall liked it better than the first two, but I’m not sure if it quite reaches 4 star distinction? I don’t know. The plot was much more interesting to me though, than the first two, with the whole mystery/legend surrounding Evan, the strange distant “cousin” (he’s not actually) of Nia who comes to stay at their village. The fascinating question of who he was, when, and all, kept me quite interested. I did wish that Emlyn had been in it more — he barely showed up, it seemed to me. This one was rather scarier than the first two, perhaps, but it also had more of the Welsh things instead of just the silvery people from the first two. All in all, my favorite of the trilogy. By this time I’d become rather attached, methinks. Anyways, it had its problems, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit and was pretty satisfied, I think, with how it all turned out. :)
For my review of the overall series, see my series review on The Page Dreamer: https://thepagedreamer.wordpress.com/...
For my review of the overall series, see my series review on The Page Dreamer: https://thepagedreamer.wordpress.com/...
October 8, 2015
A disappointing and confusing conclusion to what is referred to, alternately, as either the "Snow Spider" series (trilogy) or "The Magician Trilogy". While I've not read the first book in the series (as it's not currently available via my local library), I read the second one and had no trouble whatsoever understanding the settings, characters, magical world rules, or the plot in it. This third book, however, was a complete mess in terms of plot, settings, use of magic, motivations, and character relationships (which are hopelessly tangled in nonsensical and dysfunctional ways). Most troubling was the level of incestuous relationships (including intense sibling/female rivalries over many incestuous contacts), along with the author's insistence that the female characters in this book consistently disregard their intuitions about the ongoing danger and emotional volatility of cousin Even.
Young female readers of this book may come away from the story believing that they should ignore their intuitions about dangerous, rough, and/or controlling men, just as Kateren kept doing, despite cousin Even forcibly kissing her against her will. Mia's sick infatuation/obsession with cousin Even is just as disturbing, as she refuses to be honest with either herself or anyone else about just how much chaos and destructiveness Even leaves in his wake. She insists on romanticizing him as a perpetual "hero/Prince Charming" character, all the way to the end of the book, which I found positively cloying, (though the grandmother character opted to label it "unusual loyalty"). Preteen girls are so prone toward becoming infatuated with older men that I found it disturbing that the author would give those same readers the blatant message that such relationships are both reasonable and, ultimately, rewarding if one just "sticks by her older man" (in this case, someone old enough to be her father, as well as, being a family member).
All of the adults/parents in this story repeatedly fail to seriously question or thoroughly research the bizarre inconsistencies in Even's stories and actions, all while permitting their children unlimited, isolated contacts with him, even after it becomes quite obvious that a large number of unexplained, threatening,and harmful events have occurred to their families and belongings, since the time of his arrival. Mia's mother does display a rather remarkable level of insight when she admits that having 8 children is too many, since both of the parents in that family appear overwhelmed with their responsibilities and consistently fail to provide any reasonable level of supervision to any of them - thus leading to all sorts of catastrophes (perhaps, they should have realized much earlier in their parenting careers that they were becoming overwhelmed by their brood, so contraceptives and/or sterilizations were called for - former farmers, like they, would know about such practices). When 3 - 4 children of wildly divergent ages and genders are forced to routinely share bedrooms together, that's a good clue that the parents cannot meet the basic needs of their offspring. Taking in a distant relative for an unlimited/extended visit further displays their inherent poor judgment, both about their own needs/abilities and those of their children.
The basic IQ levels of Mia's parents has to be questioned, when their house begins to; 1) throw furniture and other missile objects about, 2) abruptly turns off the TV, 3) later turns off the power throughout the structure and neighborhood, 4) inexplicably shakes wildly and becomes intensely hot, and 5) the entire family is awakened at night all terrified by the bizarre scenarios they are witnessing - yet neither adult has the common sense to evacuate the house to ensure the safety of their entire family! While building evacuations aren't usually necessary during an earthquake, what was happening inside that building clearly exceeded anything like a natural phenomenon and warranted a rapid evacuation by all. However, these two parents are so inept, they just stand and shake with fear, alongside their terrified offspring, despite being completely incapable of either halting any of the preposterous events that were occurring, or being able to anticipate (with any degree of accuracy) what was going to happen next. That level of cognitive sluggishness is usually incompatible with life, since "fight or flight" impulses are innate to humans, even in Welsh rural areas!
So many situations like this made the entire story unbelievable/unrealistic. The author mixes an extraordinarily weird combination of occult practices/beliefs with Welsh mythology/folklore, Christian religiousity, and conventional wizard magic to explain how and why events happen in the book. This odd blend of supernatural explanations ends up creating such a tangled framework for the story that I seriously doubt any reader could possibly unravel why many of the events occurred in the story or why the events unfolded in the sequence they did. Why throwing a wooden human figurine in a pool of water created severe nightmares that cause a house to erupt is never really explained, nor was the "spirit" who did something that led to Mia's younger brother becoming seriously injured at the riverbank, requiring hospitalization. Why was he the only one who ever encountered a "spirit"?
There's no adequate explanation given for why Gawyn's spell using the Snow Spider, near the start of the story, didn't work correctly. In fact, almost any time any form of magic is used or is responsible for events occurring, there are grave inconsistencies and tremendous vagueness surrounding any rationales given for those events. It never made any sense to me why Gawyn was constantly blaming himself for everything going wrong, when, in fact, he very seldom had anything to do with the near-constant stream of catastrophes. Almost always, the person(s) creating the trouble were members of Mia's family. Like most overcrowded, poorly supervised, chaotic households, their lack of appropriate interpersonal boundaries, combined with poor judgment, impulsivity, and poor communication/lies galore, were at the root of most of the problems. In fact, that family best represents this entire book - chaotic, disorganized, poorly edited/supervised, and dysfunctional.
Young female readers of this book may come away from the story believing that they should ignore their intuitions about dangerous, rough, and/or controlling men, just as Kateren kept doing, despite cousin Even forcibly kissing her against her will. Mia's sick infatuation/obsession with cousin Even is just as disturbing, as she refuses to be honest with either herself or anyone else about just how much chaos and destructiveness Even leaves in his wake. She insists on romanticizing him as a perpetual "hero/Prince Charming" character, all the way to the end of the book, which I found positively cloying, (though the grandmother character opted to label it "unusual loyalty"). Preteen girls are so prone toward becoming infatuated with older men that I found it disturbing that the author would give those same readers the blatant message that such relationships are both reasonable and, ultimately, rewarding if one just "sticks by her older man" (in this case, someone old enough to be her father, as well as, being a family member).
All of the adults/parents in this story repeatedly fail to seriously question or thoroughly research the bizarre inconsistencies in Even's stories and actions, all while permitting their children unlimited, isolated contacts with him, even after it becomes quite obvious that a large number of unexplained, threatening,and harmful events have occurred to their families and belongings, since the time of his arrival. Mia's mother does display a rather remarkable level of insight when she admits that having 8 children is too many, since both of the parents in that family appear overwhelmed with their responsibilities and consistently fail to provide any reasonable level of supervision to any of them - thus leading to all sorts of catastrophes (perhaps, they should have realized much earlier in their parenting careers that they were becoming overwhelmed by their brood, so contraceptives and/or sterilizations were called for - former farmers, like they, would know about such practices). When 3 - 4 children of wildly divergent ages and genders are forced to routinely share bedrooms together, that's a good clue that the parents cannot meet the basic needs of their offspring. Taking in a distant relative for an unlimited/extended visit further displays their inherent poor judgment, both about their own needs/abilities and those of their children.
The basic IQ levels of Mia's parents has to be questioned, when their house begins to; 1) throw furniture and other missile objects about, 2) abruptly turns off the TV, 3) later turns off the power throughout the structure and neighborhood, 4) inexplicably shakes wildly and becomes intensely hot, and 5) the entire family is awakened at night all terrified by the bizarre scenarios they are witnessing - yet neither adult has the common sense to evacuate the house to ensure the safety of their entire family! While building evacuations aren't usually necessary during an earthquake, what was happening inside that building clearly exceeded anything like a natural phenomenon and warranted a rapid evacuation by all. However, these two parents are so inept, they just stand and shake with fear, alongside their terrified offspring, despite being completely incapable of either halting any of the preposterous events that were occurring, or being able to anticipate (with any degree of accuracy) what was going to happen next. That level of cognitive sluggishness is usually incompatible with life, since "fight or flight" impulses are innate to humans, even in Welsh rural areas!
So many situations like this made the entire story unbelievable/unrealistic. The author mixes an extraordinarily weird combination of occult practices/beliefs with Welsh mythology/folklore, Christian religiousity, and conventional wizard magic to explain how and why events happen in the book. This odd blend of supernatural explanations ends up creating such a tangled framework for the story that I seriously doubt any reader could possibly unravel why many of the events occurred in the story or why the events unfolded in the sequence they did. Why throwing a wooden human figurine in a pool of water created severe nightmares that cause a house to erupt is never really explained, nor was the "spirit" who did something that led to Mia's younger brother becoming seriously injured at the riverbank, requiring hospitalization. Why was he the only one who ever encountered a "spirit"?
There's no adequate explanation given for why Gawyn's spell using the Snow Spider, near the start of the story, didn't work correctly. In fact, almost any time any form of magic is used or is responsible for events occurring, there are grave inconsistencies and tremendous vagueness surrounding any rationales given for those events. It never made any sense to me why Gawyn was constantly blaming himself for everything going wrong, when, in fact, he very seldom had anything to do with the near-constant stream of catastrophes. Almost always, the person(s) creating the trouble were members of Mia's family. Like most overcrowded, poorly supervised, chaotic households, their lack of appropriate interpersonal boundaries, combined with poor judgment, impulsivity, and poor communication/lies galore, were at the root of most of the problems. In fact, that family best represents this entire book - chaotic, disorganized, poorly edited/supervised, and dysfunctional.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 25, 2018
A nice wrap up to the series as the scariest of the gifts is released into the world
July 26, 2021
In this closing volume of the trilogy that began with 'The Snow Spider', Gwyn is approaching his thirteenth birthday and is resentful of the magic that his grandmother awoke in him in the first book, to the point where he is avoiding her. His main complaint is that he has not grown physically since finding his magic, so other children the same age as him are taller. Then he receives a presentiment of danger connected with someone approaching the family of his friend, Nia Lloyd. He manages to prevent Nia from answering the phone, but her sixteen year old sister Caitrin answers instead and seems to fall under the spell of Evan Llyr, a distant relation of Mrs Lloyd, who was wounded while serving in the British Army in Northern Ireland (the book was published in 1989). Evan has phoned to announce that he is coming to stay. At first the family, although rather taken aback, are charmed by their guest.
Soon, however, disturbing events are underway when Gwyn neglectfully removes from hiding the mutilated horse model he has been safeguarding since book one, when he discovered that it contained the vengeful spirit of a prince from Welsh mythology. The prince is again set free and this time, due to Gwyn's unsuccessful magecraft, ends up possessing Evan whose hair progressively turns red, as his own personality is more and more overwhelmed. Evan has his own dark secret in any case, which seems to have rendered him susceptible to the influence of the spirit - he saw his brother die after falling out of a tree when they were both boys. The prince acts as a sort of surrogate of Evan's brother who also was aggressive and unpleasant, and under his influence Evan, whose age is unspecified but must be 30+, starts courting Caitrin.
Things become even more creepy when Nia develops a full blown crush on him, and views him as her damaged prince whom she must help, becoming jealous of her older sister and wanting to walk on the beach with Evan, too, just the two of them. Evan sets the whole family at each others' throats, and although the Lloyd parents seem appalled by his inappropriate behaviour to two of their daughters, Caitrin and Nia, they seem powerless to even speak out. For a time, Nia is alienated from Gwyn because she won't accept his view that the prince is evil and must be resisted.
In some ways the characters seem rather different than in the first two books, especially Caitrin who was unfailingly kind to Nia when others in the family were mean. Here she becomes rather bitchy towards her, though this is presumably meant to be due to the bad influence of the possessed Evan.
One thing I had hoped would be resolved in this volume was the situation of Gwyn's missing older sister Bethan. In the first two books, it was established that the silver children from another world had kidnapped her and 'turned' her so that she was happy to stay with them and not return to her grieving family. Gwyn says at one point in the current book that he has no intention of trying to get her back because she is happy to stay with them. But this ducks the issue that Bethan was brainwashed by the silver children who were shown as malevolent and were trying to kidnap other children, such as a friend of Gwyn's in book two. So it is disappointing that the issue is dropped like this.
I also found the ending rather facile: .
The impression overall is that this book is very slow in pace. The development of the unhealthy goings on is very subtle, but the readership at which this is aimed is for an age group far above the first two books, which was around 8 - 11 years. The original readership would, I feel sure, be bored with this story, because they wouldn't 'get' the undercurrent associated with a mature man toying with the feelings of two young girls, one of whom in particular (if she is the same age as Gwyn which is usually implied) must be thirteen at most. There wouldn't be enough magic to hold the interest of younger children - this book is rather more in the Young Adult category. So it is rather an oddity in the trilogy and I can't help feeling that the author would have better off basing the final tale around how Gwyn gets back his sister, which would also have nicely rounded off the trilogy.
Soon, however, disturbing events are underway when Gwyn neglectfully removes from hiding the mutilated horse model he has been safeguarding since book one, when he discovered that it contained the vengeful spirit of a prince from Welsh mythology. The prince is again set free and this time, due to Gwyn's unsuccessful magecraft, ends up possessing Evan whose hair progressively turns red, as his own personality is more and more overwhelmed. Evan has his own dark secret in any case, which seems to have rendered him susceptible to the influence of the spirit - he saw his brother die after falling out of a tree when they were both boys. The prince acts as a sort of surrogate of Evan's brother who also was aggressive and unpleasant, and under his influence Evan, whose age is unspecified but must be 30+, starts courting Caitrin.
Things become even more creepy when Nia develops a full blown crush on him, and views him as her damaged prince whom she must help, becoming jealous of her older sister and wanting to walk on the beach with Evan, too, just the two of them. Evan sets the whole family at each others' throats, and although the Lloyd parents seem appalled by his inappropriate behaviour to two of their daughters, Caitrin and Nia, they seem powerless to even speak out. For a time, Nia is alienated from Gwyn because she won't accept his view that the prince is evil and must be resisted.
In some ways the characters seem rather different than in the first two books, especially Caitrin who was unfailingly kind to Nia when others in the family were mean. Here she becomes rather bitchy towards her, though this is presumably meant to be due to the bad influence of the possessed Evan.
One thing I had hoped would be resolved in this volume was the situation of Gwyn's missing older sister Bethan. In the first two books, it was established that the silver children from another world had kidnapped her and 'turned' her so that she was happy to stay with them and not return to her grieving family. Gwyn says at one point in the current book that he has no intention of trying to get her back because she is happy to stay with them. But this ducks the issue that Bethan was brainwashed by the silver children who were shown as malevolent and were trying to kidnap other children, such as a friend of Gwyn's in book two. So it is disappointing that the issue is dropped like this.
I also found the ending rather facile: .
The impression overall is that this book is very slow in pace. The development of the unhealthy goings on is very subtle, but the readership at which this is aimed is for an age group far above the first two books, which was around 8 - 11 years. The original readership would, I feel sure, be bored with this story, because they wouldn't 'get' the undercurrent associated with a mature man toying with the feelings of two young girls, one of whom in particular (if she is the same age as Gwyn which is usually implied) must be thirteen at most. There wouldn't be enough magic to hold the interest of younger children - this book is rather more in the Young Adult category. So it is rather an oddity in the trilogy and I can't help feeling that the author would have better off basing the final tale around how Gwyn gets back his sister, which would also have nicely rounded off the trilogy.
June 14, 2017
I was completely entranced by every word in this book, and read it all in one sitting!
This last book in the trilogy is told from the perspectives of both Gwyn and Nia, the story weaving around them like a mystical dance. Nia's long-lost uncle, Evan, is a soldier recovering from being wounded, and he comes to visit her family. But it soon becomes evident that Evan is being used as a pawn in magical warfare, and Gwyn must find a way to convince Nia that something is wrong with her uncle, and get her help in saving Evan from the evil within.
This story is deliciously haunting, unearthly and weird in the magic of myth and legend that comes to life. Every scene is dripping with suspense and hidden meanings, but there's also humor and brightness that stands out against the dark themes. The writing is absolutely genius!
I didn't think the characters of Nia and Gwyn had much more development to go through. They had already grown so much in the first two books, but wow! I was amazed by the struggles and changes in both of them through this book.
Gwyn is tired of his magic being a burden and a secret that haunts him, and he has to come to grips with that and learn to accept his power.
Nia is struggling to find her place within her family and outside the family. She's growing up and learning how to react within the world. I'm a very character-centered reader, so seeing those two beloved characters developing even further was wonderful.
I would definitely recommend reading this trilogy all in one go, or at least within a few days of each other. It works best as a unified story, although each book stands on its own as well and the stories are told years apart.
I adore this entire trilogy!
This last book in the trilogy is told from the perspectives of both Gwyn and Nia, the story weaving around them like a mystical dance. Nia's long-lost uncle, Evan, is a soldier recovering from being wounded, and he comes to visit her family. But it soon becomes evident that Evan is being used as a pawn in magical warfare, and Gwyn must find a way to convince Nia that something is wrong with her uncle, and get her help in saving Evan from the evil within.
This story is deliciously haunting, unearthly and weird in the magic of myth and legend that comes to life. Every scene is dripping with suspense and hidden meanings, but there's also humor and brightness that stands out against the dark themes. The writing is absolutely genius!
I didn't think the characters of Nia and Gwyn had much more development to go through. They had already grown so much in the first two books, but wow! I was amazed by the struggles and changes in both of them through this book.
Gwyn is tired of his magic being a burden and a secret that haunts him, and he has to come to grips with that and learn to accept his power.
Nia is struggling to find her place within her family and outside the family. She's growing up and learning how to react within the world. I'm a very character-centered reader, so seeing those two beloved characters developing even further was wonderful.
I would definitely recommend reading this trilogy all in one go, or at least within a few days of each other. It works best as a unified story, although each book stands on its own as well and the stories are told years apart.
I adore this entire trilogy!
September 21, 2016
I can understand why I didn't understand this series when I first read it in 6th grade. They're such odd little books, partly because they set in a small town in Wales, but mostly because the magic is unlike most magic found in books. It's all so vague. At times the vagueness is what gives the writing a weird beauty that takes you out of reality, but it can be frustrating because I feel like I don't really understand what happened.
In this book the freaky horse from the 1st book comes back, and this time it's center stage. The insane demon spirit inside has been released accidentally and took hold of Evan Llŷr, who is Gwyn's friend Nia's long-lost cousin. Evan is a troubled soldier who has come to stay with his family after being injured, and his arrival brings unrest in the Lloyd household.
This book was really weird. I feel exactly how I felt reading it now that im 18 as I did when I was 11. It's weird and I don't quite understand it. I didn't understand (or like) all the stuff about Evan being Nia's prince and I couldn't quite wrap my head around how Evan's backstory made it so that the demon would want to possess him.
Basically, I didn't like the main story, but I was interested in things that I actually understood which were happening around the main story.
I mostly enjoyed the setting and the strange magic.
In this book the freaky horse from the 1st book comes back, and this time it's center stage. The insane demon spirit inside has been released accidentally and took hold of Evan Llŷr, who is Gwyn's friend Nia's long-lost cousin. Evan is a troubled soldier who has come to stay with his family after being injured, and his arrival brings unrest in the Lloyd household.
This book was really weird. I feel exactly how I felt reading it now that im 18 as I did when I was 11. It's weird and I don't quite understand it. I didn't understand (or like) all the stuff about Evan being Nia's prince and I couldn't quite wrap my head around how Evan's backstory made it so that the demon would want to possess him.
Basically, I didn't like the main story, but I was interested in things that I actually understood which were happening around the main story.
I mostly enjoyed the setting and the strange magic.
June 15, 2011
I like Jenny Nimmo's writing and over all, this is a good trilogy.
It begins in the first book, the Snow Spider, with Gwyn's grandmother telling him on his 9th birthday, that he is a magician. It contains Welsh folklore and Welsh words - which may be difficult for some children to read.
The 3 books get progressively darker and cover a time period of about 4 years following Gwyn, and his family and neighbors and relatives Emlyn and Nia.
While I did like the stories, I found a few things about them disturbing and creepy.
I did not like the fact that Gwyn's sister left to go to some other cold planet that steals children who are not happy and that when she returned briefly she did not want to stay with her family, but preferred to go back to her cold planet even though her mother kept her bedroom the same and her parents had never really gotten over her dissappearance.
And I found Nia's obsession with her uncle and his dalliance with her older sister creepy.
It begins in the first book, the Snow Spider, with Gwyn's grandmother telling him on his 9th birthday, that he is a magician. It contains Welsh folklore and Welsh words - which may be difficult for some children to read.
The 3 books get progressively darker and cover a time period of about 4 years following Gwyn, and his family and neighbors and relatives Emlyn and Nia.
While I did like the stories, I found a few things about them disturbing and creepy.
I did not like the fact that Gwyn's sister left to go to some other cold planet that steals children who are not happy and that when she returned briefly she did not want to stay with her family, but preferred to go back to her cold planet even though her mother kept her bedroom the same and her parents had never really gotten over her dissappearance.
And I found Nia's obsession with her uncle and his dalliance with her older sister creepy.
April 2, 2016
By far the most mature and well-written of the series. Plus, you don't have to have read the previous two, as it recovers much of the basics so wouldn't leave you confused. It is old-fashioned, but I was glad to see the young girl, Nia, actually getting involved and not simply doing the dishes or watching the baby!
On the flip side, while her pining over a charismatic, handsome man could have had a sweet naivety - her growing up and wanting to be noticed in a large family while competing with older sisters - it suddenly became concerning when I remembered that she is 11 and the man 30ish. Yet he courts her and her 16 year old sister and the family do nothing about it. Her feelings for him were given way too much credit - even if she had a powerful crush, the ending seemed to validate it almost as if to say, the relationship is honourable. It really was not.
Odd decision as it wasn't necessary and the story would still have worked if the ages were appropriate.
On the flip side, while her pining over a charismatic, handsome man could have had a sweet naivety - her growing up and wanting to be noticed in a large family while competing with older sisters - it suddenly became concerning when I remembered that she is 11 and the man 30ish. Yet he courts her and her 16 year old sister and the family do nothing about it. Her feelings for him were given way too much credit - even if she had a powerful crush, the ending seemed to validate it almost as if to say, the relationship is honourable. It really was not.
Odd decision as it wasn't necessary and the story would still have worked if the ages were appropriate.
January 4, 2016
I have a hard time understanding why this book has gotten such good reviews. The relationships between the thirty something cousin, Evan, and his 16 and 11 year old female cousins are disturbing. Nia's obsession with him borders on psychotic. All of the characters that were set up in the first 2 books act completely out of character, especially the female characters. Were they under a spell or is Nimmo implying that women are completely stupid when confronted with a handsome man?
The other thing I disliked about the book is that it completely drops the storyline from the first 2 books. What about the space children? Although the plot of the first books revolve around these children, they are just mentioned in passing in this final book. It was very irritating. I do not recommend this book to anyone.
The other thing I disliked about the book is that it completely drops the storyline from the first 2 books. What about the space children? Although the plot of the first books revolve around these children, they are just mentioned in passing in this final book. It was very irritating. I do not recommend this book to anyone.
December 10, 2014
This book read like a modern fairy tale, mixed in with fantasy, science fiction and horror. Perhaps that is EXACTLY how a modern fairy tale would read.
I loved the style of story-telling. The writing was at times quite lovely. I liked the overall story. It took me a little while to get into the story, but by the time the horse Glory was spooked, I was hooked. I was a little let down (and disconcerted) by the final ending.
I loved the style of story-telling. The writing was at times quite lovely. I liked the overall story. It took me a little while to get into the story, but by the time the horse Glory was spooked, I was hooked. I was a little let down (and disconcerted) by the final ending.
June 23, 2014
This was an excellent, and rather creepy ending to the story. Somehow I forgot to update here when I finished this... it's been a while ago now. It was very good and I'm very glad I read this series. I'm not surprised though, I very much enjoyed the other series that I read with my daughter that was by Jenny Nimmo.
May 30, 2009
The best of the three books. It had a decent storyline/plot. Still not a great series though. I much prefer her Charlie Bone books.
It would have been nice to have had a Welsh pronunciation guide for the names at the very least.
It would have been nice to have had a Welsh pronunciation guide for the names at the very least.
July 29, 2016
I have said my piece in my other two reviews. This series transported me. It may have been just for me and others will not enjoy this trilogy nearly as much as I have but I do recommend these to all lovers of myth, fairy tales, and fantasy.
June 4, 2019
Of all three this one was definitely my favorite book in the series! Why? In my opinion it was more mysterious than the previous two and I LOVED Evan! the only weird thing was his relationship with the two sisters... I didn´t quite get that. and I wish the ending was more elaborate.
September 3, 2015
Anyone else get creeped out by the relationship between the 30-something year old 'villain' and the 16 year old?
January 22, 2022
Nia's cousin Evan Lyr comes to visit - a former soldier who somehow walked away unscathed from a bomb blast, he's magnetically handsome and charismatic, and Nia's sister Catrin seems especially drawn to him. But he also carries a darkness that seems connected to the legend of the Welsh prince Efnisien and the tormented figure of the horse that Gwyn still keeps secret.
I like how this dealt with Gwyn and Nia's respective adolescent growing pains, and Nia's siblings too. I especially found it interesting that Gwyn feels frustrated and stunted by his magician's legacy, which seems to manifest itself in an actual inability for him to grow taller. The magic doesn't come easily for him and he feels like he's making mistakes at every turn.
Again I really liked how Nimmo writes magic, mysterious and sinister and surprising. The way the house is disturbed by an earthquake that their neighbours can't feel, Gwyn meeting his ancient ancestor and finding him a bit of a mischief maker himself, Iolo being terrified out of his wits, and Evan's aversion to horses.
Gwyn and Nia break the cycles of history, but the story resists a totally neat ending, ending on a rather open and hopeful note.
It's been interesting re-reading this series. I think Emlyn's Moon is still my favourite but I really do like this style of children's fantasy that isn't seen much anymore. File with Susan Cooper and Alan Garner.
I like how this dealt with Gwyn and Nia's respective adolescent growing pains, and Nia's siblings too. I especially found it interesting that Gwyn feels frustrated and stunted by his magician's legacy, which seems to manifest itself in an actual inability for him to grow taller. The magic doesn't come easily for him and he feels like he's making mistakes at every turn.
Again I really liked how Nimmo writes magic, mysterious and sinister and surprising. The way the house is disturbed by an earthquake that their neighbours can't feel, Gwyn meeting his ancient ancestor and finding him a bit of a mischief maker himself, Iolo being terrified out of his wits, and Evan's aversion to horses.
Gwyn and Nia break the cycles of history, but the story resists a totally neat ending, ending on a rather open and hopeful note.
It's been interesting re-reading this series. I think Emlyn's Moon is still my favourite but I really do like this style of children's fantasy that isn't seen much anymore. File with Susan Cooper and Alan Garner.
October 9, 2018
Over all I enjoyed the three books and the thread of the continued storyline. Book 3 didn't have the conflicting timeline issues that book 2 did, but I felt like the ending was a but meh. There seemed to be something missing, almost as if the ending was rushed or bits cut out, hence the 4 stars and not 5 stars from me.
In book 3 the broken horse story is delved into even more, and tied in with the mysterious cousin who comes to visit with the Lloyd household. The broken horse was one of the gifts Gwyn received from his Nain, on his ninth birthday, and featured in book 1, when the soul trapped within was released. Well in book 3, the soul gets out again but different things happen, and the history of the soul/Prince from centuries gone is revealed. The past gets entwined with the present.
If you have read the previous 2 books it is worth reading the 3rd just to tie up some of the story, (I some of the story, because to me some things don't get explained or covered in book 3,) and get to read more about the children and their families.
In book 3 the broken horse story is delved into even more, and tied in with the mysterious cousin who comes to visit with the Lloyd household. The broken horse was one of the gifts Gwyn received from his Nain, on his ninth birthday, and featured in book 1, when the soul trapped within was released. Well in book 3, the soul gets out again but different things happen, and the history of the soul/Prince from centuries gone is revealed. The past gets entwined with the present.
If you have read the previous 2 books it is worth reading the 3rd just to tie up some of the story, (I some of the story, because to me some things don't get explained or covered in book 3,) and get to read more about the children and their families.
November 24, 2018
Perhaps the most ambitious of the three Snow Spider books, this one finds Gwyn’s extended family trapped in replaying another ancient story. Jenny Nimmo brings to the village suspicion and jealousy as a shell-shocked relative plays out a horrific legend, and reluctantly young wizard Gwyn has to confront the ambiguous and fallible nature of his calling.
Deliberately slow to gather pace, Nimmo builds the rivalry and sexual tensions that the handsome, troubled soldier Evan brings. There is a clever coyness in how the children are just beginning to comprehend what Evan might want with sixteen year old Catrin - part inappropriate relationship, part reliving the ancient tale of Branwen - which allows the author to explore dark themes while staying true to her young audience.
As with the other two books, the climax was exciting and magical but felt a little rushed, but the ending tied up the relationships well, and gave hope to growing Gwyn that adulthood would not require him to have all the answers: a neat message for any reader.
Deliberately slow to gather pace, Nimmo builds the rivalry and sexual tensions that the handsome, troubled soldier Evan brings. There is a clever coyness in how the children are just beginning to comprehend what Evan might want with sixteen year old Catrin - part inappropriate relationship, part reliving the ancient tale of Branwen - which allows the author to explore dark themes while staying true to her young audience.
As with the other two books, the climax was exciting and magical but felt a little rushed, but the ending tied up the relationships well, and gave hope to growing Gwyn that adulthood would not require him to have all the answers: a neat message for any reader.
June 20, 2020
I began reading this trilogy to my daughter a while back. Partway through this final book - The Chestnut Soldier - she told me she thought she was too old to be read to anymore. I finished it for my own pleasure.
Jenny Nimmo’s Magician trilogy is wonderful. I recall watching The Snow Spider on television when I was just a boy myself. There’s a new adaptation now but though both told her story, neither captured the beauty of her language, the subtleness of her mysticism, or the genuinely complex wash of emotional growth and understanding that her child-heroes undergo.
Though less epic in scope, this series sits comfortably alongside Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books - speaking simply but telling much. They are genuine classics of children’s literature.
Jenny Nimmo’s Magician trilogy is wonderful. I recall watching The Snow Spider on television when I was just a boy myself. There’s a new adaptation now but though both told her story, neither captured the beauty of her language, the subtleness of her mysticism, or the genuinely complex wash of emotional growth and understanding that her child-heroes undergo.
Though less epic in scope, this series sits comfortably alongside Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea books - speaking simply but telling much. They are genuine classics of children’s literature.
August 9, 2017
The Chestnut Soldier is the third in Jenny Nimmo's Snow Spider series. The books in the trilogy should definitely be read in order. This last deals with one of the gifts Gwyn's grandmother gave him (in the first book)... the trouble it causes, and how Gwyn and Nia work together to overcome the challenges set off by this small (but incredibly powerful) gift.
My grandson and I have been working our way through the trilogy over the last couple of years. While this one was good (and brought Gwyn into a full acceptance of his powers) it was a bit more confusing than the others and we enjoyed the first and second books more.
My grandson and I have been working our way through the trilogy over the last couple of years. While this one was good (and brought Gwyn into a full acceptance of his powers) it was a bit more confusing than the others and we enjoyed the first and second books more.
May 8, 2021
A wrap up to the Snow Spider Trilogy as Gwyn’s most feared gift is released - the broken horse, bringing the arrival of Evan Llyr - and a host of strange and frightening events that only our young magician Gwyn Griffiths can stop.
I struggled a little with this book, the formula was great and Nimmo’s writing was as impeccable as ever, I found that the story dragged more than its predecessors. There was plenty of action and the characters have developed to young teens with angst ridden problems of their own - alongside the deep magic!
Overall a good wrap up to the trilogy, but not as exhilarating as the first two books.
I struggled a little with this book, the formula was great and Nimmo’s writing was as impeccable as ever, I found that the story dragged more than its predecessors. There was plenty of action and the characters have developed to young teens with angst ridden problems of their own - alongside the deep magic!
Overall a good wrap up to the trilogy, but not as exhilarating as the first two books.
August 27, 2019
Wow, the pieces fit exactly into place. As I was reading, every little thing that had been mentioned in the first two books suddenly became very important and it was intriguing to have those details relevant and needed for the story to work. Everything came together so beautifully and it was so fun to see all the hidden meanings and secrets before they were realized by the characters. Once again, Nimmo has created a wonderful story that really captures that sense of magic and myth but still being fully grounded in reality. Love it!
June 17, 2022
This one was a solid finish to the series. It once again focuses on Gwyn instead of Nia and the magic is barely there this time around. The only thing that I didn't like in this book was the ending. It felt rushed and like something was missing. Also, there seemed to be a different translator compared to the last book. There are a lot of jarring differences like completely different names and quite a few grammatical errors like the other two books in the series. It's not the fault of the original but I just thought that I should point that out for anyone reading the Slovenian version.
November 19, 2024
DNF'd about halfway through. I just don't feel the need to continue on when I already know I'm probably gonna rate it two stars. Might come back to it later to finish.
The part that made me stop was the horse being taken. So he removed it from the box and put it on his window? Then sent someone who already stole something of yours to get binoculars, then you comment about how he's been in there for a long time and it's suspicious knowing you have that thing in there out in the open? Silliness, lol.
The part that made me stop was the horse being taken. So he removed it from the box and put it on his window? Then sent someone who already stole something of yours to get binoculars, then you comment about how he's been in there for a long time and it's suspicious knowing you have that thing in there out in the open? Silliness, lol.
January 11, 2025
MG
Fantasy
Set in Wales
The third book in the Magician Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo, starting with The Snow Spider & Emlyn's Moon.
I read The Snow Spider every year of elementary school but they did not have the sequels... but I'm in my 30's now and finally had the chance!
This was a fantastic ending to Gwyn's magical story, with more magic, magicians, and family reverie. It was a wonderful ending.
Fantasy
Set in Wales
The third book in the Magician Trilogy by Jenny Nimmo, starting with The Snow Spider & Emlyn's Moon.
I read The Snow Spider every year of elementary school but they did not have the sequels... but I'm in my 30's now and finally had the chance!
This was a fantastic ending to Gwyn's magical story, with more magic, magicians, and family reverie. It was a wonderful ending.
December 17, 2025
Like the previous two books, the magic was very good in this, but the whole 35-year-old cousin macking on teenage and younger girls was so deeply creepy, and I had difficulty separating which components of his behaviour were the evil influence and which were him being deeply inappropriate. This feels like a situation where 'Throw the whole man away' is appropriate. Not just the part possessed by an evil spirit. The whole thing.
December 8, 2017
The characters in this story are very easy to care about, and the ideas behind the story are great! Unfortunately, there are some pretty big gaps in logic, and an unfortunate lack of depth to many of the best characters. It was definitely written with younger children in mind.
January 17, 2020
Extremely wonderful series for pre-Potter students. Short but challenging, manageable. One of the few to give to advanced younger readers or older ones who need chapter book but aren't quite at grade level. Wonderful little overlooked gem of a series.
December 15, 2017
This book is a wonderful addition to the series, as well as being a beautiful and magical tale in its own right.
March 17, 2018
Wonderful conclusion to the Snow Spider trilogy. Complete magical and definitely worth a read.
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