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Book of Wirrun #3
Behind the Wind
Once again, Wirrun the young Australian Aborigine is called to free his land from an alien red-eyed thing whose master steals men's spirits, though he is sidetracked when his wife is reclaimed by her water-spirit sisters.
178 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
47 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Wrightson
49 books25 followersWinner of the Dromkeen Medal (1984).
Patricia Wrightson is one of Australia's most distinguished writers for children. Her books have won many prestigious awards all over the world. She was awarded an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 1977, the Dromkeen Medal in 1984 and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986, all for her services to children's literature. She is a four-time winner of the Australian Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award: in 1956 for The Crooked Snake, in 1974 for The Nargun and the Stars, in 1978 for The Ice Is Coming and in 1984 for A Little Fear. Patricia lives and writes in a beautiful stretch of the Australian bush beside the Clarence River in northern New South Wales.
Patricia Wrightson is one of Australia's most distinguished writers for children. Her books have won many prestigious awards all over the world. She was awarded an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) in 1977, the Dromkeen Medal in 1984 and the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1986, all for her services to children's literature. She is a four-time winner of the Australian Children's Book Council Book of the Year Award: in 1956 for The Crooked Snake, in 1974 for The Nargun and the Stars, in 1978 for The Ice Is Coming and in 1984 for A Little Fear. Patricia lives and writes in a beautiful stretch of the Australian bush beside the Clarence River in northern New South Wales.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 4, 2024
The biggest complaint I have about this, is that image on this cover. It looks like a kindly old rock monster, smiling benevolently downwards. If it's who I think it is, Wulgaru, the horror and grotesqueness of it was not adequately captured...
The final book of the Book of Wirrun trilogy is for sure the darkest and the most pithy of this hero-epic. It opens with a scene of an Aborginal fisherman, Jimmy Ginger, casting his net, having a single and well-earned can of beer, and a nap in the scrub. He's a good man of The People, introverted, calm, typical. Things suddenly and unexpectedly go very wrong for Jimmy, like the start of a Hollywood horror film. Meanwhile, Murra and Wirrun are continuing their nomadic bush existence. I struggle to say much without giving it all away, but Ko-in and Mimi's warnings, issued early on in The Dark Bright Water, come to full fruition. If you thought a (somewhat bitter-sweetly) happily ever after from book 2 might extend, you were similarly deluded... :S
The baddie here (and spoiler tags follow: ) is properly creepy, and man, that 'final boss fight' was Final Fantasy / Legend of Zelda-level action and consequence. Loved it.
This is a fantastic series, hitting all the coming-of-age and heroic-epic highs you expect, while representing the, imho, under-represented continent of Australasia and its mythology, and of course the underrepresented indigenous folk of Oz. It's properly bitter-sweet, light and dark, and somehow Wirrun keeps reminding me of Peter Grant of the Rivers of London series (which I feel didn't get dark enough and might have gently dried up - I hope not). Wrightson is amazing - there's a reason why this Antipodean author was republished in the Northern Hemisphere. These books aren't easy to find, and ever since Penguin/Hachette/RandomHouse and Wiley screwed the pooch by suing OpenLibrary and InternetArchive to remove their copyrighted (BUT LONG OUT OF PRINT....) material from an invaluable resource for all of humankind, well... I just hope those publishers, who I have boycotted (I only read library-loaned or secondhand copies of their material now - they can take a hit in profits, the greedy giants!) get their bloated fat cat arses in gear and republish The Book of Wirrun trilogy.
It might not stand up too well without an Introduction with some historical context for the "beating your wife periodically is good for her" statement that Wirrun makes towards the end of the book (completely in jest, I think, but still - 1970s/early 80s era!), but I really hope this doesn't disappear entirely, particularly if as a result of the pettishness of Penguin pulling it from OpenLibrary. (May a leopard seal find you in your sleep, Penguin!).
The final book of the Book of Wirrun trilogy is for sure the darkest and the most pithy of this hero-epic. It opens with a scene of an Aborginal fisherman, Jimmy Ginger, casting his net, having a single and well-earned can of beer, and a nap in the scrub. He's a good man of The People, introverted, calm, typical. Things suddenly and unexpectedly go very wrong for Jimmy, like the start of a Hollywood horror film. Meanwhile, Murra and Wirrun are continuing their nomadic bush existence. I struggle to say much without giving it all away, but Ko-in and Mimi's warnings, issued early on in The Dark Bright Water, come to full fruition. If you thought a (somewhat bitter-sweetly) happily ever after from book 2 might extend, you were similarly deluded... :S
The baddie here (and spoiler tags follow: ) is properly creepy, and man, that 'final boss fight' was Final Fantasy / Legend of Zelda-level action and consequence. Loved it.
This is a fantastic series, hitting all the coming-of-age and heroic-epic highs you expect, while representing the, imho, under-represented continent of Australasia and its mythology, and of course the underrepresented indigenous folk of Oz. It's properly bitter-sweet, light and dark, and somehow Wirrun keeps reminding me of Peter Grant of the Rivers of London series (which I feel didn't get dark enough and might have gently dried up - I hope not). Wrightson is amazing - there's a reason why this Antipodean author was republished in the Northern Hemisphere. These books aren't easy to find, and ever since Penguin/Hachette/RandomHouse and Wiley screwed the pooch by suing OpenLibrary and InternetArchive to remove their copyrighted (BUT LONG OUT OF PRINT....) material from an invaluable resource for all of humankind, well... I just hope those publishers, who I have boycotted (I only read library-loaned or secondhand copies of their material now - they can take a hit in profits, the greedy giants!) get their bloated fat cat arses in gear and republish The Book of Wirrun trilogy.
It might not stand up too well without an Introduction with some historical context for the "beating your wife periodically is good for her" statement that Wirrun makes towards the end of the book (completely in jest, I think, but still - 1970s/early 80s era!), but I really hope this doesn't disappear entirely, particularly if as a result of the pettishness of Penguin pulling it from OpenLibrary. (May a leopard seal find you in your sleep, Penguin!).
March 28, 2014
The culmination of Australia's greatest fantasy series. Stars Wirrun, a young aboriginal man, and features aboriginal mythology.
April 11, 2024
This is the best book in this series but not by much. Wirrun and Murra face a great foe. The earth spirits of the land need Wirrun to face an evil spirit that was created by man. In addition, Murra's sister water spirits are a constant threat. This is one of the few fantasy series based on aboriginal myths. Wrightson's prose is not always up to the task of describing these myths, but when it does, the series is very engaging. I can't recommend this series enthusiastically, but if you want an unusual contemporary fantasy, then you might enjoy this series.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews