Darkhenge by Catherine Fisher, opens on the hills above Avebury, England, famous for its prehistoric stone henges. Rob, a talented teenage artist, sees his family disintegrating as his younger sister lies in a coma. Looking for an outlet to escape the grief and guilt he feels, he takes a job with a local archaeological dig where a new and mysterious henge has been discovered. Having spent his life surrounded by the mythology of stone circles, Rob initially pays little attention to the bizarre events that surround the dig until he realizes that this new revelation and the mystifying people attracted to it are somehow related to his sister. The novel plays out in a race against time to free Chloe from the grip of a malevolent force of her own making. Along the way, he finds out more about himself and has to come to terms with his own responsibility for her the fracturing of his family.
Darkhenge explores themes of jealousy and the souring of relationships, steeped in the richness of Celtic mythology. Despite a confusing opening, the book has plenty of twist and turns and engaging mythology to capture the reader’s interest as it delves deeper into the Unworld in each of us. It is a book rich in contrasts: science and magic, life and death, growth and decay, themes which help build carry the plot to a satisfying end.
Posted by Cori