PWelcome
It is always exciting to welcome a new author to the wonderful world of children's fiction, especially when their first book provides as much present entertainment and future promise as does this one.
Leaping protagonists
The first word that comes to my mind in describing The Eye of the North is zestful, with exuberant not far behind. This zesty exuberance is perhaps best seen in the characters of its two young protagonists. Emmeline (Em) is a feisty, intelligent girl who might have been something of a conventional heroine for such books had she not been brought up to be full of suspicion and fear for almost everything and everyone. This insecurity, verging on paranoia, gives her character an endearing and highly entertaining twist. Indeed her relationship with her satchel (something approaching Lyra's attachment to her daemon) is one of the story's highlights. It something of a security blanket for her but also turns out to be a bag of tricks which she can use in most surprising ways.
Set against her, is a ragamuffin of a boy with an enigmatic, and possibly murky, past who goes only by the name of Thing. However he is cocky, amusing, resourceful and above all confident in a way that complements Em beautifully. Having never had a friend before, he also turns out to have a passionate loyalty and commitment to her which singles him out as very special.
These two characters leap off the page as strongly as they leap on the books striking jacket. They are hugely likeable, very easy for the reader to identify with and hold securely together a story in which they each play an equally prominent role.
Rollicking narrative
Another great strength of the book is this writer's ability to structure and tell a story. Her use of languageis skilful enough to paint strong pictures without long and tedious descriptions Her zest shows again here. She piles on incident after exciting incident, in a veritable cresta run of a storyline , yet still continually builds tension and excitement in a masterly way. The pace of the story is fast and furious. Sinéad O'Hart's division of the narrative line, for much of the book, between her two protagonists also adds to its strength and the final climax is truly edge of the seat stuff.
I found I had more problem, however, with the plot itself, or perhaps it was with the failure of the world created to settle into sufficient consistency of reference to fully establish its own logic. The author draws story elements from a wide and eclectic number of story sources and genres. Much of the core plot, where a super villain with aspirations to take over the world is pitted against an esoteric organisation known as the 'Order of The White Flower', has a strong flavour of James Bond, Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon (although it never strays away from appropriateness for its MG audience). She then adds in elements of steam punk, a fantasy 'Northwitch', horses remnant from an ancient mythology, the 'Kraken' and, amongst other things, some reference to the issues of global warming. Of course mixed genre is perfectly possible and here, because of the book's other considerable strengths, it does work - just about. But, in honesty, there is something of a feeling of 'throwing everything in' which teeters on the verge of unsettling confusion.
Promise aplenty
Nevertheless this is a book which can be warmly recommended to children looking for a rumbustious, high-octane adventure with hugely likeable protagonists.
Sinéad O'Hart obviously has much writing ability, a lively imagination and a lot of heart. If, moving forward, she can harness her many talents to the creation of a world with slightly more original integrity then she should continue to develop as a fine children's writer. I am confident she will.
A book to enjoy now and a writer to watch in the future.