Muddle Earth by Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell
(MacMillan, 2011/2003, PB, £5.99, out now)
The creative team best known for their outstanding Edge Chronicles produced a more humourous fantasy title back in 2003, Muddle Earth, again aimed at younger readers. This paperback re-release has a new cover in advance of the impending sequel, Muddle Earth Too, due out Autumn 2011. It seems cheap to describe Muddle Earth as a parody of Lord of the Rings – I like to think of it as more of a gentle homage.
Schoolboy Joe, plucked from our world by a summoning spell cast by Randalf (!) the wizard. Now, Randalf is not a particularly accomplished wizard by any means but unfortunately he is the only one that Muddle Earth has to rely on. He has summoned Joe (but not specifically so) in the hope that he will be the mighty hero that Muddle Earth needs in its time of need. This first book consists of three parts, three individual tales of Joe’s adventures as he: a) attempts to find out how to get home, and b) try to be the hero that he is expected to be…
The world of Muddle Earth is evocatively and humourously realised by writer Paul Stewart and brought to vivid life by artist Chris Riddell’s fantastic map and chapter illustrations. Stewart carefully balances humour and adventure across Muddle Earth’s three stories, in a way that Discworld fans will appreciate, although it is a more gentle mixture than Sir Terry’s yarns.
A fun, accomplished jaunt – but perhaps not quite up to the heights of Stewart and Riddell’s other fantasy works. However. I’ve read most of their work and I am a huge fan of their output, and this is most certainly worth a look for any fantasy lover.
Andy Jamieson, Editor
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