The Last of the High Kings

by Kate Thompson Narrated by Marcella Riordan

Overview

J J Liddy sometimes blames his unreliable temperament on the visit he made to Tir na nOg, the land of eternal youth, when he was fifteen years old. It's perhaps not surprising that his children have also turned out to be a little eccentric, especially eleven-year-old Jenny. She forgets to go to school, can't bear to wear shoes, and spends entire days roaming the mountainside. It is up there that she meets the ghost. He is guarding a pile of rocks known as the beacon, and when some archaeologists arrive to excavate it, they run into the strangest kind of obstruction. But it is not people the ghost fears, and when the real enemy finally reveals itself, the future of the entire human race is threatened. Only Aengus Og and his fairy kin can help now. But why should fairies bother themselves with human affairs?

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Just as well crafted as The New Policeman, this sequel catches up with its hero, J.J. Liddy, now married with four children, including one intractable 11-year-old whose mysterious destiny is intertwined with the mythic fairy kingdom of their native Ireland. Jenny regularly ditches school to talk to goats and ghosts, "a skill that had taken her some time to acquire," roaming the rocky countryside barefoot because her "feet can't see where they're going when they have shoes on them." Thompson weaves a line of dread about Jenny's future into a narrative that centers on the fate of a ghost she's befriended, that of a boy who's been guarding a beacon with an odd treasure beneath it, for thousands of years. Her re-imagining of Irish folklore playfully braids modern life with ancient magic, as she poses intelligent questions about the nature of man and stewardship of the environment. Though much of the story is told from the point of view of adults, it's two children, Jenny and a younger brother, who, in a beautifully executed denouement, see through the Irish mist to do the right thing. Ages 12-up. (June)

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School Library Journal

Gr 7-10- This sequel to The New Policeman (HarperCollins, 2007) picks up with J.J. as an adult with children of his own. Eventually it is revealed that he and his wife, Aisling, traded babies with a fairy couple. Since there is no time in Tír na n'Óg, the land of the fairy folk, the fairies' baby had to come to Earth to grow up. J.J. and Aisling will receive their own child back when she returns. Besides this, there is a ghost on the beacon (a hill overlooking the village and surrounding farmland) guarding a mysterious object that could mean destruction for all mankind. The last of the high kings for whom the book is titled has a small but pivotal role in the final resolution involving púkas, fairies, and monsters. Slightly disjointed at first, the narrative picks up steam about a third of the way through. Readers who enjoy fantasy will be intrigued with this unusual tale involving Irish legend and folklore.-Robin Henry, Griffin Middle School, Frisco, TX

Kirkus Reviews

J.J. Liddy of last year's The New Policeman now has a wife, a musical career that takes him away from home and four children. Son Donal's a musician too, but Jenny, the second child of the four, has never taken to music or even school and roams the countryside. Hazel is a typical teen; Aidan the toddler consumes all of his mother's attention. A magical puka in the form of a large wild goat has taken to accompanying Jenny near the beacon hill barrow, introduced in the prologue as a place of sacrifice in ancient times. Jenny's friendship with the barrow's ghost signals danger, although exactly what the threat is only gradually becomes apparent as Donal's elderly friend Mikey Cullen, self-styled Last of the High Kings, announces his intent to climb the hill. J.J. and his children must face the many magics loose in the universe with courage. The diversity of protagonists diffuses the narrative, resulting in an unexpectedly bland return to the Liddy clan; nevertheless, expect high demand from readers of the first. (Fantasy. 10-14)

From the Publisher

Delightful.” — KLIATT

“Beautifully executed.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“It would be hard to beat the ingenuity of The New Policeman, but this sequel is equally intricate and even more cohesive.” — Horn Book (starred review)

KLIATT

Delightful.

Horn Book (starred review)

It would be hard to beat the ingenuity of The New Policeman, but this sequel is equally intricate and even more cohesive.

Horn Book

"It would be hard to beat the ingenuity of The New Policeman, but this sequel is equally intricate and even more cohesive."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171597283
Publisher:	W. F. Howes Ltd
Publication date:	05/01/2009
Series:	New Policeman , #2
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

Read an Excerpt

Last of the High Kings, The SNY

Chapter One

J.J. Liddy stood in the hall and yelled at the top of his voice, "Where's Jenny?"

The old house, which had been full of noise and activity, fell silent and still. J.J. groaned, then shouted again. "Has anybody seen Jenny?"

His wife, Aisling, came out of the sitting room. "I thought you were watching her," she said.

"Well, I was, a minute ago," said J.J. "Then I couldn't because she wasn't there."

Aisling gave a martyred sigh. Their eldest, Hazel, appeared at the top of the stairs. "She's not up here," she said.

J.J. went out into the yard. "Jenny!" he yelled, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. If she knew that he was angry, she would never come. "Jenny!"

She probably wouldn't come anyway. She rarely did. J.J. went back into the house and began searching for his walking boots. He found them underneath a pile of cased instruments that were waiting beside the door to be packed into the car, and as he was putting the boots on, Donal came down the stairs with a half-filled backpack.

"Does that mean we aren't going then?" he said. Donal was nine and was by far the easiest of all of Aisling and J.J.'s children. He seldom had much to say, and he never made a fuss about anything.

"Well, we can hardly go without her, can we?" said J.J., tugging at a bootlace.

"I don't see why not," said Hazel, who was still at the top of the stairs, leaning on the banister. "I don't see why we have to let her ruin everything all the time."

"Bold Jenny," said Aidan, arriving on the scene with a hammer. He was going through an aggressive phase, and Aisling and J.J. spent a lotof their time trying to disarm him.

"She wouldn't care anyway." Hazel went on. "She doesn't want to hang around with the rest of us; that's why she's always swanning off on her own. She probably wouldn't even notice if we weren't here when she got back. She'd probably be delighted."

"Oh, it doesn't matter," said Aisling gloomily. "We can always go in the morning."

"It does matter," said Hazel irritably. "If we go in the morning, we'll miss the party, and that's the whole point."

"I'll find her," said J.J., lacing his second boot.

"Yeah, right you will," said Hazel, stomping back to her bedroom.

J.J. went out and shut the door behind him.

"Bold Daddy!" said Aidan, raising the hammer with both hands and aiming it at one of the glass panels in the door.

Aisling snatched it out of his hand the instant before it hit the target and held it up high, out of his reach. He lunged at her and screamed, but she sidestepped and escaped into the kitchen. Silently, Donal retreated, leaving Aidan to finish his tantrum alone on the hallway floor.

As J.J. crossed the field called Molly's Place, he felt his annoyance subsiding. More than that, he found he could almost sympathize with Jenny. Although it was midwinter, the weather was mild. A gentle breeze blew a soft, misty drizzle in from the sea, and the gray hills that rose ahead of him were inviting. Why would anyone want to squeeze into a crowded car and be stuck there for three hours when she could stride off into the fresh, earth-scented wilds beyond the farm?

He spotted something in the grass and changed his course. One of Jenny's shoes. It meant he was on the right track at least. He looked up and caught a glimpse of something white on the mountainside far ahead. That big old goat again. It had been hanging around a lot lately, and it made J.J. uneasy. He suspected that it might not be quite what it appeared to be. He suspected as well that Jenny was already a long, long way ahead. She hadn't got that much of a head start, he was fairly sure, but she was capable of moving incredibly quickly once she had, as she always did, jettisoned her shoes.

J.J. looked at his watch. It was two o'clock, which meant that there were still about three hours of daylight left in which to find her. They wouldn't make it for dinner, but provided they were on the road by six, they would still arrive in plenty of time for the party. His sister, Marian, had married an accordion player from Cork, and their New Year's parties were famous in traditional music circles. They were one of the highlights of J.J.'s year, and the annual trip to Cork was just about the only time the whole family went away together. Everyone loved it and looked forward to it. Everyone, that was, except Jenny.

J.J. found the other shoe just inside the boundary wall of the farm. That was good luck. More often than not only one would turn up, and Jenny's room was littered with shoes that had lost their partners.

"Jenny!"

Beyond the farm the land became much wilder. This was the winterage that belonged to the Liddy farm, but unlike Mikey's land at the top of the mountain, it had hardly any grazing at any time of year, and to a farmer it was useless. The rocky slopes rose steeply, and in hollows and gullies there were belts of woodland, mostly ash and hazel, guarded by blackthorn and brambles. There were plenty of places where Jenny could be hidden from view. She could be almost anywhere.

"Jenny!"

There was no answer. Even the white goat had disappeared. J.J. sighed and, with a last glance back at the house, climbed over the drystone wall.

Last of the High Kings, The SNY. Copyright © by Kate Thompson. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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