Microsoft Word final-current Developments at the Intersection of British Children-online-version doc

Wind on Fire
trilogy
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uses fantastic or magical creatures only very sparingly. Nevertheless, 
these few specimen leave a lasting impression due to their dangerousness and uniqueness: The 
Old Children
12
and the Morah.
13
Designed as a cross between individual and swarm, the 
Morah combines the strong and dominating hand, authority, mind, will and strategy of a 
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Other creatures comprise transparent six-hearted spindlebugs (Paul Stewart; Chris Riddell. The Edge 
Chronicles
. The Curse of the Gloamgloazer. London: Corgi, 2002, p.15), cloddertrogs and razorflits (Paul 
Stewart; Chris Riddell. The Edge Chronicles. Vox. London: Corgi, 2004, pp. 27, 272) and snickets (Paul 
Stewart; Chris Riddell. The Edge Chronicles. The Last of the Sky Pirates. London: Corgi, 2003, p. 171). 
Ironwood trees (Stewart; Riddell, The Curse of the Gloamgloazer, p. 158), bloodoaks or lullabee trees are 
plants exclusive to The Edge.
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Not only their appearance but also their specific habits and nature are often meticulously noted without 
weighing down the plot.
11
William Nicholson. The Wind on Fire. The Wind Singer. London: Egmont, 2000; William Nicholson. The 
Wind on Fire. Slaves of the Mastery
. London: Egmont, 2001; William Nicholson. The Wind on Fire. Firseong. 
London: Egmont, 2003 [2002].
12
Nicholson, The Wind Singer, p. 241.
13
Ibd., p. 278. 

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86 
single absolute leader with a body of innumerable members. It is only within the swarm that 
the members form a functioning entity. Like her fantastic predecessors
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the Morah thus gains 
an enormous advantage through numbers and fighting strength. Yet, at the same time, the 
entity in charge is the weak link. Once eliminated, the symbiosis comes to an abrupt end due 
to its instantaneous incapability of acting. In The Wind on Fire, The Morah commands the 
army of the Zars.
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Frightening are not only its numbers but also the nature of its soldiers: 
Children. Robbed of their individuality, identity, reason and feelings, these children are a 
perversion. As soldiers, they are a negation of everything they normally stand for or are 
associated with. Instead of indulging in play, the dynamic army of the Zars kills mercilessly 
and unblinkingly. Dramatised even more through the non-palpability and the resulting 
anonymity of the swarm, the soldiers show an unparalleled cruelty which should be alien to 
children in this form.
In respect to the uncanny and the eeriness of fantastic creatures, Nicholson’s 
oppressive Morah finds her match in Nix’s Abhorsen trilogy.
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As far as the format of our 
corpus is concerned, the Australian author Nix goes beyond the scope. Yet, as a “non-official” 
competitor, his contribution to fantastic and magical creatures is considerable and should not 
be underestimated. A quick glance over the rim reveals that his Abhorsen trilogy and the Keys 
to the Kingdom
heptalogy introduce interesting and mighty fantastic characters, both good 
and evil. Yet, it is the latter which enthral immediately; typically enough because of their 
repulsiveness. Influenced by the horror genre, Nix favours dark and gothic elements.
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Both 
impressive and alarming illustration of this demonstration of support are not only the 
unscrupulous necromancer Hedge, but also his minions, the Dead Hands. Either already dead 
or purposefully killed, these zombie-like creatures are mere tools, existing only for serving the 
necromancer. Comparable to the Morah in respect of purpose and haunting images, the Dead 
Hands can gather in great numbers in order to form an army of decomposing corpses.
Their reign of terror is opposed by the most outstanding character on the good side, 
the eponymous Abhorsen. His or her main task is to prevent necromancers from disturbing 
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Such as for instance Ende’s Ygramul die Viele in The Neverending Story (1979) or the Borg in Star Trek.
15
Nicholson, The Wind Singer, p. 292. This naming is possibly an ironic comment on or allusion to the 
demonisation of the enemy during the Cold War.
16
Garth Nix. Sabríel. London: HarperCollins, 2003 [1995]; Garth Nix. Lírael. London: HarperCollins, 2003 
[2001]; Garth Nix. Abhorsen. London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2004. [2003] 
17
The Gothic in children’s literature is examined in detail in Anna Jackson; Karen Coats; Roderick McGillis 
(Eds.) The Gothic in Children’s Literature: Haunting the Borders. New York: Routledge, 2008. 

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the peace of the dead,
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thus keeping the spiritual balance of the Old Kingdom. Support comes 
in the form of magical tools and artefacts, above all the seven bells on the Abhorsen’s belt. 
These bells, in ascending order from small and relatively weak to big and strong like organ 
pipes, carry the same names as the entities they stand for in the Old Kingdom,
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whose 
characteristics and abilities they possess. When working together, the bells as well as their 
personifications amalgamate and can unleash incredible power. Of this association, two bells 
and their respective entities are portrayed in detail.
The character Mogget alias Saraneth is a very powerful being.
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After a former 
incident, Mogget has been bound by co-entities with the help of magic Charter signs into the 
manifestation of a white cat. On the one hand, the cat’s collar symbolises this present 
domestication; on the other, it suggests an instant return to former power once this collar is 
cast off.
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His evil potential and his destructive streak are only controlled and suppressed, but 
not transformed. A cat is a very appropriate animal form to express the dichotomy between 
gentle companion and ferocious predator in just one being. So in order to hold Mogget’s stray 
and highly ambiguous character in check, much attention and caution are therefore necessary 
from the representatives of good entities. Acting as supervisor, the good entity Astarael, 
manifested as the Disreputable Dog, ensures that Mogget is not offered a chance to escape 
from his bondage. In his quality as decisive pointer, Mogget’s defecting to the evil side would 
irrevocably tip the balance in the wrong direction.
In the Abhorsen trilogy, Nix skilfully combines the dual traits of the two main magic 
entities, Mogget and the Disreputable Dog. Like this, the author builds up a strong tension 
between their animal and their magical side. As pets, their behavioural patterns are easily 
understandable. Taking up the common conception of cats as strong personalities; Nix 
endows the rogue Mogget with all the facets of a cat’s nature, from playful and appreciative to 
selfish and arrogant, from headstrong to self-confident and deceitful. By contrast, the 
Disreputable Dog stands for unreserved loyalty, combined with the canine protector-instinct, 
without forfeiting its dignity. In a way, their animal form serves as a mediator between their 
ancient magical and untameable power on the one hand and the comparably weak humans on 
the other hand.
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Compare Nix, Sabríel, pp. 27, 103, 200. 
19
For the seven names and their traits see Nix, Sabríel, p. 65.
20
Ibd., p. 92.
21
His true self is a “blazing, blue-white creature”. Nix, Sabríel, p. 143. 

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In Nix’s heptalogy The Keys to the Kingdom,
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the author establishes parallels 
between the plot, setting and the Christian story of creation. Heaven is presented in the form 
of The House. In contrast to the rather abstract celestial realm of the Bible, Nix drafts Heaven 
as a building, albeit with magical accessories. Epicentre of the Universe,
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The House is 
hierarchically structured like an office building, from its own administration over its various 
departments, distributed over several floors, to its employees, Denizens and even its own 
calendar. During the mysterious absence of the female Architect, the seven Weekdays have 
usurped her power, left behind in form of Her Will. Over the millennia, her seven trustees 
have high-handedly extended their authority, each taking over the complete control over their 
own area of The House. Their lust for power has developed a certain momentum, resulting in 
nepotism and general chaos. Consequently, the quest of the human pupil Arthur Penhaligon 
consists of putting a stop to the Weekdays’ machinations. For each defeated or reclaimed 
Morrow Day Arthur obtains one of the seven Keys and frees one more part of the Architect’s 
Will.
During his quest, the young boy moves through all the departments of The House and 
encounters many a fantastic being on his way. It seems that the further away from the Atrium 
of the Lower House, the more fantastic these creatures become. Mainly employed in the 
Lower House, the Piper’s Children only differ slightly from normal human offspring. 
Suspended in their natural growth and life expectancy, these eternal children are the life form 
which resembles most the main character’s image of man. Among the fantastic creatures he 
meets in The House are for example Nithlings, creatures made from Nothing, or Not-Horses, 
whose skin is made from flexible metal.
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Apart from the seven Weekdays, the most refined 
creatures of The House are their helpers. Each Weekday has at their disposition three personal 
assistants, Dawn, Noon and Dusk. The Weekdays and their assistants have adapted in 
appearance and nature to their respective sphere of control within the House.
In Germany, the bestselling children’s author Funke is above all known for her