I just finished two very interesting books by British author Chris Wooding. Not only does he have fantastic writing skills, but he is only two years older than I am, and way more accomplished. On one hand, that kind of bums me out, but on the other, it gives me hope. People my age can be successful (and I’m talking success NOT of the Lindsay Lohan variety) and smart and talented…ooo, it’s almost too much to take in. Anyway, to the books.

The first was Poison, which falls into the fairy tale/fantasy stuff that I’ve been reading. It’s rather meta in a Hamletesque play-within-a-play sort of way, except this is obviously a book-within-a-book situation. In this tale we meet Poison, a sullen girl who lives with her family in a bleak and dangerous marsh. She is unhappy, but stuck with her life, until one morning the phaeries steal her baby sister away. Determined to rescue Azalea, Poison sets out to find the Phaerie Lord, and meets an interesting assortment of characters along the way: a bone eating witch, an evil fairy lord, a terrifying spider woman, a most unusual man, a scared young girl, and a very unnatural cat, among others. As she faces one trial after another, Poison comes to realize that the quest isn’t about Azalea at all; this is Poison’s story, and she holds the key to the whole adventure. A really cool read.

I followed it up with The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray, Wooding’s critically acclaimed gothic horror novel, which is being adapted into a film. Set in an alternate, 1900s-esque London, this is the story of a world gone wrong. Thaniel Fox is a young but accomplished wych-hunter, who seeks out and destroys the demons that haunt London’s streets. One night during his hunt, he discovers a beautiful, mad girl and feels compelled to bring her home. With the help of his friend Cathaline, Thaniel saves the Alaizabel from a fever, only to find that she is afflicted with something much, much worse. She brings out all of Thaniel’s protective feelings, and along with Cathaline and a motley assortment of London’s finest, he sets out to save Alaizabel and London from the grip of the Fraternity, a powerful, evil cult determined to unleash hell on earth. A little bit chilling, a lot gripping. I recommend it.