The Last of the High Kings
by by Kate Thompson
The Last of the High Kings is a companion novel to The New Policeman, winner of the Guardian Fiction Prize and the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award, both in 2005. And, it is every bit as beguiling and magical as its predecessor. JJ Liddy, the teenage protagonist of The New Policeman, is now an adult. Though world-famous for his fiddle-playing, he lives a quiet life at home in rural Ireland with his wife and children whenever possible.
The story touches in different ways upon all three of JJ's oldest children, but particularly on eleven-year-old Jenny, who just seems... odd. School is like a prison to her, and she can't bear to wear shoes. She's dreamy, not quite of this world, and her best friend seems to be a white goat which is often seen walking with her up in the hills.
As the story goes on, we realise that Jenny is a fairy changeling, and the goat is a puca, a sort of nature spirit. The puca has its own dark reasons for gaining Jenny's trust - something to do with the lonely ghost that guards an ancient secret on top of a local mountain. At the same time, nine-year-old Doral is friends with Mikey Cullen, an elderly fiddle-player who wants only to climb the mountain one last time before he dies. Doral will help him however he can, not realising that he's helping to play out an age-old conflict.
The Last of the High Kings has a complex, many-threaded storyline, and is difficult to encapsulate briefly. However, it's never hard to follow, and the storylines all come together beautifully at the end. As in The New Policeman, the sense that magic is real is utterly believable, and makes this a compelling read.
My one quibble with the story was that I just couldn't believe in the deal that JJ and his wife had made with the fairies, as it seemed unbelievable to me that any woman would have gone along with it. However, this comes out gradually as the story goes on, and by the time I realised what it was, I was already so hooked that it hardly mattered.
I love all of Kate Thompson's work that I've read, and The Last of the High Kings was no exception - I wolfed it down in one sitting, relishing every word. Able readers of eleven who enjoy fantasy with a real-life feel will be mesmerised. Thoroughly recommended.
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