Kessman weaves an engrossing and wildly irresistible tale of a boy named Colin, who finds himself tied to the Tanglewood by a pact made with Ailil, the King of the Pixies. Colin's childhood curiosity entices him to bravely enter the 'wood one night in search of a strange figure. When he finds a ring of dancing children, Colin gleefully joins in and spends the night holding hands with his newly formed friends, while dancing to an infectious melody.
Colin awakes the next morning to strange silver eyes beaming down at him. The eyes belong to Ailfrid, one of the Tanglewood's fey inhabitants from the night before. Ailfrid convinces Colin to follow him to Bairtlemead Muffingrow's cottage for a cup of the finest blackberry tea ever made. On the way through the tranquil forest, Colin has a chilling encounter with a group of evil-intentioned pixies. Unfortunately for Colin, he did not learn his lesson. On his second trip to Tanglewood, Colin is accosted by the vicious little creatures again and taken to the Below. Colin manages to escape the domain of the pixies to Bairtlemead's cottage, but only just. Bairtlemead takes time to explain to Colin that the boy has some fey blood running through his veins, and given time, Colin might make a powerful druid.
Ailil, King of the Pixies, appears at Bairtlemead's door and demands that Colin be returned to him and the Below. Bairtlemead refuses this arrangement, but Colin is forced to strike a bargain with Ailil before the boy is able to leave the 'wood and be with his family again. Colin is obliged to travel to Blasted Burrs, the home of the brownies, and steal the Lon Dubh whistle for Ailil and his pixies.
Ailfrid cannot leave his friend to undertake this task alone, and decides to come along, however, and so does an elf girl named Deidre. Colin enjoys having the comfort of his friends along, but is bothered by Ailfrid's and Deidre's constant bickering. The three must set aside their differences and figure out how they are going to obtain the whistle and prevent the war it will start when the brownies realize it is missing!
Interested fans can visit Scott's site at http://www.talesoftanglewood.com for a three chapter preview of his book "Tales of Tanglewood".
