Victor Kelleher

A young boy Quen is tasked by his mother to journey into the great forest Thual, to save the Ten Villages from the domination of the pitiless Mollag.

I re-read this book after decades. Kelleher's fantasy worlds stand up, because the protagonists make choices that aren't always the best ones, and deal with the consequences. This story particularly is about changing one's frame of mind. Although the Forest of Thual is vast and the merciless Mollag are always hunting Quen, through several trying episodes (I had forgotten some details such as the Alan Garner -like Tunnel of Black Water, a squirmy and uncomfortable underground section), his journey is as much an inner one. He learns the nature of the forest, atones for killing within it and eventually achieves his goal of meeting the Wise Ones. That meeting leads to further choices and a powerful -- too powerful -- acquisition of the Eye of Desire.… (more)

A fascinating post-post-apocolyptic YA book (before YA was even a thing) set in Sydney, Australia. "Taronga" follows the journey of Ben (a young man who has a psychic connections to animals) as he attempts to find his place in the new world. Ben eventually makes his way to the old Taronga Park Zoo, where his connection with Ellie, an aboriginal girl, and the animals, give him hope in his otherwise bleak existence.

I really enjoyed the book and loved the retro eighties feel - the cover of my book is a "Ken Done" illustration, and if you took the path taken by Ben from the Blue Mountains, through Windsor and into Sydney these days, there'd be very little bush and loads of outer suburban housing - ain't progress grand!… (more)

A tale for young adults in which a young man, Tom Roland, experiences vivid dreams which seem to have effects on his waking existence. His whole town is embroiled in his dream-quest. Increasingly the waking world and the dream intersect. The book balances the dream world and the waking world, each hovering on the edge of each other. It is well-written and tense. It reminded me of Alan Garner's work, where ancient pagan entities threaten to intrude into a world similar to but not exactly like ours.… (more)