Reviews

Children of the Stones by Trevor Ray, Jeremy Burnham

lafee's review against another edition

4.0

This is a novelisation of the 1977 TV series of the same name, one of my faves. I generally find novelisations of TV shows a little lacking because the visual doesn't translate well to text. In this case it's difficult to convey the uncanniness of the show without experiencing its tense atmosphere, conveyed through long, quiet shots of the village that houses the eponymous stones, but other than that the writing was pretty good, and gave some extra insights into the motivations of the characters.

kateofmind's review against another edition

4.0

Nobody does audio drama like the BBC. Everything about this production is top hole, or close -- except sometimes all that quality piles on a bit too much at the expense of the listener understanding developments in the story. Confounding this a bit -- the "or close" is the use of a few actors in more than one role without quite making them sound different enough from one another, which also muddles the story a bit. The individual performances, though, especially the children, are exceptional. The story is a fun blend of folk and cosmic horror mixed with some great and emotionally resonant character drama. I've found the 1977 TV adaptation on YouTube so I'll be checking that out soon to see if that clears up a question or two I was left with about the narrative.

sirchutney's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Children of the Stones was a 1977 landmark kids series. It was never repeated. The story is John Wyndham like.  Astrophysicist Adam Brake arrives with his son, Matthew at the tiny village of Millbury. He's there for to research the strange stone circle that encompasses the entire village. Stranger still are the weirdly cheerful villagers with their fixed smiles and greeting of 'Happy Day'. Shades of the Wicker Man abound when they start to understand that the circle itself holds people captive. And the mysterious Hendrick, a prominent figure in the village, is behind it all.

Children of the Stones is intelligent, atmospheric and genuinely unnerving tale. Not only that but it incorporates complex concepts. Things like 'Time Circles', 'Psychic Bubbles' and 'Time Rifts'- tricky subjects for adults let alone a story supposedly aimed at children.