Editing The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (section)

==Reception==
In 1970 ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' was given the [[Lewis Carroll Shelf Award]] by the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3417000061/garner-alan-1934.html |website=encyclopedia.com |title=Garner, Alan 1934– |publisher=Cengage Learning |access-date=8 March 2015}}</ref>

===The author===

Upon publication it was a critical success,<ref name="Philip 12"/><ref name="Lake 2010 317-318"/> but later Garner had begun to find fault, referring to it in a 1968 interview as "a fairly bad book" and in 1970 as "one of the worst books published in the last twenty years... technically... inept".<ref name="Philip 1981. p. 23"/>

===Literary critics===

Literary critic Neil Philip devoted a chapter to both ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' and ''The Moon of Gomrath'' in his book ''A Fine Anger: A Critical Introduction to the Work of Alan Garner'' (1981). He noted that it had become "fashionable to condemn Garner's early work, perhaps because of his own dismissive attitude to it."<ref name="Philip 1981. p. 23"/> He argued that the two books "may be flawed", but that "they are arguably Garner's most popular books; certainly it is on them that his reputation as a purely children's author rests."<ref name="Philip 22">[[#Phi81|Philip 1981]]. p. 22.</ref> Philip argued that ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' suffers from a "lack of characterisation"; its "most serious flaw". Yet he also felt that the book had much to commend it, with a narrative that while "unstructured", was "gripping and enthralling", holding the reader's attention and keeping them "guessing what is going to happen next."<ref name="Philip 24">[[#Phi81|Philip 1981]]. p. 24.</ref> He commented on "Garner's assured, poetic command of English", with a writing style that is "more fleshy, more prolix than the pared-down economy of Garner's later style".<ref name="Philip 24"/>

In the 2005 book ''Horror: Another 100 Best Books'', edited by Stephen Jones and Kim Newman, Muriel Gray's article for ''The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' described it with expressions such as "truly gripping," "beautifully crafted" and "a young person's introduction to horror."{{citation needed|date= January 2022}}

===Other fantasy writers===

The book has received high praise from numerous other fantasy writers.<ref>[https://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/Alan-Garner/The-Weirdstone-of-Brisingamen.html Fantasy Book Review, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner], ''Fantasy Book Reviews''.  Retrieved 26 September 2021.</ref> Young adult fantasy writer Garth Nix indicated its impact on his own writing, saying "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is one of the most important books in children’s fantasy. It has been an enormous inspiration to me and countless other writers, and is as enjoyable and fascinating now as it was when I first read it, wide-eyed and mesmerised at the age of ten."

Philip Pullman also gave it high praise, stating "Alan Garner is indisputably the great originator, the most important British writer of fantasy since Tolkien."  Neil Gaiman has observed that "Alan Garner’s fiction is something special. Garner’s fantasies were smart and challenging, based in the here and now, in which real English places emerged from the shadow of folklore, and in which people found themselves walking, living and battling their way through the dreams and patterns of myth."