Slathbog S Gold

Original publication and copyright date: 2009.

Sixteen-year-old wizard-in-training Alex Taylor and his band of fellow adventurers battle a goblin army, navigate an enchanted forest, and try to solve the sphinx's riddle in their quest to find the lost Horn of Moran and return it to Alusia before the nation erupts in war.

Newly-named wizard Alexander Taylor joins a familiar company of adventurers on a new quest to discover the fate of the legendary dwarf Albrek, find his mythical tomb, and locate the lost talisman that could be the key needed to save the entire dwarf realm.

“In this slow-simmering but rewarding retelling, first-novelist Bunce presents an innovative interpretation of Rumpelstiltskin.” —Horn Book Winner of the William C. Morris Award for a Young Adult Debut An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A Smithsonian Notable Book An Oprah’s Book Club Kids’ Reading List Teen Selection The gold thread promises Charlotte Miller a chance to save her family’s beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, jobs for her townsfolk, security against her grasping uncle—maybe even true love. To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past—secrets ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte’s mill, her family, her love—what do those matter to a stranger who can spin straw into gold? This is an award-winning and wholly original retelling of “Rumplestiltskin.” “Set in a rural valley in the late 1700s, this reworking of the ‘Rumplestiltskin’ story includes ghosts, witchcraft, elements of Georgian society, and much earlier folk magic in the guise of a novel of manners.” —School Library Journal “A Curse Dark as Gold beats the hell out of any fantasy novel I’ve read this year. Her heroine/narrator is immensely appealing; the atmosphere of a world on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution is completely believable; and the suspense of the story builds so craftily that I started taking notes on just how she does it.” —Peter S. Beagle, World Fantasy Award-winning author “An intelligent, original, and interesting new take on an old fairy tale, and a marvelous debut novel.” —Teen Book Review

Wizard-in-training Alex Taylor must help his mentor Whalen track down Whalen's nephew Jabez who was once being trained by Whalen but who now has chosen a path into dark magic. -- Worldcat.

This is a Christmas story. The mansion of the title is Weightman Mansion. It is not in the most fashionable area of town but it is evident that whoever owns it has money. It is a short story with a strong moral and uses the two main characters, Harold Weightman the son of Mr. Weightman, and the patriarch himself. They are used to point up the difference between what would now be called 'virtue signaling' and doing good with genuine and sincere intent.

When Alexander Taylor, wizard and warrior, is summoned to the land of Nezza in order to save a friend in need, he finds a country where war is a part of daily life, where adventurers are imprisoned by the Brotherhood, and where all magic is believed to be black.

"Michael and his friends learn that returning to a normal life is not only more difficult than they imagined, but that normal doesn't last. Like the mythical Hydra, cutting off the head of the global Elgen only created more enemies"--