Has anybody ever heard of a series of novels about the child hypnotist named Molly Moon?

The reason I ask is because I had the somewhat amusing pleasure of reading the first of the series a couple of years back. Although the string of books following in the footsteps of the Harry Potter-ish craze - subsequently being turned into film dynasties such as the upcoming Spiderwick Chronicles or even Narnia - there was a fresh, raw quality in the prose of the Molly Moon novel that caught my eye.

Of course, by that I mean it didn’t sound as chock-filled with marketing as the subsequent Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket novels were. Not that I didn’t like them - I waited for The Deathly allows just like everybody else - but from a crazy writer’s point of view, the twists and turns of Molly Moon’s own adventures were far more interesting, since they came from a low fantasy point of view.

Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism introduces a huge chunk of the main cast in one go. Here we get to know the inimitable Molly Moon, her dog Petula, Rocky Scarlet the young singing prodigy, and Lucy Logan, the librarian (who turns out to be more than meets the eye, by the end of the novel). The plot is simple: Molly Moon is scared out of her wits by living in Hardwick House, the orphanage she is in. There’s the fear of being adopted by a horrible family; conversely, there’s the fear of not being adopted at all. This stress provides Molly with the drive to run off during one of the orphanage’s outdoor activities, leading to her discovery of a book about hypnotism.

That one thing about Molly’s hypnotic abilities is what got my attention. While everybody else is trying to outwit evil creatures of magical origins (like boggarts), Molly’s busy trying to hypnotise people to get ahead in life. She gains fame, fortune, and eventually, happiness through her abilities.

The character of Molly’s a lot more realistic - and therefore, more realistically flawed - than Harry Potter, the Grace children, or even the Narnia kids. The only chronicled children’s stories that come close to that personal quality of their personalities would be the children from Lemony Snicket’s books.

Not that the book doesn’t have its own share of troublesome points. Lots of readers might find the rather fast-paced plot a bit unnerving, or the lack of a centralized conflict weird. But the novel makes up for that with a lot of character and charm oozing from the zany storyline and the character of Molly Moon herself.

The books are written by Georgia Byng, and published by Harper Collins.

I finally managed to watch Ringing Bell on video the other day, and I have to say that it lives up to my expectations - and more.

Some of the reviews about the movie aren’t 100% spot-on, though. It doesn’t start out as a happy-go-lucky film with that eventually darkens - there’re portents of the rather depressing outcome of the film right off the bat, with the show’s intro song, which is reminiscent of old folk hits from the likes of “The Brothers Four.” The animation, as I mentioned in my other post, is top-notch, for its day, with very few rehashed sequences, even in the scenes involving the wolf and Chirin’s training (and there were plenty of actions scenes there).

But the best part about the film is that it isn’t your regular kid’s movie. There are lessons to be learned, sure, but the morals are delivered with a harsh series of examples, from the importance of listening to your mother, to the deeper lessons about life and survival.

Given that, I’m pretty sure that kids will have a hard time relating to the film. Chirin’s transformation from a lamb who falls asleep in the oddest places into a bloodthirsty ram who can dispatch a pack of dogs with no trouble whatsoever can be a bit confusing too; it begs the question of why the hero would choose a violent path.

Of course, the reasons are given throughout the film, but kids might have a hard time getting it completely. Which is the film’s only bad point.

The film’s so starkingly Japanese despite the obvious Disney elements (in the design of the animals, especially the minor animals). The wolf is a samurai, while the young Chirin is the Japanese anime depiction of lively young boys filled with unsettling - if a bit uncertain - courage.

I’m glad I finally got to see this gem of a movie. It’s as unsettling as Grave of the Fireflies without the gritty parts, which makes it an entirely easier film to stomach. Be warned: some parts can make you cry.

Finally, we reach the end of the Chronicles of Prydain. The final book in the series, the simply-named The High King, ends the entire series with an all-out war between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

The plot is rather simple. War is brewing throughout Prydain, and Arawn the Death-lord of Annuvin is on the move. After stealing the enchanted blade Dyrnwyn from Gwydion, things start looking rather grim for Prydain. Taran and his friends now have to muster a force powerful enough to go against an army of traitors and Arawn’s very own army of cauldron-born soldiers.

This is, without a doubt, the best book in the entire chronicles of Prydain. The stories take on a truly epic quality, what with the various campaigns and strategies Gwydion and Taran take up against the armies of Arawn. The story also begins on a rather dark vein, with the immediate arrival of Fflewdur Fflam and a bloodied Gwydion, bearing ill tidings. Hen Wen, the oracular pig, does no better, giving out prophecies that told tales of foreboding, at best.

There’s also a huge menagerie of characters in this one novel. A whole host of major and minor characters from all of the books throughout the series make an appearance in this novel, offering aid one way or the other. King Smoit, for instance, and Glew the eternally morose giant, arrive to help out in the campaigns. Readers are also introduced to the politics within Prydain, from the way the sons of Don conduct their businesses, to the backstabbings within the royalty.

The most interesting part of the book is the way the entire situation seems hopeless. Major characters - or characters you’d think would actually matter to the author - are killed off in due course (I wouldn’t mention names, but there are quite a few), which surprisingly moves the story forward. And there are some characters that you wouldn’t expect to reappear, Glew and Llyan being the least of them.

One thing I have to say about The High King is that it was the first Prydain novel I ever read - and I didn’t have a hard time understanding everything that was happening within the story. The book, while part of an entirely bigger series, can actually stand alone, and the elements of adventure and camaraderie isn’t lost. So while I normally wouldn’t recommend reading the last book in a series without having read the first few books of the same series, the situation is different. If you like reading the best book in a series first, then by all means, start with The High King. This is one book that any reader can undoubtedly enjoy.