Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Features a fantasy set in the west of Ireland which tells of the coming of the Great Queen who is bent on bringing destruction to the world. Only Pidge and Brigit can stop her and their task seems impossible as they're constantly trailed by the queen's hounds. But they're aided in their quest by a host of willing helpers.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

A battle between ancient forces of good and evil ensues after a boy innocently opens up a crumbling manuscript in an Irish bookshop; PW called this fantasy "uproariously funny, scary, suspenseful [and] entirely original." Ages 11-up. (July) o (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5-8 After he unwittingly releases an evil force long imprisoned in an old Irish manuscript, Pidge and his little sister, Brigit, are drawn into a series of adventures to help the good god, the Dagda, destroy this evil before it is found and used against the world by the Morrigan, Celtic tripartite goddess of battle. The Morrigan, in both hilarious and terrifying personae, is seen mostly in mod guise as a pair of motorcycle-riding hags, who set up a command post in Galway to observe and meddle with the action. (In one terrific touch, their fingerprint, suspended in air, becomes elsewhere a maze to entrap the children.) Their mean sense of humor lets them create a ``watch frog'' (who speaks in bog-Irish malapropisms); comb their blue and red hair with a live hedgehog; and make chess moves by sticking pins into chess pieces given temporary life. And constantly, their shape-changing, flick-tongued, slyand dominatedhounds track the children, but they may not kill unless they see their quarry run. The unfolding quest baffles and challenges the pair as it will readers, as shapes shift and dreams take on independent life. The writing is wonderful, but inventive to distraction; one can lose track of names and allusions to earlier events as episodes multiply, and some of the episodes seem superfluous. (The glossary is for traditional material only.) Large collections should have this book, by a new Irish writer, and those libraries with dedicated readers of fantasy should try it. Ruth M. McConnell, San Antonio Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Pidge, 10, unwittingly unleashes an ancient, evil serpent named Olc-Glas in modern Ireland. He and feisty little sister Brigit, aided by the Good Dagda, then strive with the Evil Morrigan to recover an ancient talisman that can be used to control Olc-Glas. Pidge finds Olc-Glas ensnared in an ancient book. Two comic-opera witches arrive on a motorcycle, followed by their dreadful hounds. The hags and hounds attempt to recover Olc-Glas; when joined by the third, most evil hag, the chase becomes earnest. Pidge, however, has been contacted by Dagda and given magic gifts; he and Brigit imprison Olc-Glas and set off to find a drop of the ancient Morrigan's blood. Aided by an astonishing array of creatures--bumbling frogs, heroic earwigs, argyle-knitting spiders, a prolix weather vane, and more--they escape, rescue the blood drop, and defeat the evil hordes. This long story is full of charm and invention, but it vacillates between slapstick and adventure. The children are impossibly precocious and the magical rescues begin to get boring, but the story keeps moving. Some readers will bog down, but those with an interest in words and myth will be captivated. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

PatO'Shea.