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Title: The Gnole by Alan Aldridge ISBN: 0-7493-0990-3 Publisher: Arrow (A Division of Random House Group) Pub. Date: 07 November, 1991 Format: Paperback

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Average Customer Rating: 4.7 (10 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Read it,you'll never forget Fungle the gnole!
Comment: Fungle the gnole is not only an ideal being, it opens the door of every fantasy. Everything is possible! Fungle gives us confidence in believing in what one cannot see or touch. When you read the book, magic does exist, it enters your heart and goes to your room. Pilar Barrera Wey.

Rating: 5
Summary: gnoles of the world unite!
Comment: the book, the gnole, is one of the best i have read in a long time. it was lent by a friend and i wanted to get a copy of my own and have discovered that it is out of print and very hard to find even in second-hand bookstores. (hint, hint to the publishers!)

the philosophy of the book is one of respecting and cherishing nature. take only what you need and use what you take. be kind to all living things. respect others, show courtesy even when it is not shown to you.

briefly it is about a creature whose ancestors once populated the applachian mountains in the south-eastern us. they guarded knowledge until the time came for it to be used. now there are only two gnoles left there and they must stop some evil creatures from making use of the sacred knowledge to do harm.

a wonderful story for children of all ages. also the illustrations must be seen. i have seldom been so captivated. i heartily recommend this book to anyone, any age, any time, any place.

Rating: 3
Summary: Some nice ideas but inconsistent
Comment: Hard to grade and classify this one - as close as I can remember is Duncton Wood, although there are X-files type conspiracy and supernatural/horror elements..

Fungle the Gnole is the ultimate new age environmental Dalai Lama. He's a laughing rustic who benignly cuts through pretensions. Almost (but not quite) cloying sentimentality in presenting the beatific integration with nature, various spirits of the wood, and with the simple community. Also a background something akin to the sadness of the Elves gradually giving over to the teaming nature-despoiling chaotic spread of humanity.

Starts setting up a standard fantasy baddie-goodie sorcery story (although the baddie is more from the horror genre, being a demon and all - a strength of the book is its underlying pantheon), then cuts to a million pop-culture references as Fungle encounters TV personalities and evil covert Govt. departments. Some OK playing with the innocent's alternative perspective on our everyday, but it's basically pretty self-indulgent.

But finally Aldridge lost me with his rough-diamond underground gangsters: we're supposed to enjoy their high spirits, but the fact that they enjoy throwing defenceless people to be torn to pieces by crocodiles as an afternoon's amusement made me unclear on the difference between them and the villain. Moreover one minute our hero can effortlessly use telepathy, astral travelling, levitation and sorcery, the next he's inexplicably running scared from any old security guard or mugger.

Some original ideas, generally capably presented, an OK overall plot/world, and some likeable central characters - but the book is inconsistent thematically and qualitatively. A bit lax in bothering for coherency: characters are added fairly randomly as we go on.