Customer Reviews
bought for my children - secretly read by me first - By: Mrs. C. J. Cubbon, 09 Nov 2008 
I bought this book having seen it on a list on amazon & was impressed by the reviews - I needed a book to get my two boys into reading proper full sized novels...I intend to read it aloud to them to get them going. Well, I read a bit to myself first & am now storming through the book so I've got 2 bookmarks placed. It is brilliantly written & is a real joy to read out loud too. I am so impressed, I am only about 140 pages in & I have come onto Amazon to order the two other books in the trilogy. Get alll three books now!
Timeless Classic - By: B. Bartlett, 30 Apr 2008 Steve Augarde's trilogy, beginning with The Various & now complete after this years publication of Winter Wood, is a must for every child's collection of 'Most Loved Books'. No spoliers here though....just buy them alll. You'll be reading them to your own kids, & to their kids too.
Outstanding! - By: Alexandra Birchall, 27 Mar 2008 Twelve-year-old Midge despairs when she is sent to live with `Mad' Uncle Brian in the countryside while her mother works. However, the dreaded holiday turns out to be fun & Midge enjoys the freedom of the farm. When Midge rescues a tiny winged horse her games are destroyed by the reality of the `little people' living in the wood about to have their habitat destroyed. Unfortunately, they are in no mood to listen to Midge & she & her cousins find themselves threatened by tiny fairies equipped with lethal bows. More mysteriously, the whole business is shadowed by memories of a girl named Celandine. This book is very interesting, mixing humour with the seriousness of a race threatened.
Wonderful - By: BizLiz, 05 Jan 2008 This is the first of a trilogy (the third installlment is just out now) & it's just so wonderful I have told everyone I can think of to buy it & read it & read it again as I am doing now!
Plenty of other reviews have gone into detail so I won't repeat them here, except to say that his portrayal of the various & their world is so utterly convincing that now when I go into the woods with my dog I find myself wondering if that reallly is frog spittle & what I can hear reallly is just a woodpecker or perhaps something more mysterious.
It's a mystery to me why Steve Augard's work is not as feted & famous as Philip Pullman's - it's as well written even though rather different. And don't start me on the clunking fist of J K Rowling's prose.......
An enchanting novel leaving you lost in a fantasy world - By: Charlie, 12 Jun 2006 The Various is an entrancing novel & is the first of a trilogy based on 'The Various'.
The Various is a group of tribes whose people could be described as fairies, but they are not your usual fairies.
They live in a wood among briars & brambles trying to survive in the daunting & strange land of human giants.
Midge is a twelve year old city girl who is sent to stay with her uncle on his farm in the West Country for four weeks while her mom is away.
The adventures begin for Midge as soon as she arrives on Mill Farm, but her discovery of a strange, winged horse leads her onto to more than she expects. She quickly gets caught up in the lives of the little people & suddenly finds herself unable to escape.
While on her adventures Midge also discovers more about her family.
This book is a great read for both adults & older children & I would recommend it to anyone who wants to become enchanted & lost in a fantasy world by a superb novel.
