Books

Here read about Nigel’s children’s story ‘Goblins Don’t Scare Us’ and fantasy novel ‘world of legends.com’

 
"Goblins Don't Scare Us" is the story of young Prince Tristan, whose parents have gone off on a quest and left him, an eleven year old boy, in charge of the kingdom. And then one day an alarming new tutor, Dr Bolgin, arrives, saying that he has been sent by Tristan's parents. He is only about a metre high and has large ears, large feet and a pointed nose. And what do you know, he is accompanied by a whole band of soldiers who look the same! In fact, Prince Tristan is subject to a goblin takeover. Dr Bolgin is aided in his endeavours by the Black Talon, the punning leader of a band of verminous ravens. But Tristan has friends too. One is his beautiful, if difficult, French cat, Madame Minette, who has never been fooled by Dr Bolgin for a moment. She seeks the advice of Theodosius, tawny (owl) at law, on whether she may reveal to Tristran that animals can speak to humans in certain circumstances and so reveal what is going on. Madame Minette and Theodosius help Tristan in his double struggle, both with the goblins and the bad side of his own nature. Tristan is further assisted, after a fashion, by an absent minded witch and Percival, a nervous and clumsy pigeon, who in many ways turns out to be the real hero of this story.

"Goblins Don't Scare Us" was first written by Nigel Osner as a children's book called "Magic in Ravenswood", published by Heinemann

'--good marks for Magic in Ravenswood, the story of young Prince Tristan rescued from a goblin takeover by Theodosius, the not totally wise owl, an inefficient but friendly witch and a feather-brained - yes! - pigeon. The aristocratic cat is also on his side, but prefers a certain aloofness from anything disagreeable. All the characters are well-defined, the ravens of the wood being a nasty, tough crowd. There is enough irony to give it strength to deal with a traditional situation without going soft or silly.’   Naomi Mitchison in the Times Educational Supplement 

'I liked Magic in Ravenswood by Nigel Osner,  the witty story of a young prince's battle against his evil goblin tutor has a lawyer owl, a bumbling pigeon and a gang of outrageously punning , thuggish ravens.'  David Twiston Davies in the Daily Telegraph

'Theodosius the town owl was so wise that his doorsign said "Tawny at Law".  The beastly ravens however worked by rule of claw and in Magic in Ravenswood --- Nigel Osner's clever prose relates how the owl and the pussycat aided by a simple pigeon beat the goblins.'  Tania Plowden in the Yorkshire Post

Nigel will shortly be publishing the story again under its current title.

Please turn to the MUSICALS page to read about "Goblins Don't Scare Us" the musical.

Illustrations by Robert Wilson

This is the story of Henry, a self-centred student, and two worlds.  One world is the home of all legends. The other is ours. The trouble really starts when Rumpelstiltskin and a very youthful spin doctor swap worlds. The spin doctor tries to help some of legend’s well known bad guys improve their image. Rumpelstiltskin offers the Chancellor of the Exchequer the possibility of limitless gold. The fantasy world can be seen through a web site. Ultimately the barrier between both worlds starts to break down and a reluctant Henry has to become a big enough hero to set up a new legend of his own, one strong enough to get the fantasy world back on course.

The story can be purchased on amazon either as a paperback or on Kindle. Please go to the special world of legends site www.worldoflegends.com . There you can read:

BOOKS