The Last of the High Kings - Kate Thompson

Last of the High Kings is sequel of sorts to Kate Thompson’s first novel, The New Policeman. While Kings does reintroduce us to the Liddy family, it can also be read as a stand-alone tale, and is a very quick read at that.

This is the tale of JJ Liddy and his family, and their beautiful home in Kinvara, Ireland. JJ is not the most reliable of men, perhaps because of a journey he made in his youth, to Tir na n’Og, the land of eternal youth. JJ returned from that land to become a musician, marry Aisling and build a life with their four children, Hazel, Jenny, Donal and Aidan. All of their children are special in their own way, but Jenny is particularly unique. She never wears shoes, often forgets to go to school, and spends much of time up on the mountainside, having conversations with a ghost and a goat, the latter of whom turns out to be a puca. Both the ghost and the puca have their own stories, which come together in the most surprising and frightening of ways, leaving not only the Liddy’s but the whole of humankind in danger. It is left up to Jenny to decide the fate of all involved, with the help of Aengus Og of the Tuatha De Danann, and to discover where her true destiny lies.

The best word I have seen describing Last of the High Kings, and I can’t remember where I saw it (!), is whimsical. This book is full of whimsy! And whimsy of the subtlest and gentlest kind. There’s that word gentle again, I seem to be either using it a lot recently, or reading a lot of gentle books… My point being, Last of the High Kings is a nice book, in the truest sense of the word. In all honesty, I thought this would be a silly, fun read, and don’t get me wrong, it was fun, but I was pleasantly surprised by the book’s intelligence, warmth and humour. I became very fond of the Liddy family, especially Jenny’s somewhat forgetful and wonderfully capricious father JJ, and her calm, gentle (there’s that word again), musically inclined brother, Donal.

I highly recommend this as a wonderful read for child and adult alike and particularly enjoyable for anyone with an interest in Irish history, folklore and faerie.