THE KINGDOM AND THE CAVE

If Joan Aiken chooses to indulge in a Hobbity/Prydainy pastiche one might; expect her to have something more than imitation in mind. But though the route from kingdom to cave and back again must be judged a comic success, Aiken hardly extends — and only now and again hints at parody of — the familiar themes and cast. The fairytale kingdom of Astalon is threatened with attack by the Under People who live in a land reached through a secret cave, and with the king in despair the prince Michael and the cat Mickle are left to combat the enemy. With intermittent help from the old mare Minerva, a wheezing, whistling water rat named Nicodemus (who teaches Michael the Universal Animal Language), the giant Down Under earthworm Glob and the captured sorcerer Borlock, Michael recaptures the stolen Astalon diamond whose rays turn the Under People armies back into fish. The diamond's magic is somewhat less impressive than the ease with which Aiken dips into the storyteller's bag of tricks to add a new character or twist that will keep Michael's quest in motion. Whether one takes Astalon at face value or reads for the witty asides that are buried here and there (the evil governess Miss Simkin came well recommended by the Le Fays) this is an enjoyable if not ground-breaking expedition.