I found a boxed set of 4 children's stories written by Alan Garner. These are bog standard classic British fantasies derived from folklore of the British Isles. What I find most interesting is that these stories each end quite abruptly at the climax showing that the initial problem that spurred the story has been addressed. No resolution, no wrap up, just mission accomplished, drop curtain.

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen was published in 1960 and features siblings Colin and Susan who have just arrived at the village of Alderley Edge in Cheshire, due south of Manchester, for an extended stay while their parents are out of the country. They immediately explore the woods of The Edge, a hilly area that includes abandoned mines and quarries just outside the village, and fall headlong into adventure involving the morthbrood (witches) headed by the Morrigan, svarts or svart-alfar (goblins) headed by Arthog and Slinkveal, the dwarves Fenodytree and Durathror and their fearsome swords Widowmaker and Dyrnwyn, the wizard Cadellin Silverbrow, Angharad Goldenhand (the Lady of the Lake) and various others. Everyone is seeking Firefrost, the weirdstone that powers the enchantment that keeps a king of yore with 149 of his valorous knights, all accompanied by pure white steeds all asleep until the final battle when they are needed. Cadellin is their eternal guardian and rescues the children from evil creatures, thus introducing High Magic into their existence as they seek to understand why the children are in danger. It's a blend of high fantasy, Celtic gods, and Arthurian legend by other names.

The Moon of Gomrath was published in 1963. Colin, Susan, Cadellin and the Morrigan are the only characters carried over from the first story as this book introduces a new cast inspired by a different set of legends. Colin and Susan are despondent that they've heard nothing from the wizard Cadellin since evil was vanquished and Firefrost returned. Susan seeks solitude and tranquility at the quarry pond. As she's ready to leave, she encounters a beautiful black pony that nudges her for a ride then jumps off the cliff and into the dark water (sounds like a kelpie!). Meanwhile, the dwarf Uthecar Hornskin reports that the Morrigan is not dead and must surely want revenge on the children for her earlier defeat. This time, the evil hordes are not the svart-alfar but the bodachs (bogeymen or bugbears) and palug-cats (giant cats). Once again, the the children are catapulted into danger and mystery, but this time they encounter Old Magic, via the hilltop balefires and the Wild Hunt. They also meet the lios-alfar (elves) who are helpful but only to a point and at a cost. Other legends that turn up are the Black Dog as the harbinger of death and the triple goddess manifested in 3 different women representing different life stages and cycles of the moon.

Elidor was published in 1965 and features four siblings, Roland the youngest, Helen, David, and Nicholas the oldest. They're sightseeing in Manchester and find themselves in an abandoned neighborhood that's being demolished. One by one, they go into the shell of a church and disappear. Thus begins this story of parallel worlds and intertwined fates. Malebron is king of Elidor, which has been overtaken by darkness and evil, its 4 Treasures lost. The 4 children are the only hope of recovering the Treasures and pushing back the darkness, and he uses the wrecked church as a portal to bring the children to Elidor to help him. Roland, the youngest, is the most powerful and the most willing to believe. Maybe the most powerful because he has the most belief and imagination because he still holds the most sense of wonder of childhood. The Treasures are a sword, a spear, a chalice, and a keystone. Their purpose is never explained because they are never really used in the story. They are simply the focus of interest by both heroes and villains, much like the weirdstone in the first book.

The Owl Service was published in 1967 and is set in Wales. Alison and Roger are teenage step-siblings whose parents have remarried to create this blended family. They are vacationing with their parents at the family summer cottage. Gwyn is the teenage son of the housekeeper who has never before lived in this home valley of his mother though he grew up with all the stories and history of the place. The three of them alternately work together and are at odds as strange things start happening. Alison hears an insistent and ever louder scratching in the attic over her room, but investigation reveals only dishes with a beautiful floral pattern that creates a hidden owl motif that Alison compulsively traces onto paper and so it begins. The three become the magical focus of a cyclical resurgence of the tragic love triangle of the Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd. The key part of the legend is that Blodeuwedd was a woman created from flowers to become a bride and then transformed into an owl after attempting with her lover to murder her husband. When her magical essence returns to this secluded valley, will she manifest with the gentleness of flowers or the predatory nature of owls, and what toll will it take on the residents and descendants of that fateful place/tale? ( )