Cold Tom

Last updated
Cold Tom
Cold Tom (Prue novel).jpg
Author Sally Prue
LanguageEnglish
Genre Fantasy novel
Publisher Oxford University Press
Publication date
31 January 2002
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
Pages160 pp (first edition, paperback)
ISBN 0-19-271887-8
OCLC 48066457

Cold Tom is a fantasy novel by Sally Prue, published on January 31, 2002 by Oxford University Press and aimed at teens and young adults. Cold Tom won the Branford Boase Award and the Smarties Prize Silver Award both in 2002.

Contents

Plot summary

Tom is an elf who lives with his tribe in the woods away from the "demons" in the city. He is treated with contempt due to his clumsiness and poor hearing. Tom is aware his hearing and sight appear to be going. He almost allows a group of demons to discover the tribe and fearful runs away to the demon city, which is in fact a city of humans and is soon discovered by a young "demon" named Anna. Tom begins to quickly resent the girl, thinking that she is stubby, loud, stupid, and dumb. Also, he cannot understand Anna's attachment to her family and pet, Sophie. In essence, Anna represents everything the elves are not: ungraceful and loving. Tom, like all of the other elves, does not care about other people or animals, but simply about surviving. Later, when Tom meets Anna's half brother, Joe, things grow worse. The emotionally hardened and distant Joe sees to testing Tom's abilities. At first, Joe just tests Tom's weight and body temperature, which is under freezing. But, Joe then becomes fascinated with Tom's elfin ability to become invisible by calling on the stars. When Joe forces Tom to try to become invisible while Tom is in a weakened conditions, the tool shed Tom has been living in bursts up in flames. Tom flees, but does not get far. He is found by Anna and Joe's snooping neighbor, Edie. Edie takes Tom into her home, though he resents her help. She puts up charms to keep the murderous Tribe from Tom. Despite her protection, Tom still feels that he is going to die. Each day he finds himself growing weaker and more unlike himself. With help from Anna and Joe, Tom is able to escape from Edie's home, but he then feels back into the forests of the elves. He is met by his elfin father, Larn. Larn pierces him with a spear. Anna, Joe, and Edie find Tom dying in the woods. Edie seems aloof to this fact and tells Anna and Joe to forget about him. Joe, fascinated by an elf woman nearby, does nearly this. Anna, on the other hand, stays by Tom and tries to help him get better. It is her persistence that saves Tom from dying and helps Tom turn completely human. In the end, Edie turns out to be Tom's once-elfin aunt, Edrin. She was an outcast just as Tom was and tries to help him understand why he was different from the other elves. Anna and Joe also stay by and try to help Tom learn to be human. In the end, Tom seems accepting of the fact that he has given up the beauty of the elf world for the closeness of the human world.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elf</span> Supernatural being in Germanic folklore

An elf is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology, being mentioned in the Icelandic Poetic Edda and Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda.

A half-elf is a mythological or fictional being, the offspring of an immortal elf and a mortal man. They are often depicted as very beautiful and endowed with magical powers; they may be presented as torn between the two worlds that they inhabit. Half-elves became known in modern times mainly through J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings but have origins in Norse mythology. A half-elf appeared in Lord Dunsany's 1924 book The King of Elfland's Daughter.

The comic book series Elfquest, created by Wendy and Richard Pini, features a race of elves on the World of Two Moons, searching for their origins and place in the world.

<i>The Elfstones of Shannara</i> 1982 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks

The Elfstones of Shannara is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to The Sword of Shannara and the second book in The Original Shannara Trilogy. It expands upon the history of the Elves, which was only hinted at in the preceding story, and follows Wil Ohmsford, grandson of Shea and inheritor of the Shannara Elfstones.

Magical creatures are an aspect of the fictional Wizarding World contained in the Harry Potter series and connected media originally created by British author J. K. Rowling. Throughout the seven main books of the series, Harry and his friends encounter many of these creatures on their adventures in Hogwarts, the Forbidden Forest, or other locations throughout the Wizarding World. In addition, students learn to take care of creatures such as hippogriffs and unicorns in the Care of Magical Creatures class at Hogwarts. Rowling has also written Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a guide to the magical beasts found in the series, and based on the fictional textbook of the same name written by Newt Scamander and used by students at Hogwarts.

<i>Dragon Knights</i> Japanese manga series

Dragon Knights is a manga series drawn by Mineko Ohkami and published in the monthly Japanese magazine Wings. The manga was licensed in the United States by Tokyopop. The Tokyopop translation is imported to Australia by Madman Entertainment.

The Chosen Eight are members of a fictional tribe of elves on the World of Two Moons in the comic book Elfquest, created by Wendy and Richard Pini.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alp (folklore)</span> Supernatural creature in German folklore

An Alp is a supernatural being in German folklore.

<i>Armageddons Children</i> 2006 novel by Terry Brooks

Armageddon's Children is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first in his trilogy The Genesis of Shannara, which bridges the events of Brooks' Word and Void trilogy with his Shannara series. It takes place in an apocalyptic world around the year 2100 and details the events during the Great Wars, a historical conflict referenced frequently in the Shannara books. It is followed by the novel The Elves of Cintra.

<i>Shining Force EXA</i> 2007 video game

Shining Force EXA is an action role-playing game developed by Neverland and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2 and mobile phones as a part of the Shining series. It tells the story of a world divided by a war between humans and demons.

<i>The Elves of Cintra</i> 2007 novel by Terry Brooks

The Elves of Cintra is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the second in his epic fantasy trilogy The Genesis of Shannara. The series bridges the events of Brooks' Word & Void series with his acclaimed novel The Sword of Shannara and the subsequent trilogy. It immediately follows the novel Armageddon's Children. It details events during the Great Wars, a historical conflict referenced frequently in the Shannara books. The conclusion to the trilogy and the sequel to The Elves of Cintra is The Gypsy Morph, which was released in August 2008.

The Hollows series is a series of 17 urban fantasy novels, eight short stories, two graphic novels, and one compendium resource by Kim Harrison, published by HarperCollins Publishers, in an alternate history universe and set primarily in the city of Cincinnati and its suburbs. The alternate history is built upon two premises: the recent open existence of magical and supernatural species, primarily witches, vampires, and werewolves, with the human population; and the historical investment of Cold War military spending in genetic engineering as opposed to the Space Race, which resulted in the accidental release of a genetically modified tomato in the 1960s that killed a significant portion of the human population. The series is set approximately 40 years after this plague, referred to as ”The Turn“ within the series.

<i>The Gypsy Morph</i> 2008 novel by Terry Brooks

The Gypsy Morph is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third in his trilogy entitled The Genesis of Shannara, which bridges the events of Brooks' Word & Void series with his Shannara series. It takes place in an apocalyptic world around the year 2100 and immediately follows the novel The Elves of Cintra. It details events during the Great Wars, a historical conflict referenced frequently in the Shannara books. It debuted at #2 on the New York Times Best Sellers Fiction List. The novel's title is a play on the 'Gipsy Moth' light aircraft.

In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal, though they can be killed in battle. If so, their souls go to the Halls of Mandos in Aman. After a long life in Middle-earth, Elves yearn for the Earthly Paradise of Valinor, and can sail there from the Grey Havens. They feature in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Their history is described in detail in The Silmarillion.

<i>Amulet</i> (comics) Cartoon novel series

Amulet is a graphic novel series illustrated and written by Kazu Kibuishi and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic. It follows the adventures of Emily, a young girl who discovers a sentient and autonomous magical circular amulet in her great-grandfather's house, and consequently is tasked with protecting an entirely new world from a ruler known as The Elf King.

<i>Styx: Shards of Darkness</i> 2017 video game

Styx: Shards of Darkness is a stealth video game developed by French developer Cyanide and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game was released worldwide on 14 March 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It is the sequel to the 2014 game Styx: Master of Shadows, and the third game set in the fictional world of the Of Orcs and Men series.

<i>Bright: Samurai Soul</i> Japanese anime film

Bright: Samurai Soul is a 2021 Japanese-American adult animated action film and a spin-off of Bright directed by Kyōhei Ishiguro from a script by Michiko Yokote and starring the voices of Yūki Nomura, Daisuke Hirakawa, Shion Wakayama, Miyavi, Maaya Sakamoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Chafurin, Mamoru Miyano, and Kenichi Suzumura while the English dub consists of Simu Liu, Fred Mancuso, Yuzu Harada, Matt Yang King, Victoria Grace, Keone Young, and Paul Nakauchi. The film was released by Netflix on October 12, 2021.

References