minds of the population of a small town. Despite a
strong start, this is one of the author’s weakest
books. Oddly enough, it was immediately followed
by Neiderman’s best novel, Devil’s Advocate
(1990), in which a disgruntled lawyer joins a new
law firm and discovers an interesting anomaly. In
many cases the defense has been decided upon
even before the client has committed a crime, in-
dicating supernatural foreknowledge. The novel
was made into a fine movie, but it was followed by
the disappointing Bloodchild(1990), a vampire
novel, and Neiderman’s subsequent output would
continue to vary between original ideas and over-
worked formulas.
The Immortals(1991) is very similar to Devil’s
Advocateand nearly as good. When the main char-
acter’s husband takes a job with a company that
produces a surprisingly effective treatment for
aging, she is initially pleased. When she begins to
notice a change in his attitude toward her, she in-
vestigates and eventually discovers that he is a
candidate for a program that provides immortality
through supernatural means and that the price in
his case is her murder. Sister, Sister(1992) is an-
other evil child story, this time involving conjoined
twins with psychic powers, and is relatively undis-
tinguished, but Need(1992) is a very original vam-
pire story involving multiple personalities in a
single body.
Neiderman’s last horror novel before concentrat-
ing on the pseudonymous Virginia Andrews thrillers is
unfortunately very minor. After Life(1993) mixes the
walking dead with psychic possession. He returned to
horror briefly with The Dark(1997), a well-written but
unexceptional story in which a psychologist uncovers
frightening secrets while treating a patient who has
foreknowledge of violent crimes. Neiderman’s career as
a horror writer was truncated by the decline of that
genre during the 1990s and the much more promising
prospect of writing pseudonymously within an estab-
lished thriller franchise. His published novels vary from
mediocre to excellent, and at his best he has written
some quite original and impressive work.
Nesbit, Edith(1858–1924)
Edith Nesbit began writing children’s stories late in
the 19th century, only a few of which involve fan-
tastic elements, but her first fantasy novel, FIVE
CHILDREN AND IT(1902) became the first of sev-
eral for which she would subsequently be regarded
as one of the most influential early writers of chil-
dren’s fantasy. She combined plausible stories filled
with characters who seemed to be real children
with a clever sense of invention and an effective
sense of humor. In Five Children and Itthe children
encounter a sand fairy, a magical being who will
grant them one wish per day. Although they give
increasing thought to their wishes as the story pro-
gresses, most of the results are not entirely what
they hoped for. The message is clearly that the
things in life that are worth having are not going to
come easily, but Nesbit packages the lesson in an
engaging and logical story.
The five children returned for two more ad-
ventures. In The Phoenix and the Carpet (1904)
they find a magic carpet and use it to visit the
Phoenix, a fabulous creature, and in The Story of
the Amulet(1906) they travel back through time to
ancient Rome and Greece and eventually the lost
continent of Atlantis. This trilogy in particular is
cited as an influence on Edward EAGER, C. S.
LEWIS, and other fantasy writers who followed, and
they are certainly the titles for which she is best
known, although her most impressive novel is The
Enchanted Castle(1907). Also of interest is We t
Magic(1913), in which children rescue a mermaid
and are given a tour of an underwater world, and
The House of Arden(1907).
Nesbit wrote a number of horror stories early
in her career, but they have been largely over-
looked in favor of her fantasies. A good selection
can be found in E. Nesbit’s Tales of Terror(1983)
and In the Dark(2000). Several of her short chil-
dren’s fantasies were collected in The Last of the
Dragons and Some Others(1972). Her willingness
to write for children without patronizing her audi-
ence and her gift for mixing serious insights with
light humor have had a large if not immeasurable
impact on children’s literature.The Neverending StoryMichael Ende
(1979)
The German writer Michael Ende had already
written children’s fantasies before producing thisThe Neverending Story 255