The War for the Tree

Henry Best is embroiled in a war. Sucked from our world and plunged into another, he must navigate a Christmas Tree filled with great snowstorms, sprawling branches and the company of the Tree's ornaments. But a dark menace and an enslaved ice-creature reside there too, hell-bent on power, destruction and the capture of the Trees' lights.

Told is the story of an alternate world within a Christmas Tree; a fully realised world, not populated by humans, but by the Tree's ornaments. Power - held by a governing fairy - is handed on to the next in line every few seasons. One fairy though - Phaedria - refuses to stand down. Forcibly removed and stripped of magic, she is banished, but formulates a plan to retake the Tree. By hunting and absorbing the Tree's lights with the help of an enslaved ice-creature, she's able to regain her powers and gather an army. The Tree's ornaments, many and varied, must put aside their differences and come together. Little do the Tree's owners (the young boy Henry and his father) know of this world, until Henry - along with his faithful teddy bear - are pulled in and embroiled in a war. On his journey Henry is burdened with a perilous mission. Kidnapped by elves, he falls into the hands of Phaedria the fallen fairy. If he wants to keep his beloved Bear alive (a stuffed teddy from home, now animated) he must agree to deliver a 'gift' to Lilly, the current governing fairy. Henry hitches a ride on a giant snowflake, transforms to a bird, meets a tiny wizened king and the winds he commands, amongst many other encounters - and all in pyjamas and a dressing gown.