Mare

Eliassen's other fantasy book series. It's a dark fantasy rather than an epic fantasy. The trilogy was relased through-out 2008 as a break from Phenomena. Ironic as it might sound, when Eliassen was finally allowed to create a picture book series, it's not illustrated by him.

Story
Esmeralda, the bearded lady, finds a boy in the river. Desperate she tries to save him and after getting help from Alf, the boy finally awakens and they bring him back to their camp despite him not remembering a thing. The crew are quick to accept the boy as one of their own, but the ringmaster Caravaggio tells them to drop him off the orphanhage. Esmeralda refuses to let him go, and he's allowed to stay, if he shows that he can be of help for the circus. After sleeping all of the performers agree on something, they all had nightmares that night. Nightmares about the boy, and the conjoined twins decide for a name for the boy; Mare.

The circus troupe, or more actually, the freak show, is on the run. Circus Caravaggio has a high debt which the ringmaster refuses to pay. Now they're after his magical arm. And one of the performers seems to eat more than just the meals served to him on stage... screaming living meals...

Characters

 * Mare: Named after the creature of the same name, he's a shy amnesiac boy who feels guilty over burdering the others with nightmares. He often has nightmares himself, often of being hunted by a silver dragon or locked into a hallway filled with locked doors but not having a single key.
 * Esmeralda the Bearded Lady: the bearded lady with a huge heart. She's the kindest of the crew and accepts Mare as if he was her own son. Her beard is real.
 * Ring Master Caravaggio: a gluttenous and greedy man. He's a crook and scam but deep down he loves his crew and wants to keep them safe. He has a magical right arm which has caused him mostly troubble.
 * The Conjoined Twins; Rom and Rem: Two tricksters who gave Mare his name as a joke, and he accepted it with grace. They always want have fun and mostly always hang together.
 * The Shapeshifter Vlad: Can transform into anything and is quite creepy. He often goes out for a night snack, some of which is still screaming. May or may not be Vlad Tepes, or just a weird man with clinic vampirism.
 * Lamia the Fortune Teller: Your future will never be the same after this grey haired lady has read your hand.
 * World's Strongest Man, Alf: Having a heart as big as he's strong, Alf is the beefcake of the crew. A sweetheart who's the one to save Mare with CPR.
 * Angelo the Child Angel: While he tried to reach for the heavens, his wings burned up. He's left with a painful burnt stump and a staggly wing. He's really bitter.
 * Igor the Sad Clown: The least fun clown you'll ever meet. he's depressed and doesn't really want to work as he claims it's to much work for someone as small as him.

The Dream Prince
First announced 19th of May 2011, The Dream Prince is a filmation project produced by Marius Haugan, Daniel Dreifuss, and Isabel Rey and directed by Fernando Cortizo. Unlike Phenomena's TV-Series will it be a stop-motion animation with all 3 books put into one movie. Mare's name will be changed into Terry for unknown reasons, but is probably so people won't mix it with the female horse. Not much has been told after 2011 but it seems still active.

Links

 * Previous official site for the filmation.
 * Pictures from the first book.
 * Pictures from the second book.
 * Pictures from the third book.
 * On TvTropes.
 * The Dream Prince at IMdB.
 * Buy the books at Gyldendal's English Pages.