The Age of Misrule is a three-book modern fantasy novel series, written by Mark Chadbourn.^[1] It is set in Britain and the faery Otherworld around the beginning of the third millennium.

This series is followed by The Dark Age series.

The story starts in January. The audience is not told what year it is: sometime after December 31, 1999, but not very long. It follows a man and a woman, both of whom have had loved ones taken from them in unpleasant circumstances. They see a man being killed by a giant. When they investigate, they discover that the man had been contacting UFOlogists.

The two protagonists decide to go on a trip to find out more. They meet an old hippie named Thomas, who saves them from a Fabulous Beast (a dragon). He informs them that they are being followed, and they hide out in Stonehenge, protected by the ley energy of the monument. Thomas then informs them that the world has changed, most forms of modern technology have ceased to function while magic now works according to its traditional lore, and that mythic creatures - Fabulous Beasts, elementals, and most importantly, the Fomorians and the Tuatha Dé Danann - are coming back to the world. The Fomorians have arrived first, however, and the Tuatha Dé Danann can only be summoned by a group called the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons. Apparently roped into this, they agree to help.

By the end of the first book of the three-book series, the initial idea - that the evil Fomorians would be dragged back to the Otherworld by the good fairies - has been shattered. It seems that Celtic cosmology is much closer to Lovecraftian ideals (Evil vs. Indifferent) than to Christian ones (Evil vs. Good), despite the fact, it is hinted, that the spirit beings are the basis of all religions anyway. The Tuatha are as keen as the Fomorians to stay, and the heroes are left knowing that the world will never be the same again.

The heroes then realise that they were chosen by the mysterious 'earth energy', and that they can use this energy to inspire others and fight the Fomorians themselves. They fight back and, in a final battle in London, apparently win. However, the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons are shattered, one dead, one lost in the Otherworld, and the last three to pass the story on.

An interesting twist on the classic 'otherworldly conspiracy' story is that, rather than fairy myths being ancient misinterpretations of UFO abductions, the UFO stories are presented as modern misinterpretations of fairy myths.

• World's End (1999) ^[2]
• Darkest Hour (2000) ^[3]
• Always Forever (2001) ^[4]