The Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander
pros: classic fantasy; great characters and world; fast, easy read; there is reality and the darkness of war and evil, but has an overall upbeat and positive feeling; Gurgi; Kaw; the magic gifts at the end of The Book of Three; Taran’s banner; the final ending
cons: repetitious elements of characters habits and sayings get a little annoying; some pat situations and solutions; a little predictable; Eilonwy was headstrong and foolish; Glew
misc: The Book of Three; The Black Cauldron; The Castle of Llyr; Taran Wanderer; The High King; Assistant Pig-Keeper; Caer Dallben; Hen Wen
ISBN: various editions and an anthology
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The Prophet of Lamath, by Robert Don Hughes
pros: good satire; stupid kings and courts get their comeuppance; Pelman and the Power; people actually learn lessons and get wiser, even public figures; the world and its problems; the dragon; the monastery elder and the bear cave; Ezri, the sailor; the naval “battle”; the way the siege ends
cons: Serphimera; could have been longer; Rosha and Bronwynn’s romance is a little forced; the dragon’s fate; the slavery; the merchants were too uniformly unlikable and evil
misc: two-headed dragon; blue-robes; the Power; powershaper; Tohn; Dorlyth; Chaomonous; Ngandib-Mar; Maris; Vicia-Heinox; Divisionists; “The dragon is divided”
ISBN 0345011112; Pub. 1989
A Small Elderly Dragon, by Beverly Keller
pros: funny; fast-paced; humor and quirks outweigh the cliches; the “hero”; the dragon and the parrot; the twist on the Black Knight; the final resolution – all in such a short book; the Happily Ever After isn’t ideal
cons: probably hard to find; the cliches; the overlooked, unappreciated, yet extraordinary heroine was a bit overdone and was a disservice to the character; Miles; the King; what ever happened to her mother?
ISBN 0688025536; 143pp; 1984
The Knight, by Gene Wolfe
pros: Gylf; interesting characters and settings; some interesting dilemmas; good portrayal of a boy in a man’s body–consistent throughout; duology rather than long series
cons: meandering account with many detours; constant references to common knowledge reader doesn’t share; contrived situations; cliffhanger
Part One of the Wizard Knight series
ISBN 0765347016; 544 pp; 2005 (reprint)
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