A review by nigellicus
Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander

5.0

I remember this as always being my favourite of the Prydain books, the absence of Elionwy nothwithstanding. I now recognise the way in which it is one of the few fantasy novels to so consciously and carefully follow the patterns of certain types of heroic fairy tales, the young man on a quest of discovery and the various encounters on his journey that teach him the lessons or equip him with the magic or equipment or companions he needs to win, but presented as a modern piece of literature with fully realised settings and characters. It's a brilliant tale of growth and learning and the long and arduous acquisition of a tiny piece of wisdom that you knew all along, you just didn't know it. Heartbreaking and lovely, but also delightful and clever and warm, I can see why it appealed to me, a fantasy novel directly focused on growth and maturity, the sadness of leaving childhood and entering the grey complexities of adulthood echoed the bittersweet tones of The Lord Of Rings.
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