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ecol 's review for:
The King of Elfland's Daughter
by Lord Dunsany, Lord Dunsany
Being a huge fan of Tolkien’s lore, I’ve always wanted to experience pre Tolkien fantasy works that may have influence his world and by extension the whole fantasy genre. So, what better way to start, than The King of Elfland’s Daughter. A book that has been acknowledged by many, including Neil Gaiman and Lovecraft, as highly influential to modern fantasy (especially high, epic and sword and sorcery).
It is basically a medieval faerie tale, which features goblins, elves, trolls, unicorns and of course a quest to enchanted Elfland including a magical sword!
What I really enjoyed, except the beauty of the language, which is immense, is the care with which Lord Dunsany treats magic, as something unique, fair and truly… mystic if that makes any sense! In a way, it feels like reading poetry.
However, overall I didn't like this book. I found it extremely repetitive and despite its beautiful prose, boring in many cases. Of course, I’ve read it bearing in mind that it was first published in 1924 (!), but apparently that wasn’t enough. Anyway, I don’t plan to give up on classic, pre Tolkien fantasy just yet!! There’s more to come in the future!
It is basically a medieval faerie tale, which features goblins, elves, trolls, unicorns and of course a quest to enchanted Elfland including a magical sword!
What I really enjoyed, except the beauty of the language, which is immense, is the care with which Lord Dunsany treats magic, as something unique, fair and truly… mystic if that makes any sense! In a way, it feels like reading poetry.
However, overall I didn't like this book. I found it extremely repetitive and despite its beautiful prose, boring in many cases. Of course, I’ve read it bearing in mind that it was first published in 1924 (!), but apparently that wasn’t enough. Anyway, I don’t plan to give up on classic, pre Tolkien fantasy just yet!! There’s more to come in the future!