The Mirror of Merlin

The Mirror of Merlin
by T.A. Barron

There is something wicked in the swamplands on the magical isle of Fincayra – an encroaching evil intent on destroying the land – and only young Merlin possesses the power to stop it.

Together with Hallia, the deer-woman Merlin has fallen in love with, he must embark on a journey through the haunted land that will test his knowledge and his courage to find his stolen sword.

But then Merlin discovers a magic mirror capable of altering a person’s destiny – and the visage he finds within the glass is someone he never imagined he’d see…

I had completely forgotten what happened in this book when I picked it up to reread it. I’m kind of glad that I did because this book is a whopper.

Throughout the books, you get these little ties to the Merlin that we all know and love from the Arthur legends. Just little things. Like being turned into a fish and finding it educational. But you don’t really get any big, solid connections that ties legend!Merlin to this Merlin.

This book has those ties. We get to meet angry Nimue from the future, who has already imprisoned Merlin, and young Arthur who eagerly does as he is bid from a much older Merlin. There are magic mirrors and crystal caves and time travel and independent shadows that like to be ridiculous. For a good chunk of the book, you feel like you’ve been plonked down in some Merlin-centric sections of The Sword and the Stone. It’s amazing.

I also like how this book deals with Merlin and Hallia’s growing attraction for one another. It’s steady and slow and amicable without getting in the way of the things that need doing for the good of Fincayra. It doesn’t feel forced or alien in the midst of the storytelling, which is something that I am very grateful for.

Naturally, I’m recommending this if you’ve followed the other recommendations I’ve made for this series.

The Fires of Merlin

The Fires of Merlin
by T.A. Barron

The dragon called Wings of Fire has awakened from his enchanted slumber. Prophecy dictates that only the descendant of the wizard who first defeated the dragon possesses the power to stop him. Before Merlin can go to battle, he must conquer his own fears by confronting the sorceress who has stolen his magical talisman – a talisman needed to stop Wings of Fire.

But according to prophecy, the one who destroys the dragon, must also die…

This may very well be my favourite of the Lost Years of Merlin books. I can’t say for absolutely certain because I don’t remember what happens in the next book and I have never read the last, but I have a pretty strong bias for this one.

Dragons. This one has dragons and I love dragons with my soul. I love that this book starts out as a stereotypical “dragon is burning down everything in revenge” stories and morphs into something deeper than that as Merlin discovers the truth. I love the little dragon with the wonky ear and the respect Merlin has for Wings of Fire and Merlin’s desire to save everyone, including the dragon trying to kill him. It’s wonderful.

I also love the introduction of the deer people. I don’t consciously remember them from the last time I read this book, but I suspect that they influenced my creation of The Weaver, which is a half deer fae I favour in my faerie stories.

And it’s clear in this book that, while still foolish and young and eager, Merlin is learning. Really learning. He’s applying the souls of things that he found in the last book and he accomplishes much more on his own in this book than either of the previous too. You can see the greatness forming.

Again, I’d definitely recommend this for fans of Merlin and Arthurian legend and, now, dragons.

The Lost Years of Merlin

The Lost Years of Merlin
TA Barron

Orphaned by the raging sea upon the ancient shorts of Wales, a boy is forced to confront the riddle of his own mysterious existence. Who is he? What is his name? What is his destiny?

The boy makes his escape to the enchanted isle of Fincayra, convinced that there - in the mist-shrouded land between heaven and the shy – he will find the answers to his quest, but the mystery of his identity deepens.

His quest – and Fincayra’s fate – are inexplicable entwined, and his voyage of discovery has begun…

Revisiting this book has been an absolute joy for me. I can’t remember the last time I read it, or when I first picked it up, but it’s one of those books that you read when you’re very young and little snippets of it cling in your brain and it inspires your for the rest of your life. It’s so ingrained in my personal view of the world that it seems impossible that I ever existed before not reading it.

I may be overhyping it just a bit, but if you haven’t read this version of Merlin’s boyhood, I highly recommend it. This is the first in a series of five- all of which I will be reviewing here – and it’s one of the books that really cemented my love of Arthurian tales, in particular, and my fascination with myth in general.

And, oddly enough, it isn’t Merlin himself that does this for me. It is his mother, who spent her days surrounding herself with books and stories when she was young. For the majority of the book, Merlin has no memory of his life before eight years of age and does not believe that his mother is who she says she is because he can tell she is lying to him, but he still holds her in great affection for the stories she raises him on. She has no loyalty to one religion or cultural history, but blends them together in the very same sort of balancing act I started adopting in high school. Merlin learns to treasure the stories of the ancient Greeks and Celts and the budding Christianity in that part of the world equally and they all become part of him through her teaching. I identified with this young, eager Merlin (still calling himself Emrys then), naturally, but more than that I could imagine myself right there with him in that little hut in the cold spring of Wales listening to self-named Branwen tell us stories about everything in the earth and heavens and in-between places.

And this all takes place within the first few chapters of this first book, if you can believe it. The words in this book are powerful and I am astounded by how much my belief in the world followed the path of “Branwen’s” words in those early chapters.

Of course, I would also recommend this book on the quality of its young Merlin storytelling, as well. I adore that this book makes Merlin both eager to use his powers, but also deals harsh consequences for foolishness. These consequences, in fact, blind him in the early chapters of the book and this added element to young Merlin’s struggles fascinates me in ways that I don’t think I could ever properly explain.

I could probably write about this book all day. Sufficed to say, if you have any interest in Arthurian stories (the parallels between Merlin’s young life and his time with Wart makes me chuckle) or Merlin stories or even fantastical adventure stories, you should read this book.