The Great Tree of Avalon (Merlin, Book 9)
T. A. Barron
Language: English
Pages: 232
ISBN: B000O6G3OC
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
T.A. Barron created a sweeping fantasy classic in the "Lost Years of Merlin" series. Now he follows up with a brand new series, taking place eight hundred years after the creation of Avalon -- "The Great Tree of Avalon: Child of the Dark Prophecy," full of magic, chills and humor.
As the book opens, legendary wizard Merlin rescues an orphaned eagleboy from a pair of mercenaries, and gives him to a flamelon woman with a half-human baby. He also leaves his staff with the eagleboy. The boys are raised together, but are separated when a pack of evil creatures try to kill them. Now Tamwyn is on the hunt for his brother Scree, but is haunted by questions about his own past. There's a prophecy that that year, both Merlin's true heir (and grandson) and the Dark Child of a sinister prophecy will come of age that year.
Elsewhere, a young priestess named Elli is accompanying her snobby superior to a meeting with the Lady of the Lake. They end up meeting with Tamwyn, who is beginning to believe that Scree is Merlin's heir -- and that he himself is the Dark Child. But an evil sorcerer is threatening all of Avalon, disrupting the magical waters that sustain it -- and Tamwyn, Elli and Scree may be the only ones who can save their homeland.
It's hard to take the story almost a millennium forward, with an almost entirely new cast and new problems. But "Child of the Dark Prophecy" has a certain familiarity, since Barron explores themes of good, the potential for evil, doubt, power and love -- just as he did in the "Merlin" series.
One thing that hasn't changed is that Barron's writing is vibrant and lush, without getting bogged down in the details. Not to mention his healthy doses of humor, such as the snotty priestess's face being turned green by her facial. There are strange creatures, ranging from little shapeshifting imps to giant mud-dwellers.
The one flaw may be the villain; his motives are excellent, but they aren't even hinted at until the final showdown. But, for clarity's sake, Barron also includes a detailed timeline that explains the events of the past eight hundred years, including the marriage of Merlin and deerwoman Hallia, and the war that precedes this conflict. This is very helpful, although don't read it until the book is over.
Familiar faces pop up here and there. Merlin himself appears for only a short time; the Lady of the Lake turns out to be an old friend, and half-deaf Shim shows up again (tiny once more). A familiar evil character also returns late in the book. But the book belongs to Tamwyn, nervous about his possible destiny and his growing magical powers, and fiery Elli, with her haunted past. Though initially they despise each other, their friendship starts to grow. Eagleboy Scree doesn't get as much attention -- he spends most of the book in a cave -- but he's an excellent character when he reencounters his brother.
Beautifully written and full of thrills, "Child of the Dark Prophecy" is a worthy follow-up to the "Lost Years of Merlin" series, yet will leave readers longing for the next book in the series. Another triumph.
big oaf.” He sighed. “All right. But what about you, Nuic?” The pinnacle sprite went reddish purple. “Think I’d let you go off alone and botch this one? No chance.” “And you, Batty Lad?” “Me no fightsy, manny man. No fightsy ghouly-waca birds.” He nodded. “Finally, someone with a bit of sense.” He stroked the little fellow’s cupped ears. “I’ll miss you, my friend.” Batty Lad frowned at him. “Me no leavey weave, manny man! Me just no fightsy. Rides inside your pocket, me will, me will. Yessa
course I do,” he lied, hoping to trick the sorcerer into revealing his plans. “But élano is for making life—not destroying it. So you are doomed to fail.” Kulwych chortled deep in his throat. “You know nothing at all! Mmmyesss . . . I have great plans for my pure crystal of élano. Great plans.” His slit-mouth turned down in a jagged scowl. “How unfortunate that you will not live to see them bear fruit.” He turned the staff slowly in the air. Starlight danced on the gnarled wood, even between
Tamwyn. “Looks like we have no choice now but to follow you into that fool’s cave! There isn’t time to find another way. In case you’re too stupid to figure it out, we have to get to the Lady—and, most likely, beyond—before the last of those stars goes out.” “Shouldn’t be too hard for a great genius like you,” he said with a smirk. Elli slapped at the pool, drenching him with water. Tamwyn grabbed a couple of wood shavings. Quickly, he tied them together, then turned them in his hand. When the
housed dozens of well-fed sheep, goats, and pigs. Surrounding the settlement were enormous cultivated fields, with corn and various grains, that ran all the way to the high wooden fences that bordered the village, separating it from the forestlands beyond. Everything about this village felt productive. And prosperous. And bountiful, beyond anything Tamwyn had experienced. Whatever ideas Belamir had developed, they certainly seemed to be working. The door by the tapestry opened again, and old
sphere as big as her own head. Within the sphere, clouds swirled, expanded, and disappeared. The vapors moved with an energy, perhaps a mind, of their own. Gradually, an image started to form within the sphere. It was a wide redrock canyon... with a great fountain of water spouting in the distance. The Canyon of Crystillia! Down the middle of the canyon flowed a white river, raging and pounding toward a narrow gorge—Prism Gorge. Suddenly the image changed: The river was gone. In its place, a