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Merlin #10
The Great Tree of Avalon, Book II: Shadows on the Stars
WILL AVALON SURVIVE?As peace returns to Avalon, Tamwyn, Elli, and Scree discover a terrifying new The warlord Rhita Gawr has set out to conquer Avalon as well as mortal Earth. Racing against time, the friends embark on three separate quests. To succeed, they must solve Avalon's most elusive mysteries. And they will need to travel vast distances - both in their world and in their own hearts."Barron crafts vivid scenes with original and well-developed supporting characters, moving the plot at a gobble-it-up pace."-KLIATT
Paperback
First published October 6, 2005
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About the author
T.A. Barron
69 books1,310 followersT.A. Barron grew up in Colorado ranch country and traveled widely as a Rhodes Scholar. He is the winner of the de Grummond Medallion for “lifetime contribution to the field of children’s and young adult literature” and many other awards. T. A. Barron is the author of more than 30 highly acclaimed books, many of which are international bestsellers. They include The Lost Years of Merlin (now being developed into a feature film), The Great Tree of Avalon (a New York Times bestselling series), The Ancient One (the tale of a brave girl and a magical tree), and The Hero’s Trail (nonfiction stories of courageous kids).
Though he’d dreamed as a young man of becoming a writer, he couldn’t find anyone to publish his first novel. He joined a successful business, eventually became president, then decided to try again. So in 1990, he surprised his business partners by moving back to Colorado to become a writer and conservationist.
In 2000, he founded a national award to honor outstanding young people who help their communities or the environment: the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which honors 25 highly diverse, public-spirited kids each year. He recently produced a documentary film, Dream Big, profiling seven winners of the Barron Prize. When not writing or speaking, T. A. Barron serves on many boards including Princeton University, where he helped to create the Princeton Environmental Institute, and The Wilderness Society, which recently honored him with its highest award for conservation work. His favorite pastime is hiking, camping, or skiing in Colorado with his family.
Though he’d dreamed as a young man of becoming a writer, he couldn’t find anyone to publish his first novel. He joined a successful business, eventually became president, then decided to try again. So in 1990, he surprised his business partners by moving back to Colorado to become a writer and conservationist.
In 2000, he founded a national award to honor outstanding young people who help their communities or the environment: the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, which honors 25 highly diverse, public-spirited kids each year. He recently produced a documentary film, Dream Big, profiling seven winners of the Barron Prize. When not writing or speaking, T. A. Barron serves on many boards including Princeton University, where he helped to create the Princeton Environmental Institute, and The Wilderness Society, which recently honored him with its highest award for conservation work. His favorite pastime is hiking, camping, or skiing in Colorado with his family.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
September 7, 2020
Well dang, that was pretty epic.
I believe I read this book in a grand total of five hours, and I can tell you that it was definitely worth the time.
I still felt as though the descriptions dragged on a little more than really necessary—I was totally skipping paragraphs—but the action easily made up for it. The world is so different from any other fantasy world that you honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next; maybe they’ll get attacked by a random man-eating rock? Or perhaps a flower will explode and turn them all into purple birds? (This didn’t actually happen in the book, but I seriously wouldn’t be very surprised)
Scree’s chapters continued to be the best ones, by far, but really the whole thing was great. It‘s all building up to a fantastic finish in the third book.
I believe I read this book in a grand total of five hours, and I can tell you that it was definitely worth the time.
I still felt as though the descriptions dragged on a little more than really necessary—I was totally skipping paragraphs—but the action easily made up for it. The world is so different from any other fantasy world that you honestly don’t know what’s going to happen next; maybe they’ll get attacked by a random man-eating rock? Or perhaps a flower will explode and turn them all into purple birds? (This didn’t actually happen in the book, but I seriously wouldn’t be very surprised)
Scree’s chapters continued to be the best ones, by far, but really the whole thing was great. It‘s all building up to a fantastic finish in the third book.
April 8, 2025
Very good, just like the first one!
I'm so incredibly anxious to start the third, so I'll try and d...more Very good, just like the first one!
I'm so incredibly anxious to start the third, so I'll try and do something drastically out-of-the-ordinary and keep things brief!
What I really liked...
- Characters. I love the MC so very much! Tamwyn is an excellent main character because though he's imperfect, he's good *enough* and still likeable. His journey is one of self-discovery and realizing his potential - a "right of passage" story that is so sweet and fun to read. You just can't help but cheer him on! The supporting characters are just right - they have their own contributions to the overall story, but they don't usurp the position of the MC. They're an important aspect of the ensemble, but they *are* the ensemble. They're in the perfect position.
- Vivid scenery/descriptions. I cannot begin to describe how amazing this world is that Barron has created. Try thinking about a land made up of materialized wind and clouds. Or a series of islands in the middle of a rainbow ocean. Or trees that can walk, talk, and dance (like the ENTS! Only not...)
- Excellent pacing. Never once does this 400+ story drag. You get the feeling that every sentence matters, every detail is there for a reason. This is not a fluff author and this is not a fluff book. There are multiple perspectives, but Barron is a master of the concept because he's able to transition so well without dwelling on one and forgetting another (for the most part...)
What I liked slightly less, but still liked...
- the villain. Okay, in intermediate fiction, I really would *rather* have a villain who's a little on the overtly bad side... I don't like "complex, complicated" villains in this type of setting. Let them be evil, let them be crazy! However... there were thing that the main villain did that were a little on the "classic Disney villain" list: talking to himself, laughing incessantly for no reason, wringing his hands together, talking to himself some more... Yeah. That's silly!
- Some of the characters. Okay, I just flat don't like Scree. If there's a character who has to be sacrificed for the "greater good" in the third book, I hope it's him. He's what I would call "too flawed." Now, it's okay, because he's contrasted to Tamwyn, and Tamwyn is the main character that I care about, so yeah if Scree is a screwball, I'm not going to care that much...but it still bothered me a little bit. And Shim - the shrunken giant- gets on my nerves, pretty much because he talks *exactly* like Jar Jar Binks...
*cringes*
- Plot Revelations: Scree's story arc was very vague, and the perspective didn't follow him except like 3 or 4 times, and so it made his Shocker Moment kind of random and a little on the unbelievable side. Not to mention icky... I won't say any more, but yeah, that part of the plot really didn't work well for me. But hey, it was about Scree, and I don't like Scree, so whatever...
So that's it. Okay, that was still pretty long, but I can't begin to say how great this series is! I was seriously tearing up in some parts, and I hear that The Eternal Flame is the most tearjerker one of all! Ahhh! *runs to check supply of Kleenex*
Final Rating: 5/5. This is still an amazing book; even with the itty-bitty things I could think of, Shadows on the Stars is just as deserving of a 5-star rating as its predecessor.
READ THESE BOOKS!(
I'm so incredibly anxious to start the third, so I'll try and d...more Very good, just like the first one!
I'm so incredibly anxious to start the third, so I'll try and do something drastically out-of-the-ordinary and keep things brief!
What I really liked...
- Characters. I love the MC so very much! Tamwyn is an excellent main character because though he's imperfect, he's good *enough* and still likeable. His journey is one of self-discovery and realizing his potential - a "right of passage" story that is so sweet and fun to read. You just can't help but cheer him on! The supporting characters are just right - they have their own contributions to the overall story, but they don't usurp the position of the MC. They're an important aspect of the ensemble, but they *are* the ensemble. They're in the perfect position.
- Vivid scenery/descriptions. I cannot begin to describe how amazing this world is that Barron has created. Try thinking about a land made up of materialized wind and clouds. Or a series of islands in the middle of a rainbow ocean. Or trees that can walk, talk, and dance (like the ENTS! Only not...)
- Excellent pacing. Never once does this 400+ story drag. You get the feeling that every sentence matters, every detail is there for a reason. This is not a fluff author and this is not a fluff book. There are multiple perspectives, but Barron is a master of the concept because he's able to transition so well without dwelling on one and forgetting another (for the most part...)
What I liked slightly less, but still liked...
- the villain. Okay, in intermediate fiction, I really would *rather* have a villain who's a little on the overtly bad side... I don't like "complex, complicated" villains in this type of setting. Let them be evil, let them be crazy! However... there were thing that the main villain did that were a little on the "classic Disney villain" list: talking to himself, laughing incessantly for no reason, wringing his hands together, talking to himself some more... Yeah. That's silly!
- Some of the characters. Okay, I just flat don't like Scree. If there's a character who has to be sacrificed for the "greater good" in the third book, I hope it's him. He's what I would call "too flawed." Now, it's okay, because he's contrasted to Tamwyn, and Tamwyn is the main character that I care about, so yeah if Scree is a screwball, I'm not going to care that much...but it still bothered me a little bit. And Shim - the shrunken giant- gets on my nerves, pretty much because he talks *exactly* like Jar Jar Binks...
*cringes*
- Plot Revelations: Scree's story arc was very vague, and the perspective didn't follow him except like 3 or 4 times, and so it made his Shocker Moment kind of random and a little on the unbelievable side. Not to mention icky... I won't say any more, but yeah, that part of the plot really didn't work well for me. But hey, it was about Scree, and I don't like Scree, so whatever...
So that's it. Okay, that was still pretty long, but I can't begin to say how great this series is! I was seriously tearing up in some parts, and I hear that The Eternal Flame is the most tearjerker one of all! Ahhh! *runs to check supply of Kleenex*
Final Rating: 5/5. This is still an amazing book; even with the itty-bitty things I could think of, Shadows on the Stars is just as deserving of a 5-star rating as its predecessor.
READ THESE BOOKS!(
March 16, 2018
Never in my life have I read a book so mediocre. The author took his time building the world and fleshing out the characters it is just a shame that these characters come off as cliche and boring at times. Sometimes I would be reluctant to pick up the book and trudge though the slower pieces throughout the book, while at other times I would be on the edge of my seat with amazing fantasy action. The book has a hard time with showing little too much as I feel we should not have to follow the characters through everything they go through and maybe just cut it down to the more interesting bits.I do like how he does flesh out some of the more minor characters in the story as they tend to feel more human than the human characters ironically. This book I feel would more closely appeal to hardcore fantasy fans. As a lot of different fantasy elements are being thrown at you. This is good and bad, as it has a really cool and fleshed out world but fall shorts in making the main characters more appealing. Overall I feel it was just mediocre never really breaking the surface of what it could be. It fell flat where it was most important and was strong in all the minor categories so I could not call this a bad book, as it still had many strong elements to it just not enough to tide me over and make it a completely enjoyable experience
October 12, 2010
I LOVED this book, although i enjoyed the 1st and 3rd books even more!!
February 28, 2016
just as good a read as the first! a fantastic, fast read!
December 7, 2017
The Merlin books by T.A Barron have all been killer reads and this one was no exception. It started with Tamwyn heir of Merlin and his friends splitting up in four different directions, Tamwyn up the Great Tree of Avalon to relight the stars, Elli and Nuic searching for Kulwych the sorcerer and trying to find a way to destroy his evil crystal. Brionna and Leu leave for the battlefield of the torn apart Avalon, and Scree going to find and kill the eagle-folk’s corrupted leader. I really enjoyed the personalities of these new characters in the book, and how they tied to the older story of Merlin’s childhood. I also really enjoyed how T.A Barron wrote on the creation of the new world Avalon, and how all of the creatures in it survive. The story changes perspectives a lot, which I liked a lot and thought made the book more suspenseful and interesting. I also really enjoyed the wit and humor that the characters had, which made me grin and even laugh out loud at times. My favorite character in the book was most likely Nuic the grumpy cliff sprite, that is always trying to hide it, but really has a loving heart on the inside. Another favorite was the little Batty Lad, who is as silly as he is small, and enjoys sleeping in Tamwyn’s pocket, and doing flying tricks when he’s not tired. I think the theme of this book was remember where you come from, and do what you know is right. Tamyn never met his father, and while searching also discovers some of his past, and although he messes up a lot, he still doesn’t give up, he continues onward no matter what. This book was a definite five star rating that kept me up through the night reading it, a spectacular continuing of a fantastic series.
July 12, 2024
A quick preliminary review for T A Barron’s, A shadow on the Stars, an intriguing retelling and back story for the Myrddin or Merlin of the Arthurian stories of Gildas, Cretien d’Troyes, Geoffrey of Mammoth, Wolfram Von Eisenbach, and William Mallory. Continues to blends Welsh Awen and Irish Imbas lore with more recent contributions by William Blake, W B Yates, Kathleen Raine, and the Bardic Revival of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries reconciling the ceol sidhe or music of the hills, the harmonia mundi, music of the spheres, more broadly the ancient and sacred sound tradition, with ancient Hermetic and Gnostic themes. Musical themes abound along with a speculations regarding the “stars and planets within the Earth of the traditional Celtic Otherworld.
See Professor Joscelyn Godwin’s works, including Harmonies of Heaven and Earth, for extensive materials on ancient and modern sacred-sound traditions.
Book 11 of the Merlin series is a transition novel, so lacks essential features to boost a rating form four to five stars. Still, his ability to introduce Celtic lore and deep esoterica to young audiences holds the potential to delight children of all ages :)
A strong Four Stars ****, with height expectations for the series finale in Book 12!
See Professor Joscelyn Godwin’s works, including Harmonies of Heaven and Earth, for extensive materials on ancient and modern sacred-sound traditions.
Book 11 of the Merlin series is a transition novel, so lacks essential features to boost a rating form four to five stars. Still, his ability to introduce Celtic lore and deep esoterica to young audiences holds the potential to delight children of all ages :)
A strong Four Stars ****, with height expectations for the series finale in Book 12!
June 15, 2017
By now Rhita Gawr, the evil god, has come to Avalon from the Otherworld. The group of characters that coalesced in the first volume splits up. Tamwyn, the protagonist who is either the heir of Merlin who will save Avalon, the Child of the Dark prophecy who will destroy it, or both, sets off with a few of the friends to find a way up the trunk of the Great Tree to the stars, hoping to find some way to stop Rhita Gawr's plan of bringing his evil spirits down from them. Elli, a junior priestess who was also a main character in Child of the Dark Prophecy, goes with the others on a journey across the Tree's seven inhabited roots to counter the evil plans already in motion there. Rhita Gawr and his minion Kulwych have a powerful corrupted crystal of the Great Tree's sap, and the supremacist Humanity First movement, based on an ideology of stewardship, is committing violence and planning more. Meanwhile Scree, Tamwyn's eaglefolk stepbrother, is left with his own people because of an injury and becomes involved with their conflicts there. This volume contains the same "Brief History of Avalon" as the first, with one or two trivial additions.
February 16, 2022
"In truth, I wonder just why I have chosen now to embark on this long and dangerous voyage to the stars. Surely not because my strength is at its peak; surely not because the timing is auspicious. Perhaps I am not seeking the stars after all, but merely fleeing my own past. The stars are bright and far away, but my wounds are dark and ever near."
“Beware all ye mortals, This warning to heed: When faith turns to arrogance, or Joy turns to greed—“Belief becomes shackles, Not wings of the freed. Then hard be thy heart, Corrupt be thy creed.”
"We believed, sometimes correctly but ever more intolerantly, that our ways of living were superior to others. We imposed our customs, and our will, on peoples throughout the Middle Realm."
“Stories are a people’s memories, you see. They can be disturbing, encouraging, and sometimes … inspiring. They hold all our losses, gains, sufferings, glories, and longings. But before we can have the story, we must have the meaning.”
“Arrogance,” “That age-old human trait.”
“Beware all ye mortals, This warning to heed: When faith turns to arrogance, or Joy turns to greed—“Belief becomes shackles, Not wings of the freed. Then hard be thy heart, Corrupt be thy creed.”
"We believed, sometimes correctly but ever more intolerantly, that our ways of living were superior to others. We imposed our customs, and our will, on peoples throughout the Middle Realm."
“Stories are a people’s memories, you see. They can be disturbing, encouraging, and sometimes … inspiring. They hold all our losses, gains, sufferings, glories, and longings. But before we can have the story, we must have the meaning.”
“Arrogance,” “That age-old human trait.”
August 19, 2019
The first book went really slow for me and I didn’t think i was going to enjoy it. But once I start a book I always finish it. Now that I have finished the second book I can say I am fully invested in this story! There is so much detail that it’s hard to read sometimes but that’s what has made me fall in love with Avalon. Can’t wait to begin the third.
May 12, 2020
Now this was a beauty.
The book, and the next one in the series, is what pushed Merlin to be my 5th favorite book series. The plot continued nicely with many twists and many opportunities for inferences. The only problem is... there’s only one more book after this!
-Ranger Fiercestar The Falcon
A Bookworm ;)
The book, and the next one in the series, is what pushed Merlin to be my 5th favorite book series. The plot continued nicely with many twists and many opportunities for inferences. The only problem is... there’s only one more book after this!
-Ranger Fiercestar The Falcon
A Bookworm ;)
June 11, 2021
This "trilogy" within the series is pretty good. The author is very consistant. And the new characters are interesting. The plot just seems more of the same although the settings are slightly different. Second of three about Tamwyn, Scree, and Elli.
August 2, 2023
Loved the continuing saga of the Tree of Avalon. Along with the original characters new ones have been introduced and as in book one some you love some you don't. Looking forward to book 3 to see how this saga ends
July 14, 2024
What happens when all of Avalon goes to war? How did the most evil being get into Avalon to usurp its beauty and wonders? What happened to Merlin's son, Merlin's grandsons, and many other magic beings of Avalon. Why and to what ends? You will find out. You will be astounded.
July 1, 2017
Loved it!!
Love the series!!
Love the series!!
July 7, 2017
Review by B.M.: "The book was very good, especially the part when Scree is in the eagle town."
August 30, 2018
The book was interesting when first reading it, but it became boring after re-reading the book. The book lost me after the first 100 pages of re-reading it ( number is rounded).
March 29, 2019
As much as I hate cliff hangers, this one ends in hope and not suspense, so it’s not as bad as usual cliff hangers.
June 25, 2021
Encore et toujours la même chose… il en reste un seul!
August 18, 2021
"Prayer feels mostly like telling....but meditation feels less like telling, more like listening."-pg.55
March 20, 2024
I am enjoying the series, but so far this is the book I found to be less than I expected based on the nine previous books. However, I am looking forward to the remaining books in the series.
August 10, 2024
“Sway, broad boughs of Avalon,
Shielding from the storm–
Bend so far, yet never break:
Ev’ry day newborn”
—
The cover to this book is very cool? It is similar enough to the first one that it’s familiar, but it’s distinct by showing the Tree in winter. It sets the mood.
I remember when I picked this book (and the final one in the trilogy) up! It was at the Half-Priced Books in College Station; we had dropped off Laura at college. I read them on the drive back!
Memories aside… I don’t know if this book holds up all that well. The middle installment of a trilogy always has a problem: how do we continue the story, and also set up the finale? Often writers tackle it by making a middle installment that treads water, so it’s less of three stories as much as two installments, where the second takes two volumes. That can work, though it often doesn’t, and this book has three protagonist storylines.
Elli’s storyline is okay, but it has massive problems in that characters are acting really, really dumb. The reader knows that there’s an assassin named Deth Macoll (*sigh* I know…) that’s infiltrated her group by pretending to be a jester who JUST SO HAPPENS to know where the evil McGuffin they’re looking for is, and he’s obviously sketchy, and the best we get is the adult in the group telling her that there’s something off about him. He also takes forever to try to kill Elli. This would have been significantly easier to read if we didn’t know right away who this guy was, and if we didn’t keep getting bits of his point of view where we see what he’s thinking and how bad he is at this job. All it does is make Elli and her friends look dumb.
Scree’s storyline is…. Bad. Not terrible, because the content of it is fine, and it could be great, but it feels like Thomas Archibald is speedrunning through it. He gets less chapters than the other two, and none of the struggles he goes through get enough time to breathe and matter. Shocking revelations happen, and then we’re moving on.
Tamwyn… actually his story works. His works the most. Not that there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s overall very good. And it actually makes sense that this one takes more than one volume to chronicle, because he’s climbing up the tree on an epic journey to the stars. Of course it takes a while to get there, and there’s an in-between adventure. If the rest of the story worked like his arc did, I would have very little to complain about.
Also, rather casually in conversation, Tamwyn drops the bomb that Rhita Gawr was once a mortal man?!? What?! Does someone want to back up and talk about that? The guy’s pretty much this universe’s version of the Devil (or at the very least, a destructive god of war), and he used to be human?! This isn’t a complaint, because the story’s not about him, I just have questions, and I would like to have seen that covered in another book, rather than what we got with the “Merlin’s Dragon” trilogy.
There are other fun bits here. There are water dragons! And they breathe ice. That was cool. Seeing more of the Root Realms is also interesting, as they’re all element-based and weird. I didn’t think I would like the fire angels as much on this read-through, and yet I ended up thinking that portion was really cool.
Now let’s see where we go with the final book in the trilogy: the one with the big final battle.
Shielding from the storm–
Bend so far, yet never break:
Ev’ry day newborn”
—
The cover to this book is very cool? It is similar enough to the first one that it’s familiar, but it’s distinct by showing the Tree in winter. It sets the mood.
I remember when I picked this book (and the final one in the trilogy) up! It was at the Half-Priced Books in College Station; we had dropped off Laura at college. I read them on the drive back!
Memories aside… I don’t know if this book holds up all that well. The middle installment of a trilogy always has a problem: how do we continue the story, and also set up the finale? Often writers tackle it by making a middle installment that treads water, so it’s less of three stories as much as two installments, where the second takes two volumes. That can work, though it often doesn’t, and this book has three protagonist storylines.
Elli’s storyline is okay, but it has massive problems in that characters are acting really, really dumb. The reader knows that there’s an assassin named Deth Macoll (*sigh* I know…) that’s infiltrated her group by pretending to be a jester who JUST SO HAPPENS to know where the evil McGuffin they’re looking for is, and he’s obviously sketchy, and the best we get is the adult in the group telling her that there’s something off about him. He also takes forever to try to kill Elli. This would have been significantly easier to read if we didn’t know right away who this guy was, and if we didn’t keep getting bits of his point of view where we see what he’s thinking and how bad he is at this job. All it does is make Elli and her friends look dumb.
Scree’s storyline is…. Bad. Not terrible, because the content of it is fine, and it could be great, but it feels like Thomas Archibald is speedrunning through it. He gets less chapters than the other two, and none of the struggles he goes through get enough time to breathe and matter. Shocking revelations happen, and then we’re moving on.
Tamwyn… actually his story works. His works the most. Not that there’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s overall very good. And it actually makes sense that this one takes more than one volume to chronicle, because he’s climbing up the tree on an epic journey to the stars. Of course it takes a while to get there, and there’s an in-between adventure. If the rest of the story worked like his arc did, I would have very little to complain about.
Also, rather casually in conversation, Tamwyn drops the bomb that Rhita Gawr was once a mortal man?!? What?! Does someone want to back up and talk about that? The guy’s pretty much this universe’s version of the Devil (or at the very least, a destructive god of war), and he used to be human?! This isn’t a complaint, because the story’s not about him, I just have questions, and I would like to have seen that covered in another book, rather than what we got with the “Merlin’s Dragon” trilogy.
There are other fun bits here. There are water dragons! And they breathe ice. That was cool. Seeing more of the Root Realms is also interesting, as they’re all element-based and weird. I didn’t think I would like the fire angels as much on this read-through, and yet I ended up thinking that portion was really cool.
Now let’s see where we go with the final book in the trilogy: the one with the big final battle.
December 18, 2014
It was actually a 2.5 star book, but I didn't have the heart to round up. This picks up right where the first book of the trilogy leaves off, with the typical splitting of the original fellowship--er, group of companions--to pursue different helpful quests. The thing about this book especially is that Barron's world-building is fantastic. His creatures are delightfully interesting, his settings are incredibly vivid, and the connection of the various roots, trunk, and eventually branches of the Great Tree of Avalon are so very well done. I want to wander around this world, explore it, live in it for a while, meet its peoples. This is everything that you hope a reader will want to do when you write this kind of story.
Unfortunately, I don't want to do it with really any of the characters who are acting as my guides.
I'm actually kind of a fan of Lleu and Gwyrion, but other than them (and they're minor characters at best), I just don't like any of these people/creatures. They feel flat and forced, and their relationships seem stilted and too black-and-white even in their greyest moments. I think that's what really bothered me about this book and why I simply couldn't warm to it--I never doubted for a moment that the story would move forward and the main characters would be okay. There was never a reason to do so. When things seem most dire, something is always remembered or discovered or explained so that the quest(s) can continue moving along. The boy will fall for the girl (and the girl, despite her misgivings, will return the favor); the bad guy will be ineffectively bad, but only just; the good guys will get indignant about something and right it before going on to the next injustice. There was never any real, page-turning, questioning-in-tension doubt about what was coming next, and I just can't get into a story like that.
Also, Deth MaColl is arguably one of the worst villains I've ever read. I'm sorry, but none of his motivations made a lick of sense to me, despite Barron's repeated explanations of them. He was the epitome of the monologuing villain, I felt, and I can't buy that any of the characters fell for his disguise. They can't possibly be that stupid.
I'll be reading the third since I already own it, but I'm not going to be keeping this on my shelves. It's a shame that such uninteresting characters inhabit such an incredibly interesting world.
Unfortunately, I don't want to do it with really any of the characters who are acting as my guides.
I'm actually kind of a fan of Lleu and Gwyrion, but other than them (and they're minor characters at best), I just don't like any of these people/creatures. They feel flat and forced, and their relationships seem stilted and too black-and-white even in their greyest moments. I think that's what really bothered me about this book and why I simply couldn't warm to it--I never doubted for a moment that the story would move forward and the main characters would be okay. There was never a reason to do so. When things seem most dire, something is always remembered or discovered or explained so that the quest(s) can continue moving along. The boy will fall for the girl (and the girl, despite her misgivings, will return the favor); the bad guy will be ineffectively bad, but only just; the good guys will get indignant about something and right it before going on to the next injustice. There was never any real, page-turning, questioning-in-tension doubt about what was coming next, and I just can't get into a story like that.
Also, Deth MaColl is arguably one of the worst villains I've ever read. I'm sorry, but none of his motivations made a lick of sense to me, despite Barron's repeated explanations of them. He was the epitome of the monologuing villain, I felt, and I can't buy that any of the characters fell for his disguise. They can't possibly be that stupid.
I'll be reading the third since I already own it, but I'm not going to be keeping this on my shelves. It's a shame that such uninteresting characters inhabit such an incredibly interesting world.
November 11, 2010
I've been waiting to read this book for an incredibly long time. About six years actually. And I finished this book in five days. Vindication. Although it's not as long as its predecessor, and not as good. The imagery is still lush and plentiful as ever--but perhaps the shortness of the book made the events seemed rushed. Some of the characters' actions seem slightly trivial due to the lack of time devoted to nurturing the motivation for those actions. (Case in point, I felt Scree's attachment to Arc-kaya was not odd, but far too strong to drive him to want to hunt down and kill the Queen and the warrior that killed her. Also, the Sapphire Unicorn is introduced, and it sounds like a magnificent creature that I would've liked to have gotten to know more, and she gets killed off in like, the first three chapters or something like that. And it leaves me wondering what the point of introducing her was. And IF bards have wrote songs about her and she's a part of the luminous folklore--how come she's never been mentioned in the previous book, or at least in the "Brief History of Avalon" part??) Other events are also somewhat haphardly thrown in, like..SCREE HAD A SON?!?!? With a woman several years his senior?? It's definitely a WTF moment, because although Scree was technically fully physical grown when he....did it, he was still waaaay too young! It's ..weird.
So yeah. I feel like this book would've been better if it was longer, and the plotlines had more time to unfold. It felt like this book was just a filler inbetween the first and third ones...the stuff in here probably could've fit into either the first or third books. Because although some crucial information is revealed in this part, ..it just feels..well, I already explained.
I still liked it..but if the third book doesn't match the intensity and awesomeness of the first installment, I swear--the whole trilogy will be ruined for me. :(
So yeah. I feel like this book would've been better if it was longer, and the plotlines had more time to unfold. It felt like this book was just a filler inbetween the first and third ones...the stuff in here probably could've fit into either the first or third books. Because although some crucial information is revealed in this part, ..it just feels..well, I already explained.
I still liked it..but if the third book doesn't match the intensity and awesomeness of the first installment, I swear--the whole trilogy will be ruined for me. :(
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2013
I didn't read any other books in the series, first off, so that probably affects my review. I bought it because it looked interesting... and cheap ^.^
Anyway, about the book. It has a nice story plot, but quite confusing at times because there are around 3 groups of split-off adventures all on their own path. There are a lot of characters that you have to familiarise with, fast, because later it gets really confusing with everybody in different places. The author has a way with beautiful descriptive words, and puts it to good use. It has many fantasy creatures, which may intrigue and draw in some readers while reflecting back others.
I thought that even though the descriptive bits in there were really nice, they were unnecessary. They had nothing to do with the plot whatsoever, just bits of random places that looked amazing. Also, authors confine their main characters to, based on my experience, 6 at the maximum. In this book, there are a lot of main characters (the elf, the short giant, Merlin's heir, the human girl, Nuic, the hoolah, batty lad, (ish) the jester, Scree, the priest) which can be very confusing to keep up with.
In terms of how much I wanted to keep reading, not very much. I finished this book a loooooong time after I started reading it, always reading new books from the library before it. I did feel like I wanted to read the book after this at the end, though. It has a very 'I want to keep reading!' sort of ending, but at the start and during the book, not so much.
Overall I give this 2.5 out of 5. The author has some potential, but if only they could balance the priorities and put some twists in there. Tension needs to be worked on quite a bit. This is one of those books that you read if you have nothing else to read.
Anyway, about the book. It has a nice story plot, but quite confusing at times because there are around 3 groups of split-off adventures all on their own path. There are a lot of characters that you have to familiarise with, fast, because later it gets really confusing with everybody in different places. The author has a way with beautiful descriptive words, and puts it to good use. It has many fantasy creatures, which may intrigue and draw in some readers while reflecting back others.
I thought that even though the descriptive bits in there were really nice, they were unnecessary. They had nothing to do with the plot whatsoever, just bits of random places that looked amazing. Also, authors confine their main characters to, based on my experience, 6 at the maximum. In this book, there are a lot of main characters (the elf, the short giant, Merlin's heir, the human girl, Nuic, the hoolah, batty lad, (ish) the jester, Scree, the priest) which can be very confusing to keep up with.
In terms of how much I wanted to keep reading, not very much. I finished this book a loooooong time after I started reading it, always reading new books from the library before it. I did feel like I wanted to read the book after this at the end, though. It has a very 'I want to keep reading!' sort of ending, but at the start and during the book, not so much.
Overall I give this 2.5 out of 5. The author has some potential, but if only they could balance the priorities and put some twists in there. Tension needs to be worked on quite a bit. This is one of those books that you read if you have nothing else to read.
April 30, 2010
The second book in T. A. Barron's "The Great Tree of Avalon Trilogy" builds onto its prequel, adding suspense and beauty to the tapestry that is Avalon. Mysteries both start and grow; destinies are found; romances start and face trials; and new characters enter the epic trilogy which was the first books I have ever read in all my 15 years of living to actually make me cry. The author builds onto his previously introduced characters and enters new ones. I loved the "shrunkelled" giant, Shim certainly, definitely, absolutely =); and I ADORED the cute little creature, Batty Lad. With each chapter of this trilogy, I fell deeper in love with Tamwyn, and each gasp-inducing shock was followed closely by another. I was once intimated (and more than a little creeped out) by Kulwych, who we find to be a groveling coward in the second book. As my love for Tamwyn grew, so did my hatred for Lynnia (that green spot on her chin never failed to make me laugh, haha). This book is even better than the first; but like its predecessor, it has some language and sexual content (we find out that Scree...erm...shall we say...BONDED with an eagle woman by the name of Quenaykha years earlier. It's not until he kills a young eagleman that the mutilated, dying Quenaykha reveals to Scree that that was his son). Like the first book, some things are predictable, but it is so worth the read. I highly recommend these novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2012
One-dimensional characters.
1) The evil antagonist Rhita Gawr is essentially undeveloped in this book. Unlike book 1, where you get some character development of Kulwich, enough to dislike him for his brutal enslavement of creatures to build the giant dam, Rhita Gawr gets hardly any character depth in this installment.
2) There was hardly any development of either Tamwyn's or Elli's magical powers, even though it might have helped the characters, and developed the plot.
3) The ending is abrupt and disappointing. The story needed some kind of interim completion before the 3rd installment where, obviously, Barron intends for the characters to develop their magical powers and for the forces of Good and Evil to do virtually all of the battle. It seemed to me that at least some of the development for these things belonged in this book.
As each character follows their quest, their growth and realization that their need and feelings for other members of the story unfold in ways that feel right and contribute to the flow of the story. Enough happens in this middle part of the trilogy to keep you turning pages while leaving a setup for a dandy finale in the book to come. Tamwyn and Ellie both do some growing up in this book, but the surprise is how the events in the book effect Scree. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found myself pondering how T.A. Barron will resolve some of the seemingly impossible challenges that face the characters by the final page.
1) The evil antagonist Rhita Gawr is essentially undeveloped in this book. Unlike book 1, where you get some character development of Kulwich, enough to dislike him for his brutal enslavement of creatures to build the giant dam, Rhita Gawr gets hardly any character depth in this installment.
2) There was hardly any development of either Tamwyn's or Elli's magical powers, even though it might have helped the characters, and developed the plot.
3) The ending is abrupt and disappointing. The story needed some kind of interim completion before the 3rd installment where, obviously, Barron intends for the characters to develop their magical powers and for the forces of Good and Evil to do virtually all of the battle. It seemed to me that at least some of the development for these things belonged in this book.
As each character follows their quest, their growth and realization that their need and feelings for other members of the story unfold in ways that feel right and contribute to the flow of the story. Enough happens in this middle part of the trilogy to keep you turning pages while leaving a setup for a dandy finale in the book to come. Tamwyn and Ellie both do some growing up in this book, but the surprise is how the events in the book effect Scree. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and found myself pondering how T.A. Barron will resolve some of the seemingly impossible challenges that face the characters by the final page.
July 29, 2011
The "good guys" are a little too good; the "bad guys" are a little too cheesy-evil -- still, I've been completely sucked in by this trilogy. The author's world-building continues to impress, as we explore more of the world-tree of Avalon and its connection with . There's plenty of fantasy adventure (including water dragons!), romantic relationships both tender and... otherwise, a healthy dose of tragedy, and a hint of Celtic (and some Welsh!) mythology.
The scene continues to be completely stolen by Nuic the sprite, but the other characters are growing on me as they come into their own, particularly Tamwyn, the reluctant wizard.
I meant to say this about Book 1, but I'll say it now: I highly, HIGHLY recommend this series for teen fantasy fans looking for something a bit more mature than Harry Potter.
The scene continues to be completely stolen by Nuic the sprite, but the other characters are growing on me as they come into their own, particularly Tamwyn, the reluctant wizard.
I meant to say this about Book 1, but I'll say it now: I highly, HIGHLY recommend this series for teen fantasy fans looking for something a bit more mature than Harry Potter.
January 8, 2014
I didn’t like this book as much as the first one. Yes, the characters are more or less still the same, so there are of course those that I still like, but the story overall felt way too stretched with not that much happening in over 500 pages. Plus, the ending was rather anti-climactic and could have been more like the ending of another part than of the whole book.
Still, the overall story is quite interesting and exciting and though I’m not much of a fan of this type pf nature-loving descriptions, Barron does know how to engage his reader. It was clearly written with a younger audience in mind so it might have been better if his main characters were also at age because most of the time? The don’t act like 17 year olds at all, at least when it comes to romance. Though of course that topic is only a marginalized part of the story.
Still, the overall story is quite interesting and exciting and though I’m not much of a fan of this type pf nature-loving descriptions, Barron does know how to engage his reader. It was clearly written with a younger audience in mind so it might have been better if his main characters were also at age because most of the time? The don’t act like 17 year olds at all, at least when it comes to romance. Though of course that topic is only a marginalized part of the story.
October 28, 2014
Although I liked the first book better, this one wasn't quite as easy to predict. The main reason I'm griping is because this felt like some editor said gee, you'd better chop the rest of this into a third book. It built tension wonderfully, and then it was over. I can't really point to a climax. It felt like half a book. And the assassin character seemed really flat and disappointing. I hope he's not dead, or he died way too easily. There were many good things about the book, though. Descriptions were the strongest part, and the characters were maturing a bit from where they'd left off in the first book. It'll be interesting to see how the whole chain of events plays out. If you haven't read the first one, it's a really good idea to pick that up before reading this. Otherwise, Recommended.
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