The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron

The library has most of the Lost Years of Merlin series, so I figured I should give T. A. Barron another chance. I had previously read Barron's first young adult novel Heartlight and didn't like it. But a publisher would not publish an entire series if they didn't have some interest.

This story suffers from the same problems I noticed in Heartlight. The transitions from one part of the story to the next were less awkward but still odd. Both stories start in ordinary life that we can relate too. Merlin's story takes place in the distant past, but there is nothing too unusual. As the story builds Merlin (aka Emrys) determines he must discover his true origins and takes off on his own. Just as in Heartlight, the story begins to build on the fantastical with fantastical creatures and events. Merlin meets an unusual child, a human-tree hybrid, and a talking spider. Crystals also show up again.

The story kept getting stranger and stranger and I just couldn't make myself finish it.

I'm also getting tired of young adult writers relying on the poor, misunderstood orphan child trope. Somehow Rowling managed to extend her story over several books - an orphan trying to understand himself and his past. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. It doesn't work for me here. This is a series I would probably not recommend to today's teen. Moving on.

Book rating: 1 star