Lloyd Alexander Omnibus

These are very good books that I would have liked to encounter as a youngster. The others don't quite measure up to the high standard set by The Arkadians, but the whole thing is worth getting just for it. The clever combining of all of the most familiar Greek tales into one adventure in Arkadians has to be read to be appreciated.

Lloyd Alexander is best known for his award-winning Prydain series, then for the Vesper Holly adventures and the Westmark trilogy. Aside from these, he has also written a lot of sparkling standalone adventures, drawing from cultures all around the world."The Arkadians" takes place in a vaguely Grecian setting, when a young boy flees evil fortunetellers and a hot-tempered king. He soon teams up with a talking donkey and a witty magical girl, to find the mysterious Lady."The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen" follows a young Chinese prince and his sharp-tongued servant, who travel to a beautiful land to ask the king of it how he governs so well. The result is a quest that teaches Jen a few things..."The Iron Ring" concerns a young Indian king who recklessly gambles away his kingdom, wealth, and life to a stranger, and an iron ring appears on his finger. He must travel to a distant kingdom with his companions before his lesson is truly learned.Alexander's casts often include similar characters: the flawed hero who needs to learn something on the way, the odd and often self-deprecating sidekick, and the girl with wit and intelligence and little patience with needless idiocy. Additionally, in these particular stories there are often old myths and legends from their respective cultures scattered through the plot.Though for sheer pathos and scope these books do not match the Prydain Chronicles, they are nevertheless great stories by a master storyteller.