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Westmark The Westmark Trilogy Lloyd Alexander Books

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Westmark The Westmark Trilogy Lloyd Alexander Books

It's a shame this novel is out of print. I bought a used copy from Amazon because I've long been a fan of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles and wanted to try some of his other work.

Westmark has all the trappings of a typical fantasy novel -- princesses disguised as paupers, a boy hero from the streets who longs for more, even a dwarf -- but it's also more grounded than you might expect in a YA fantasy novel. There's no magic, no epic quest. And the story is unusually concerned with morality: what's right, what's wrong, what can be excused by warfare and necessity?

The story moves quickly, but never feels rushed. The characters start out as broad archetypes, but never feel clichéd. I won't say I enjoyed this as much as the Prydain novels, but I did enjoy it. I'll definitely hunt down the next two in the trilogy.


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Westmark The Westmark Trilogy Lloyd Alexander Books Reviews

I've been a Lloyd Alexander fan for a long time now, and in spite of the hype over the Prydain novels, i think this series deserves to be called his best work. being the first of three novels, with The Kestrel being second and The Beggar Queen third, Westmark serves to set up the rest of the series but is far more than just that.
in a world askew, the characters bear conflicted consciences worthy of Russian literature, set forth with such artful simplicity that it is truly breathtaking. the Christian reader may be disturbed by the open humanism. don't be. in spite of the author's views on the power of humanity, his vision in everything else is remarkably clear, and the portrayal of right and wrong, innocence and corruption, is by far the most awesome in children's literature i have ever seen, and it is only fated to get better as the series continues.
one of the things i have always loved about Lloyd Alexander is his refusal to lower himself or his characters to crudeness, a high ground rarely taken by modern authors, and the interest of the story does not come from a steamy romance or bloody fight scenes. the characters are intriguing in themselves, and the story flows from them almost as if they wrote it themselves. this is what children's literature-indeed all literature-should look like, and when fads like Redwall and Twilight have died away, these books will survive, loved and beloved for generations to come.
Look, I love Lloyd Alexander. I devoured the Chronicles of Prydain like Halloween candy, and after that, I bought up any Alexander novels I could find. So the only way I can justify myself in writing this review is by pretending that “Westmark” wasn’t written by Lloyd Alexander. Which it might as well not have been for all the resemblance it bore to his work.

Theo is a devil. Well, not literally. That’s what they call a printer’s apprentice in Westmark. But Theo doesn’t get to be a devil for much of this story; he and his master try to fill an order that will make them rich only to get busted by the evil chief minister’s goons, forcing Theo to go into hiding with Count Las Bombas, the very same charlatan that got him into trouble in the first place. Theo, Las Bombas, the dwarf Musket, and the foundling girl Mickle form a sideshow that travels throughout Westmark, conning people right and left. Theo doesn’t really think that all this dishonesty is right, but how can he leave his new friends behind, especially when one of them might be the key to saving the kingdom?

The Achilles heel of this story isn’t anything I just summarized for you (the predictability of the rest of the plot is another matter) but a decision Alexander made about the tone of his tale he tried to be too serious. Now, Lloyd Alexander is normally anything but serious. Not frivolous, not without a moral lesson or three, but lighthearted with plenty of humor and parody. Well, “Westmark” isn’t like that. I’d think it was trying to be an epic if it weren’t for the occasional unfunny joke thrust without warning into the narration. The forced seriousness made it hard for me to take anything seriously. None of the characters made an impression on me, the "romance" made me roll my eyes, the dialogue was rather wooden, and the prose was adequate at best. The plot, as I said above, was a little predictable on top of that. Overall, I just couldn’t keep myself interested.

I feel bad about this, honest I do. If “Westmark” hadn’t been written by one of my favorite authors, I might have been a touch kinder, given that it’s still not the worst fantasy a kid could be reading. On the other hand, I might not have had the willpower to give it a chance had it not been for the Alexander name stamped on it. Nevertheless, I think I’m done with this series. There are apparently two sequels, but I’m not that interested in reading more hackneyed save-the-kingdom-and-get-the-girl books. I’ll just search out more of the Alexander I know and love.
I am enjoying my book very much. I love that it is hardcover and it will last for a long time.
great
This was a purchase for my children as I like them to keep reading and learning to further their education. They enjoyed it.
well written and entertaining story. The plot and the twists are interesting and well done. The characters dissatisfaction with the way the country is mis-run has several parallels with modern society. I would recommend it to Middle School and up, mostly because they would get more out of it than a younger child.

I wish the two other books in the trilogy were on here - The Kestrel and The Beggar Queen,
It's a shame this novel is out of print. I bought a used copy from because I've long been a fan of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles and wanted to try some of his other work.

Westmark has all the trappings of a typical fantasy novel -- princesses disguised as paupers, a boy hero from the streets who longs for more, even a dwarf -- but it's also more grounded than you might expect in a YA fantasy novel. There's no magic, no epic quest. And the story is unusually concerned with morality what's right, what's wrong, what can be excused by warfare and necessity?

The story moves quickly, but never feels rushed. The characters start out as broad archetypes, but never feel clichéd. I won't say I enjoyed this as much as the Prydain novels, but I did enjoy it. I'll definitely hunt down the next two in the trilogy.