The Lost Years of Merlin/Merlin, Book I: The Lost Years (T.A. Barron)

Author Biography

T.A. Barron is a prolific author of books for children and young adults, particularly in the fantasy genre, as well as an active founder and supporter of conservation causes. He lives in Colorado.

Published By: Penguin Group USA

Year: 1996

ISBN: 399-23018-1

Reading Level: Grades 7 and up

Reader’s Annotation:

With no memory of his past, Emrys sets out on a quest to learn who he truly is. A quest that will eventually transform him into the greatest wizard the world has ever known: Merlin.

Plot  Summary:

Twelve-year-old outcast Emrys has lived in poverty with Branwen, who claims to be his mother, ever since the sea tossed them onto the coast of Gwynedd. Of his life before that day he has no memory and Branwen refuses to tell him anything. Yet little by little, he discovers strange powers within himself – intuition, prediction, and control of events using only his mind. But after a horrific accident costs him his eyesight, he vows never to use magic again.

Learning to perceive the world through psychic “second sight,” Emrys resolves to leave Gwynedd to find his true home and identity. His quest takes him to the mythical island of Fincayra, an “in between place” that bridges earth and heaven, but which is slowly being destroyed by a deadly blight caused by a corrupt king and a power-hungry spirit. Together with forest girl Rhia, dwarf-sized “giant” Shim, and feisty merlin hawk Trouble, Emrys sets out to find a solution. In doing so, he just might learn the secrets of his past… and glimpse the far greater destiny that awaits him. 

Critical Evaluation:

Originally published in 1996 as The Lost Years of Merlin and reissued in 2011 as Merlin, Book 1: The Lost Years, this first book of T.A. Barron’s Merlin Saga draws on various Welsh myths to envision the boyhood of the most legendary wizard of all time. Through various losses, gains and adventures, young Emrys grows from a fairly sulky preteen, afraid of his magic and obsessed to a selfish degree with finding his origins, into a noble young hero and budding wizard who learns that true identity lies not in facts from the past, but in character.

As fantasy novels go, this is an unabashed cliché fest. An amnesiac hero in search of his past, a girl who eventually needs rescuing, a comical non-human sidekick with quirky speech patterns, magic fueled by the power of love, and a plotline that blends familiar aspects of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Prydain with a hint of Star Wars for good measure. But thanks to the richly atmospheric storytelling, world-building and characterizations, it not only works, but works beautifully. The author blends mythology and time-honored archetypes with original ideas in an effortless, engaging whole, while his passion for nature and environmentalism shines clearly in the beauties and value Emrys finds in plants and animals and in the tragedy of Fincayra’s blighted lands. Effective both as a stand-alone novel and as the beginning of a series, this book is one that all lovers both of fantasy novels and of Arthurian legend should enjoy very much.

Curriculum Ties:

*Arthurian legend
*Mythology

*Fantasy worlds

*Environmentalism

Challenge Issues:

*Violence
*Illegitimate birth references

*Disturbing imagery

Why This Book?

Beautifully written, cinematic, deft in its reinvention of ancient Welsh mythology, and engaging despite its formulaic aspects, this book deserves a prominent place on any YA fantasy lover’s shelf.