Reviews for The Lost Years of Merlin (Lost Years of Merlin Series #1)

The average rating for The Lost Years of Merlin (Lost Years of Merlin Series #1) based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-10-15 00:00:00 Charles Hannan I enjoyed the prose, particularly when it describes the natural world. However, the novel is poorly plotted, with the protagonist bouncing from one coincidental encounter to the next. Nearly every problem is solved by something fortuitously dropping from the sky, appearing out of the blue, etc. No fewer than FIVE chapters end with the protagonist falling unconscious. Once is a cliche; five times is an offense against literature. The protagonist is almost willfully stupid. Either that or the author assumes his reader is equally thick. Everything is articulated in the most heavy-handed way possible. Similarly, Rhia and Merlin know each other for a few days, but some passages infer that we're meant to think of them as lifelong friends. They don't behave like people who have known each other for only a few days (particularly when Merlin confirms he's not a ghost to Rhia by wrapping his index finger around hers, as if they've had time to make that a gesture with personal history/significance to either of them). Their relationship is unbelievable. Shim, the tiny giant, speaks like Jar Jar Binks and is equally insufferable. Merlin abandons his loving mother but rescues his evil father. There's just so much to dislike here.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-01-22 00:00:00 Gregory T Becker (review in English below) Não consegui interessar-me por esta história. Tentei, ainda cheguei à página 191 (!), mas desisto. Tudo muito déjá-(l)vu, e uma escrita que não consegue prender-me - o que pode dever-se, em parte, à tradução (de vez em quando, há frases que não fazem muito sentido). Ao contrário do que diz a capa ("Se é fã do género fantástico ou da série Harry Potter, não pode deixar de ler Merlin - Os Anos Perdidos"), este livro é mais adequado a quem ainda não tenha lido (muita) fantasia, pois quem já leu alguma não vai ter paciência para isto... Recomendado apenas a adolescentes que queiram iniciar-se na fantasia. I just couldn't become interested in this story. I tried, I got to page 191 (!), but I give up. It's all very déjá-(l)vu, and I can't connect with the writing - the translation may be to blame, partially at least (some phrases don't seem to make much sense). Contrary to what is advertised on the cover ("If you're a fan of the fantastic genre or of the Harry Potter series, you have to read Merlin - The Lost Years"), this book is more suited for those who haven't read (much) fantasy, for those who've read some won't have patience for this... Recommended only to teenagers who are starting their way into fantasy.