T. A. Barron Collection: The Lost Years of Merlin, the Seven Songs of Merlin, the Fires of Merlin

T.A. Barron breathed new life into the Arthurian fantasy genre with his "Lost Years of Merlin" series, a trilogy that expanded into five books and a sequel series. "The T.A. Barron Collection" brings together the first three books of the "Lost Years" series, with all its imagination and mythic magic.In "The Lost Years of Merlin," a young amnesiac boy and a beautiful woman are washed up on the coast of Wales. They live there somewhat uneasily, until the boy Emrys uses his magic to burn several boys -- and is blinded himself. Still guilt-ridden and unable to remember anything, he sails out and ends up on Fincayra. There he finds that a strange blight is slowly withering away the magical land -- a blight controlled by someone who holds the secret of his past."The Seven Songs of Merlin" opens with young Emrys Merlin confidently calling his mother Elen to Fincayra. But his use of magic attracts the evil Rhita Gawr, and a curse meant for Merlin hits his mother instead. Now he has only a short time to find the cure. But to do so, he must master the Seven Songs of wizardry, and find a well to the underworld that is guarded by an ogre whose gaze can kill.After the disastrous events of the second book, Merlin and his friends and family are relaxing in "Fires of Merlin." But suddenly they are attacked by a magic-leeching monster, and receive the news that the great "Wings of Fire," the dragon Valdearg, has awoken. Now Merlin must keep the dragon from frying Fincayra... but a prophecy says that neither of them will survive.Author T.A. Barron was not a newbie to fantasy books when he started the "Lost Years" series -- he had already written a successful trilogy of modern fantasy stories. And it was the third of those books, "The Merlin Effect," that spurred him to explore the boyhood and adolescence of the legendary wizard.While most authors stick closely to the original legends, Barron sweeps all that away in favor of a more fantasy-based story. These stories are populated by all sorts of fantastical monsters, treelings, elves, goblins, evil hags, dwarves, forest girls and quirky bards. And Barron's obvious love of nature shines through the lovingly-described wild places of Fincayra.Merlin himself is a likable hero -- smart, talented and very kind, but also prone to being hot-tempered and overconfident. It takes awhile for him to grow up, and he's obviously not done in this collection. He's backed up by a colorful supporting cast, including forest girl Rhia, a depressed bard, a beautiful deer-girl, kindly mentor Cairpre, a tiny giant and a brave little hawk.The "T.A. Barron Collection" is a wonderfully written collection, although it leaves off at the end of the third of five books. Exquisitely written.