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Noble collection nenya mark4/11/2024 ![]() I love how perfectly paced Lloyd Alexander's writing always is. As the story builds to its heart-palpitating climax, these two bands find themselves inexplicably drawn to the capitol city of Marianstat and into the grasping hands of the sinister Cabbarus. But when the demands of his conscience prove to much to bear, Theo strikes out on his own and takes a job as scribe for a small group of revolutionaries led by the charismatic Florian. Absalom, also known as Count Las Bombas, the trusty dwarf Musket, and the bright but haunted girl Mickle-a former pickpocket and street urchin. On the run from the law, Theo finds himself in league with the mysterious Dr. ![]() Ever since Chief Minister Cabbarus took over the running of the kingdom from their grieving king, he has been systematically curtailing the freedoms of the people. Absalom, Theo and his master are forced to flee into the night as guards break into the printing press and burn the shop to the ground. Theo is a printer's devil-an apprentice to the printer Anton in the small town of Dorning in the kingdom of Westmark. Though not the kind you might be expecting. Main character Theo is, in fact, a devil. ![]() I have re-read them many times since the first time and I love them more with every encounter. Alexander is so well-known for the Chronicles of Prydain and it seems to me this little gem of a trilogy hasn't gotten quite the same reception, though WESTMARK actually won the National Book Award in 1982. They were utterly different from the Chronicles of Prydain-darker, and not really fantasy at all, though they are set in a fictional kingdom. When the librarian informed me it was the first in a trilogy, I quickly grabbed the other two and made for the door. I picked up WESTMARK first because of the cover and because I read the first line and was completely sold. When we moved back to the states, we stopped in at the local library and I immediately went to the A section to see if they had any other Alexander books. We were living overseas at the time and, unfortunately, we had limited access to books. We sat there enchanted as he read the entire five-book series aloud to the class. He did all the voices, from opinionated Eilonwy to noble Gwydion to humble Gurgi with his poor, tender head. At the beginning of sixth grade my teacher pulled out The Book of Three, the first in Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain, and began reading. Lloyd Alexander is one of a handful of authors who had a hand in forming who I am today.
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