A Pioneering work, which is firmly in the hero's quest tradition. This is the last written of William Morris' five fantasies. The sub-genre was often to be revisited by later writers, perhaps most garishly by Robert Howard in his Conan Canon. Morris though still trying to find his feet, was a better writer by far. The Tolkien Fan might find some interesting precursing being done here. ( )

While I find the very existence of this book fascinating - it's almost a very slow literary exploration of life, but it's set in a medievalish fantasy world - it is not, in fact, anything I particularly enjoy. ( )

Reading is a performing art. I have read this book only once, but that performance lives in my memory. I remember the day I read it almost as well as the book itself. I purposely put the music of Guillaume de Machaut on the stereo. And, though a sunny day outside, I stayed in all day, reading. I read it in one sitting.

This is probably more attention given to the book than most will aim for. Or I again. And yet I think the book calls for it. Even now, 25 years later, I can re-read that first page and see how well written the book is. Yes, it is written in a deliberately archaic style. But this doesn't bother me, as it has bothered me from other writers.

The story struck me as a unified thing, not gone on too long (which may be the problem of his most famous fantasy, "The Well at the World's End"). I can only rate it, now, as I would have then. Highly. And I think about reading it again. ( )

Reprint. London : George Prior, 1979 ( )