Book Rec for Fans of MWT

[dannybailey.livejournal.com]

I was reading a review of one of my favorite YA series, Westmark by Lloyd Alexander, when I saw a shout out to Queen's Thief fans. I thought it might pique some people's interest, and maybe you'd like to check out Westmark.

Read the review here.

And, if anyone else has read the Westmark trilogy before and is interested in discussion and squeeing, follow me on tumblr at florianschild.tumblr.com.

Comments

[manderelee.livejournal.com]

I remember starting the Westmark series some years back, but somehow never picked up any of the books after the first. Now that I think about it, I don't really remember much of what happened in the first book. Hm, perhaps this is a sign I should put the series back on my TBR list!

[dannybailey.livejournal.com]

I would compare the series to Queen's Thief in the sense that it gets more complicated, heart-breaking, and mature as the story progresses. Westmark is like The Thief; it is the most stand-alone and youth-oriented of the trilogy. I hope you have the chance to read the rest! :)

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

I would agree, though I don't think any of the trilogy really approaches the complexity of Queen's Thief. But in terms of emotional engagement and rich cast of characters, there are many similar appeals - though Mickle is much more of a trickster than Theo, who is Alexander's typical loyal hero of average intelligence (though Kestrel shows some interesting qualities to him).

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

I read Westmark relatively soon after I read Prydain, also by Alexander, and quite liked it. I read Beggar Queen in the next few years, and didn't read Kestrel till a year or so after that. Kestrel is definitely my least favorite, and Beggar Queen my favorite - I'm a sucker for the richness of characters in the last book, and the romance. It does feel a bit like Les Mis lite, but very enjoyable for all that.

[dannybailey.livejournal.com]

The Prydain Chronicles are also wonderful! I actually think they are so good that the Westmark Trilogy sometimes gets an unfair comparison to them and people think of it as Alexander's lesser series.

Regarding your reading order, that sounds like it would be pretty confusing! The events of Beggar Queen are so tied into The Kestrel. I like The Kestrel the most, actually. But probably because I enjoy seeing the dark sides of characters, which you definitely get a lot of in that book.

I think you're spot on with the Les Mis comparison! Especially in The Beggar Queen (the barricade, of course, and the socio-economics). There's a pretty active Les Mis fandom on tumblr, and I think a lot of fans of that story would enjoy this series.

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Prydain is indeed great, though I don't much care for Taran Wanderer. I might like it more now, but I've not read the series since high school.

It was somewhat confusing - and likely why I didn't like Kestrel as much, since Beggar Queen makes Theo's Kestrel phase seem super awesome, but it's just kinda blah in the book itself. Which I get why, but Theo is so terrifyingly awesome as Kestrel in Beggar Queen, giddy about killing a cannon, that I was hoping for more of that when I finally got to Kestrel.

[ibmiller.livejournal.com]

Also, look what I found in my blog! http://ibmiller.tumblr.com/post/37703782656/westmark-revisited

I, too, draw the connection between Attolia and Westmark! :) (I was also a bit harsher on the series having just reread it)