The Mirror of Merlin is the slowest of the series thus far. It wasn’t until about 150 pages into the book (only about a 250 page book) that things really began to happen. I just felt like this was a little slower than the plot should have moved. Maybe if something more important happened to Merlin at the beginning of the story it would have been more interesting. Basically, we just learn that he is trying to control his shadow, which he is having a hard time with and that his art of Leaping isn’t what it should be. Nonetheless, I stuck with it and am glad I did because the ending was pretty good.However, I can’t say to much about what happens in the last 100 pages besides saying that Merlin does find the mirror. I’m not going to say what he finds in the mirror or what happens at the end of the book, so if you want to know you will have to read other reviews (no spoilers!). I will say that this book contains the most about the Arthurian legend in its last 100 pages.I was really upset that Rhia wasn’t in this book. I really liked her character and thought it would have been more interesting to have her along than Hallia. I didn’t feel that Hallia served to much of a purpose in this novel other than telling Merlin about a great flaming tree in the center of the Marsh and showing him how to find it. She also isn’t anymore developed in this book than she was in the previous. We at least get to see her relationship with Merlin start to develop. The best thing was being able to see some more of the baby dragon!A new creature introduced in this novel was the ballymag. He is pretty much the traveling companion of Merlin and Hallia on their adventure within the Marsh. I didn’t really like him that well. His speech was just really strange and annoying, and other than knowing his way around the Marsh I would say he didn’t serve a purpose. I think Barron could have worked a little harder with this little creature to make him more adoring like Shim. I don’t want another Shim in a different creature, I just want the author to spend as much time developing these new creatures as he did with Shim. That’s what makes Shim such a good character in the first book. Oh well! Maybe you will like the ballymag!Anyway, I thought the book was pretty good. Just not as interesting or exciting as the others. I did enjoy the ending however, which bumped up my rating of the book. After reading all the others in the series you will want to read this as the ending of the book is important. Anyone who loves the series or who likes fantasy books should enjoy this book as well. Just be sure to read them in order!
The Lost Years of Merlin series has always been hit and miss for me, and Mirror of Merlin remains that way with one true gem of redemption.On the positive side, I love Barron's "foreshadowing" as Merlin thinks and has ideas about his future; being familiar with the myths and stories surrounding Merlin's life, it is delightful to read about his life as a teenager when he first has the desire to grow a beard, or live backward in time, or have a crystal cave for his home. I also love Barron's familiarity with the plants and trees and excellent description of the land. It really brings Fincayra to life and makes it easy to see why Merlin has come to love the place.I think characterization is one of Barron's weaker points. I never feel super connected to any of the characters, and I feel like their various relationships could have been expressed better if the dialogue was used a little more economically. Structurally, the books sometimes ramble a bit. A lot of the behavior of the character isn't clearly explained or doing anything to progress the story.Despite some flaws, I consider the final third or so of this book to be the masterpiece of the entire series. Spoiler Alert:My least favorite part of the Merlin myths is that at the end of everything he is deceived by a woman. By having Merlin travel to the Crystal Cave and meet his adult self it was not only a WONDERFUL series of scenes that led to some much-needed character resolutions, it ultimately leaves a hope for the future that "fixes" the lame ending to the myths!The Merlin of the Lost Years now knows his future, fate won't force him to be bested by Nimue, there is this thread of hope that young Merlin can change the course of the future as it might have originally been. This gem of truth and understanding is the highlight of anything I have ever read of T.A. Barron. Despite the plodding early pace of this novel, the ending makes the Mirror of Merlin the wonderful gem of the series. 7/10 overall. The last third: 9/10
What do You think about The Mirror Of Merlin (2002)?
this book was by far the best of the series so far but it still had a few bad things about it. one thing that was bad was that the main bad guy turns out to be a person we knew from a long time ago that turns out to be from the future. its like Harry Potter facing Voldemort after he has already defeated him but the catch being that he is 30 years older. Another bad thing is that (spoiler) Merlin goes to the present at some point then starts to live backwards which never really happened with the real life Merlin. Even if those thing were slightly bad, there are plenty of good thing like the fact that Merlin meets King Arthur which is a super historic figure and happens to be believed real. one last thing i'm gonna say is that i really love to see that he chose to, instead of saving himself, saves some ghouls with such intransigence just because they were enslaved. it tells me that if writers write like this, they are also writing with they're heart.
—Grayson Schoeller
The fourth book of the 5 book “Lost Years of Merlin” series is the first to really begin to get into the more traditional Arthurian lore. Previous volumes have confined themselves to more light-hearted adventure, sometimes with serious consequences, but never with a very far-ranging plot structure. This book begins the same way but thanks to the introduction of a mirror/portal, young Merlin is able to meet his wizened older self and learn much about his ultimate destiny. But only some of it. He ends the book with more questions than answers.The author’s strength lies in his ability to tell a nice tale within colorfully descriptive settings. He invests much of his story in depicting the world itself and a bit less on the characters although they are still fully realized. This is certainly a nice set of novels for younger readers but there is still good fun to be had by us older folk. There are a few too many convenient plot contrivances for my tastes. I also prefer my protagonists to escape from danger using their skills, intelligence, creativity, etc. and not rely quite so much on pure luck.A note to those who choose cover blurbs. This book carries this cover blurb from The Cincinnati Enquirer: “Young sorcery fans…set aside Harry Potter and pick up Merlin.” Really? This novel was first published in 1999, roughly about the time that the third Harry Potter book was published. While the publishers of the Merlin series might not have realized at that time just how huge Harry Potter would get it was still quite a phenomenon even then. I get that you might want to attract those readers who enjoyed Harry Potter but this cover blurb implies readers shouldn’t read both and in fact, that the Merlin series is better. Why must it be either/or? Can’t young sorcery fans read both Harry Potter and The Lost Years of Merlin series (and many others)? If young readers will only be reading one of the series, I sure wouldn’t want to go up against Harry and friends. Sorry…I will climb down off of my soap box now…
—Benjamin Thomas
I really love this series, and I am so happy I can read these again and still feel the magic. In this adventure Merlin is stillll plagued by self doubt and that weird voice in him that tells him not to listen to what his tasks are. I really love this writing and the continuation of this series though I have a complaint about the way Shim and that weird seal creature talk. I get it, Lloyd Alexander had to have one, Tolkin, Lucas, and I thought Barron would be satisfied with just one, but no he had to have two. Two beings who talk like morons, whose very words make me cringe and vomit everywhere. A gurgi, a jarjar, a golem, the squashing together of words, combined with the poor grammar is just too much. I is are not knowing how to maka yous understandbrain. Withem hurtsadly facebrain I smashkill. AAAARHRHWINOFSLFS:NFSLD:FNldsNot enough to make me stop, but enough to make me want to. Other than that an amazing story with a dash of time travel that I don't mind at all.
—Alex Murphy
