Overview
The retelling of the epic Welsh myth that is "certainly among the top 5 fantasy series of the twentieth century" (sfsite.com).The Mabinogion is to Welsh mythology what the tales of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo are to Greek myth. these tales constitute a powerful work of the imagination, ranking with Tokien's Lord of the Rings novels and T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Evangeline Walton's compelling rendition of these classic, thrilling stories of magic, betrayal, lost love, and bitter retribution include the encounter between Prince Pwyll and Arawn, the God of Death, which Pwyll survives by agreeing to kill the one man that Death cannot fell, and the tale of bran the blessed and his family's epic struggle for the throne.
The Mabinogion is internationally recognized as the world's finest arc of Celtic mythology; Walton's vivid retelling introduces an ancient world of gods and monsters, heroes, kings and quests, making accessible one of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time.
Synopsis
Evangeline Walton's The Mabinogion Tetralogy is one of the remarkable achievements of twentieth-century fantasy literature: a powerful work of the imagination, ranking with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels.
The author of the Mabinogion, the ancient tales based on medieval Welsh mythology and history, is unknown to us, but generations have thrilled to these magical adventures set at a time when men and gods mingled, and the gods had more than met their match. In the masterful hands of Evangeline Walton the twelve branches of the original legends were reworked into the four compelling narratives collected here: The Prince of Annwn, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon, and The Island of the Mighty. It is Walton's triumph is to have constructed a vital and living world on the foundations of myth.
Publishers Weekly
Almost as weighty is the late Evangeline Walton's The Maginogion Tetralogy, which brings together Prince of Annwn, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon and The Island of the Mighty. Based on the medieval Welsh epic The Mabinogion, this series ranks with the best of 20th-century works of fantasy.