#The Westmark Trilogy

[deborahocarroll]

Lloyd Alexander's 100th Birthday (+Giveaway)

Today is the 100th birthday of one of my favorite (and most influential) authors! Lloyd Alexander (1924-2007) was the author of dozens of delightful books, including the Chronicles of Prydain. (Stay tuned for a Prydain paperback set giveaway!) My Lloyd Alexander collection — and my cat Callette, since Lloyd loved cats and included them in most of his works, so it seemed appropriate! Lloyd…

[book--brackets]

The Chronicles of Faerie by O. R. Melling (1993-2003)

American Gwen and her Irish cousin, Findabhair, have long planned a summer of backpacking around Ireland, visiting sites out of the old legends of fairy folk. Little do they know that it is the summer of the Hunter's Moon, a dangerous time for mortals who meddle with the kingdom of Faerie. One night, camping out on old ruins, Finn is kidnapped by the Faerie king, who wants her for a bride and possible sacrifice. It is up to Gwen, the more indecisive of the two, to rescue her cousin.

The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell (2003-2006)

Stories are told of a hero who will come to Farsala's aid when the need is greatest. But for thousands of years the prosperous land of Farsala has felt no such need, as it has enjoyed the peace that comes from being both feared and respected.

Now a new enemy approaches Farsala's borders, one that neither fears nor respects its name and legend. But the rulers of Farsala still believe that they can beat any opponent.

Three young people are less sure of Farsala's invincibility. Jiaan, Soraya, and Kavi see Time's Wheel turning, with Farsala headed toward the Flames of Destruction. What they cannot see is how inextricably their lives are linked to Farsala's fate -- until it's too late.

Everworld by K. A. Applegate (1999-2001)

David’s life was pretty normal. School. Friends. Girlfriend. Actually, Senna was probably the oddest aspect of his life. She was beautiful. Smart. But there was something very different about her. Something strange.

And on the day it began, everything happened so quickly. One moment, Senna was with him. The next, she was swallowed up by the earth, her screams echoing from far, far away. David couldn’t just let her go. Neither could the others. His friends—and hers. So, they followed. And found themselves in a world they could have never imagined. 

Now they have to find Senna and get home without losing their lives. Or their minds. Or both…

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe (2004)

A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm that contains seven levels of reality. Very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Able and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, a sword he will get from a dragon, the one very special blade that will help him fulfill his life ambition to become a knight and a true hero.

Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson (1999-2002)

Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi desperately wants to be a Jedi Knight. After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.

Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies--and face up to his own dark wishes.

Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

Skylark by Meagan Spooner (2012-2014)

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.     Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.     For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander (1981-1984)

When Theo agrees to print a traveling showman's pamphlet, he only thinks of the money it will bring in. Instead, it sets off a chain reaction that results in the smashing of the press and the murder of his master. Caught on the wrong side of the law, Theo must flee the city. Soon, he has teamed up with the traveling showman Count Las Bombas (who is actually a con artist) and his servant. The trio is soon joined by Mickle, a clever, strong-willed girl with a mysterious past. Performing feats that astound and amaze, the motley crew falls into a trap set by Chief Minister Cabbarus, who is determined to wrest power from the grief-stricken king. Now they must not only save themselves-they must save the kingdom...

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell (2003-2011)

One terrible day, Makenna, a young hedgewitch, witnesses her mother's murder at the hands of their own neighbors. Stricken with grief and rage, Makenna flees the village that has been her home. In the wilds of the forest, she forms an unexpected alliance. Leading an army of clever goblins, Makenna skillfully attacks the humans, now their shared enemy.

What she doesn't realize is that the ruling Hierarchy is determined to rid the land of all magical creatures, and they believe Makenna is their ultimate threat - so they have sent a young knight named Tobin into the Goblin Wood to entrap her.

In this captivating fantasy adventure, the difference between Bright and Dark magic is as deceptive as our memories, hopes, and fears -- and the light of loyalty and friendship has a magic all of its own.

A young hedgewitch, an idealistic knight, and an army of clever goblins fight against the ruling hierarchy that is trying to rid the land of all magical creatures.

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (1993)

When Controller Borasus receives a strange letter from Earth he is both curious and alarmed. Someone has activated an ancient machine and is using it for most trivial purposes. Surely no one would dare to tamper with Reigner seals in this way? Yet the effects of such interference resonate throughout the universe, so he decides to go to Hexwood Farm to investigate…

On Hexwood Estate, Ann watches the mysterious comings and goings with interest. She knows something deadly is going on – or is Hexwood simply altering her too?

Guides for Dating Vampires by D. N. Bryn (2022-present)

Vincent Barnes has suffered four years as a vampire, and they’ve been the most miserable years of his pathetic life. Too poor for black market blood, he feeds from sleeping humans to survive. He tries to never intrude on the same prey twice, but after a single delicious taste of a long-lost childhood neighbor, he can’t help returning for seconds.

Wesley Garcia has been waking up with fang marks. Lucky for him, he needs a vampire—to use as bait. He’s certain Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceutical killed his mother, but to gain access to their covert research labs, he has to bring them a bloodsucker for their experiments. 

Step one, a dramatic offer: Stay, and you can bite me. 

Vincent leaps at the chance to gobble Wesley up.

Wes’s plan is perfect. He’ll befriend the vampire, then trick him into coming to the lab. No fighting, no fuss. But Vincent is more than Wesley has bargained for: sweet and shy, with intoxicating fangs that awaken new desires in Wes. As the two bond, Vincent believes he might have finally found someone worth putting his trust in... and Wes fears neither of them will survive the betrayal he has planned.

[who-do-i-know-this-man]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Speaking specifically for spec fic here: I can understand having a maximum word count limit for debut novels, but I don’t get enforcing a minimum word count limit. The only justification I’ve seen for this (not that I’ve dug too deeply into the subject) is “we don’t believe it’s possible for any story under X amount of words to contain adequate worldbuilding” how do you explain Westmark

[readsalot1]

Please, tell me more

I haven’t read Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark trilogy in ages but I used to have and still have a very clear shot by shot film opening of it set to Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Procession of the Nobles” in my head from when I was about 15 years old.

[francesderwent]

one of Tamora Pierce’s books? Or a Patricia McKillip book? (maybe the forgotten beasts of eld?) The Westmark trilogy?

I did read some Lloyd Alexander growing up, but not Westmark specifically.

I don’t think I’ve ever read any Patricia McKillip! what should I try?

#9 is Tortall generally (I especially reread Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small obsessively), or Alanna: The First Adventure specifically! I discovered that book in the children’s section of my favorite library growing up and became soooo enamored with it, but didn’t read any sequels until years later because that book was (rightfully) the only one shelved as children’s! but man, that book was so special to me. I can’t help but love Tamora Pierce’s brand of girl power because there’s so much hard work and grit. girls can do anything boys can do because we have TENACITY and we’re never gonna give up!! plus, Alanna and Kel’s books are peak magical boarding school story, to me.

[chthonic-cassandra]

Do you currently own any Queen's Thief or Tolkien? :)

Yes to both!

The Queen's Thief series is shelved between Lloyd Alexander's Westmark trilogy and Kristen Cashore's Graceling series.

The repeatedly repaired 1965 boxed set of The Lord of the Rings that I stole from my father as a child starts our SFF bookcase, followed by The Silmarillion, The Tolkien Reader, and assorted volumes of the Book of Lost Tales and History of Middle Earth. Next to them is T. A. Shippey's J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.

[zeroar]

The first time I ever saw guns in fantasy was in The Westmark Trilogy by Lloyd Alexander (same author as The Chronicles of Prydain / The Black Cauldron).

[readsalot1]

-Chronicles of Prydain; it gets a bit darker as the series goes on, but I'm 99.9% sure it has no swearing--they end up talking about Annuvin a bunch, but (a) it's not actually hell, and (b) all the place names are in pseudo/actual Welsh, so he probably won't know if it pops up anyway, lol

-Another series by Lloyd Alexander is the Westmark Trilogy; I read it at around 14? Really good, but it has more mature themes than Prydain. There's probably swearing in at least book 2 (The Kestrel is quite possibly the most blatantly gory YA book that I've ever read--I pulled an all-nighter so I wouldn't dream about it, haha) but book 1 (Westmark) will probably be okay? Although thinking about it, the series opens with "Theo was, by occupation, a devil. A printer's devil..." as in an apprentice to the trade. It put my little sister off the series until I told her I'd read it out loud and substitute "devil" with "apprentice" (she's so cute, I love her)

-if he likes Star Wars, I 100% suggest the OG Thrawn Trilogy (the one from the 90s; I haven't read the new one yet), and maybe Young Jedi Knights (pretty sure it's YA? if he's more willing to jump into grimdark, New Jedi Order is AMAZING)

-I totally forgot Earthsea!!!! So good! Ursula Le Guin was an amazing writer. It's probably targeting late YA/mid- to late teens, now that I'm thinking about it. I remember having a really obsessive phase in 7th grade or so? and the creepier stuff went over my head. You might want to read them first to decide if he'd like them--there's some stuff that looking back was actually really dark? But it's so well written, and the things that were bad were very obviously painted as Things Not to Do, so it gets a place on the list

-Redwall is really good, actually--if he changes his mind he should go for it

Trusted mutuals and friends, I put a question to you: my youngest brother (thirteen years old) is desperately looking for some books to read—do y’all have any recs? A few criteria: a few of his favorite series recently have been Keeper of the Lost Cities, The Unwanteds, and The Green Ember. He’s also pretty sensitive to swearing, but not so much to violence.

[very-grownup]

Book 17, 2023

Lloyd Alexander's mostly remembered for his Prydain Chronicles (and I'm not sure how well remembered they are in this the 21st century which may primarily be a reflection of the fact that Alexander hasn't left behind an estate with a vested interest in wringing profit from his works), but it's interesting to see where his interests took him beyond the Welsh folktales that were the bedrock of "The Book of Three" and its fellows.

"Westmark" is fun and interesting, only 'fantasy' in the sense that the setting is fictional, and clearly inspired by the French Revolution. It has your mandatory orphan boy and scrappy girl of mysterious origins but also what should be a standard archetype in stories like this: a shamelessly cheerful snake oil salesman and con artist (he seems like he belongs in a French farce or light opera and he's as delightful as he is unapologetic).

This is the first book in a trilogy and I genuinely don't know what conclusion Alexander and his characters are going to arrive at regarding the matter of hereditary monarchy that is the undercurrent in the plot at hand, where a conniving and power hungry advisor is taking advantage of the king's grief to steer the kingdom into a harsh dictatorship complete with smashing of printing presses, killing of printers, and criminalizing journalists. Young Theo gets involved with the anti-monarchial revolutionaries whose ideals he admires but he balks at killing the soldiers of the oppressive government. The court doctor, an honest man of humble origins, is expelled by the malicious advisor and nearly victim to an assassin, but he believes that restored to proper mental health and freed of self-interested advisors, the king will once again be the correct person to steer their country. Everyone agrees to work together to get rid of the evil minister, forming a temporary alliance, but at the end the revolutionary leader and his people leave to continue pursuing their plan to overthrow the monarchy while the doctor returns to the court.

I'm sure the ultimate resolution will be some centrist slight shifting of the status quo, but it's still more complex and nuanced than you normally find in children's books with kings and princesses running about. Alexander studied French literature in Paris after World War II and translated some of the works of Jean-Paul Sartre before he began writing fiction and I maybe what I'm saying is that there may be a benefit to fiction writers in taking an interest in and reading things beyond their target 'genre'.

Oh for the days of simply children's book and books not for children. Marketing is a plague. "Westmark" has a little person named Musket who's a sidekick to the con artist and Musket is a great name.

[book--brackets]

For fantasy books:

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander

The Westmark Trilogy, also Lloyd Alexander

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Dragonriders of Pern Series by Anne McCaffrey

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Brotherhood of the Conch Series by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

All books I loved as a child/teen (that I don't think have made it into the bracket yet). I hope others remember them too!

I'm looking forward to the tournament - thanks for doing this!

Added them all! Just so you know, this is one is just fantasy books, not just childhood ones, so if you have any more recent favorites you can submit those too!

[mickeslibrary]

Lloyd Alexander: Tiggardrottningen (The Beggar Queen). Library binding. Cover by Charles Mikolaycak. Sjöstrands, Sweden, 1984.

[shakespearean-fish]

this is my first time signing up, and I'm on Team Tolkien, about which I am reasonably pleased. I briefly considered doing time travel but decided on secondary world instead, partially because that's allowing me to rework a partially written story that needs some direction. the setting is a world with cultures and technologies similar to those of our world and no magic, something like Lloyd Alexander's Westmark (note: if you have not yet done so, please consider reading the Westmark trilogy). I guess the main theme is feeding the hungry, but it's...less specific...sort of a combo. basically, a story about what happens when being put in the position of caring for a person's physical needs causes you to begin to love that person, rather than the other way around.

The Eagle and Child: Opening Day

The Inklings Challenge has started! You’ve received your team assignment, the creative juices are flowing, and you’re either brimming with ideas or desperately trying to find some. Like the original Inklings, this Challenge needs a place to discuss writing, so roughly-weekly posts (named after the famed Inklings pub, of course) will give people a chance to talk about their progress through the Challenge.

On these opening days of the challenge, let’s discuss how it’s going. If you like, you can share things like:

Which team are you on?

Which genre are you considering tackling?

Is this similar to what you usually write?

Do you have a story idea yet? If so, care to share anything about it?

Which themes are you considering incorporating into your story?

Are any other story sparks–pictures, events, genre, themes, etc.–coming to mind as something you might want to use to inspire your story?

Are you excited? Nervous? Terrified? Confident? Some combination of new and exciting emotions?

Are there any ideas/types of stories that you'd like to see from the other teams? Care to share any ideas/suggestions/wish lists?

This is purely for fun, so share whatever you feel like sharing, or keep your secrets to yourself. However you feel like engaging.

Welcome to the Inklings Challenge! Have fun!

[cultivating-wildflowers]

Books of 2025 - January

New year, new goals (not just with reading), same massive TBR pile that will haunt me to my grave. I started out with a plan to tackle one giant book, something smaller, and a couple of rereads. I ended up mostly rereading. Granted, my chief goal with reading right now is to enjoy myself, but it's hard to shake the habit of needing to read more.

Total books: 8  |  New reads: 1   |  2024 TBR completed: 0 (0 DNF) / 0/18 total   |   Total books read this year: 8

December 2024 | February

#1 - Stand Still, Stay Silent: Book 2 by Minna Sundberg - 5/5 stars (reread)

Onni 🫶🏻

And the rest of the gang, of course. Not a dull one in the bunch. (But, with love, most of them are dumb in their own special ways.)

On a side note: Apparently I did read further than Book 2 when reading the in-progress webcomic, because there's a major event I remember that hasn't happened yet.... Did I get closer to the ending than I realized?

#2 - The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway - 3/5 stars (audio)

Huh. Well, they weren't lying; it's a story about an old man fighting to catch a fish. Possibly there are Themes involved, and maybe even a Moral or two. Beats me. The reviews are funny to read, though.

#3 - Westmark by Lloyd Alexander - 4/5 stars (reread)

Continuing the theme I started last year of revisiting books I've read once, and many years ago, we have the Westmark trilogy! I remember very little from this series:

a vague impression of the setting

facts about two or three characters

a tragic death I'm still not over

the fact that I loved the series immensely

On a revisit, it is definitely as quick of a read as I remember (though it took me ages because I kept getting distracted). Alexander's writing is sparse, but surprisingly gripping all the same. I was a little baffled on how this trilogy goes from this ending to all-out war in Book Two.... I don't remember the details on that one. Evidently I tore through this in a haze the first time, which is par for the course

#4-8 - Between Jobs, Between Shifts, Between Floors, Between Frames, and Between Homes by W.R. Gingell - 4.5 star average (reread, audio)

It's time. And it seems January really is the best time to read this series, because my brain never wants anything too difficult this time of year.

And I have to say, this reread really has me politely confused over the final book, because in all of these, Gingell nails the final confrontation and the denouement. Those scenes right between the fight and the dramatic ending? Always perfect. So what on earth happened with Book 10??? (I still love this series but I may always be frustrated by the ending.)

Other Reading:

I started Shakespeare's Sonnets on the 1st and am intentionally lingering over them. (Read: I got distracted in the first section, where dear old Will obsesses over his gorgeous friend refusing to get married and produce children as gorgeous as himself.)

DNF:

Joust by Mercedes Lackey - The pace absolutely plodded along. I couldn't even make it through the first chapter (which was about 45 minutes long.) The narrator was also horrible, but I could have put up with him if the story had any spark. Not even dragons could save this one.

Battleship Leviathan by Craig Martell - It's a hard military story, only set in space, and not in a Heinlein way. I have zero interest following around a pack of crude space marines whose idea of a good time is making use of the nearest prostitute. (Reviews also mention the concept of a pacifist AI piloting a battle cruiser is...not done well.)

Currently Reading:

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset, tr. Tiina Nunnally (2025 TBR) - This is going very slowly. Winter may have been a bad time to start reading this. Ah well. What I have read so far I have definitely enjoyed. Undset's descriptions are gorgeous.

The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander (reread) - I read like half a chapter in the middle of January and then I got distracted. It's still waiting for me.

[etirabys]

the older I get the more ruffled I am when I read fantasy books with characters who are good kings. it’s nice that you are a good king but (humorless fun hater voice) kings shouldn’t exist and all these scenes where the emotional oomph hinges on “you could have been a dickbag facing no consequences but you went out of your way to be nice instead” have a sour undertaste.

(I don’t mean this as a condemnation of the genre or people who have fun with it – I expect to have nonzero fun reading this kind of thing for the rest of my life, there’s something really id-tickling about powerful people who exercise power well.)

Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark is good because the relevant monarch characters’ goal is to abolish the monarchy when they ascend to power, but on other axes the trilogy is 3/5 for me, so not a strong rec.

I think people more commonly get this way about fictional billionaires because current billionaires are real and unlikeable people who tend to have crushed many bodies underfoot in the process of obtaining their position, but I find their existence strictly less offensive than that of kings, who, like Genghis Khan, get less flak because they’re further away from us despite greater crimes.

[cinaed]

5 and 16 for writer asks?

Top five formative books?

I am going to cheat and include some series here because quite a few series have been formative for me!

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander

Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner

Rod Albright's Alien Adventures by Bruce Coville

Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones

Cover love/dream covers? I will be into any cover that doesn't change the pronouns and doesn't make it straight, but some of my favorites include 

Girl in the War by Josh Ritter covered by Solas

Josh Groban's cover of Someone Else's Story from Chess

Bring on the Men from Oliver, cover by Josh Young

I Won't Say I'm in Love from Hercules, cover by Caleb Hyles  

Phoebe Bridgers' cover of Teenage Dirtbag   

Hellfire from Hunchback of Notre Dame, cover by Elsie Lovelock 

Memories by Maroon 5, cover by KHS & Ni

Wilder Than Her by Eaglesmith, cover by Dar Williams 

And I Love Her by the Beatles, cover by Judy Collins