Negative Positive
Title: Lacking in depth, detail, and development
Review: I read The Lost Years of Merlin twice, once in an evening to follow the story, and the second time out loud to my son, over a period of many weeks. When read quickly the lack of development and detail gets brushed away by the addled pace. There are a few good concepts, though they are diluted by digressions and contrivinces, and the plot moves along quickly.However, when read slowly these problems dominated the narrative and left me frustrated and bored. My 6 year old son, who loves to draw pictures to illustrate the stories that he hears, was unable to find inspiration. That a visually precocious child could gain no mental picture of a crucial plot element, the shrouded castle, says it all.
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