Fantasy comprises a large portion of the fiction that I read (along with science fiction, horror, and so-called “interstitial” fiction). Every genre, though, has subgenres, and within fantasy I have a particular fondness for works based on the legends of King Arthur and, going farther back, on the mythology of ancient Britain — particularly Wales.
The Welsh national epic is called The Mabinogion, and one of its finest tellings — by Evangeline Walton — has been reissued in hardback. Walton is one of the leading lights of twentieth century fantasy, and her Mabinogion cycle — consisting of The Prince of Annwn, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon, and The Island of the Mighty — is a towering masterpiece by one of twentieth century fantasy’s leading lights. I was fortunate enough to acquire this work in its last reissue ten years ago, but I am thrilled that the work is again available. Any lover of fantasy and mythic fiction must read Walton’s Mabinogion.
