Westmark, by Lloyd Alexander


Back in the dark ages of middle grade fiction,  Lloyd Alexander made a living writing fantasy novels. He was popular enough that one of his books was optioned by Disney for the movie The Black Cauldron, which is another essay entirely.

Westmark is a minor piece of fantasy, and to even call it fantasy is a stretch. There is no magic, or fairies; the setting isn’t even very remote past; Westmark is a late medieval kingdom whose king has fallen into despair over the death of his daughter. Control of the kingdom has passed into his counsellor, who has plotted to become king himself. 


The main character is Theo, a printer’s apprentice, who takes on a job that leads to the death of his master. One the run, he teams up with a con man, a dwarf, and a girl with no memory of her past. (Those of you who remember the King’s daughter is dead should be hearing spoiler warnings about now.) Along the way Theo learns about freedom of the press, the morality of running cons, and how to restore a missing princess to her throne.


There’s nothing wrong with Westmark as a novel, of course, except that its sensibilities are hopelessly early 1980’s, and not even the cool Michael Jackson / ET version of the early 1980s. It’s a world where kids are adults in training, evil is easily disposed of, and kings have a rightful place at the top of the hierarchy. 


Verdict: Weed. It’s a light-and-fluffy bit of light fantasy, and there are plenty more contemporary takes available.


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