(Cover picture courtesy of Free Book Notes.)

The dragon called Wings of Fire has awakened from his enchanted slumber—a spell cast by Merlin’s grandfather—and only the descendant of the wizard who first defeated the dragon possesses the power to stop him.  Before Merlin can go to battle, he must confront the sorceress who has stolen his magical talisman—a talisman needed to stop Wings of Fire.

But according to the prophecy, the one who destroys the dragon also dies…

The stakes are higher than ever before in The Fires of Merlin, the third book in The Lost Years of Merlin epic.  Merlin must save Fincayra once again, but this time it may cost him his life.  With Wings of Fire awakening, Merlin and Rhia must go on a dangerous adventure that will take them across Fincayra once more, meeting all kinds of interesting people and creatures.

What I really love about T. A. Barron’s writing is that he uses a variety of fantasy creatures, rather than just sticking with all of the familiar ones.  I mean, in what other series are you going to find living carnivorous rocks and endangered deer people?  Barron uses his imagination and because of my rant about the lack of diversity in fantasy, I really appreciate the effort he put into his series.  More fantasy writers should follow his lead.

In addition to his excellent world-building, Barron really pays attention to his character development.  Merlin has changed slowly over the past two books and his development continues in this book.  We are finally seeing a bit of a transition from awkward teenage boy to slightly less awkward, more mature teenage boy.

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

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