From the back cover: Evangeline Walton is the author of Prince of Annwn, The Children of Llyr, The Song of Rhiannon and The Island of the Mighty - each a branch of the epic Welsh book of mythology, The Mabinogion. The Saturday Review said about her work: "These books are not only the best fantasies of the 20th century, but also great works of fiction. They are actual retellings of the diverse legends of The Mabinogion in novel form...dealing with Good and Evil...and the nature of love."

In stark, gaunt prose, it chronicles the years of Bran the Blessed - he who was so vast a man that no house could hold him nor ship bear his bulk - and of the tale of his beloved sister Branwen, his brother Manawyddan, and of his half-brothers Nissyen and the ghastly Evnissten. It is a tale of change and storm, of love beyond death, of high courage, of the end of an era - and the beginning of another. It is epic fantasy in its purest form - marvellous in its compass and power.

A retelling of The Mabinogion in novel form. Manawydon finally unites with Rhiannon - an aspect of the Goddess - but his happiness is shaken by the appearance of the Gray Man, who seeks vengeance against the living and especially against one who would claim the Goddess.

This is a tale of the Great Ones. This is the tale of Mâth, Son of Mathonwy, King and perhaps High-God of Gwynedd in the far marshes and mountains of the West—the dark kingdoms of Wales in the druidic days; As it is the tale of Mâth's nephew and heir, Gwydion, warrior-necromancer whose heroic might and towering strength helped him to stand alone; And of Gwydion's terrible sister, the sorceress Arianrhod, she who rejected her brother but gave birth to a seed of life which became the beloved doomed heir of Gwydion, Llew Llaw Gyffes. And finally, this is the tale of Llew the Golden, the wise, courageous, and adored one—the one cursed by his mother to a destiny that wed him to a heedless child made of flowers. This is a tale of Wonders.

The retelling of the epic Welsh myth that is "certainly among the top 5 fantasy series of the twentieth century" (sfsite.com). The Mabinogion is to Welsh mythology what the tales of Zeus, Hera, and Apollo are to Greek myth. these tales constitute a powerful work of the imagination, ranking with Tokien's Lord of the Rings novels and T.H. White's The Once and Future King. Evangeline Walton's compelling rendition of these classic, thrilling stories of magic, betrayal, lost love, and bitter retribution include the encounter between Prince Pwyll and Arawn, the God of Death, which Pwyll survives by agreeing to kill the one man that Death cannot fell, and the tale of bran the blessed and his family's epic struggle for the throne. The Mabinogion is internationally recognized as the world's finest arc of Celtic mythology; Walton's vivid retelling introduces an ancient world of gods and monsters, heroes, kings and quests, making accessible one of the greatest fantasy sagas of all time.