into history -- or not. You can see it as a justification -- or not -- of the negative side. In fact, we are experiencing the proper mode of Romance which was signalled right from the start. The values of the people who wrote Romances never seem quite the same as our own. This kind of equivocal ending where winning and failing amount of the same, Arthur passes to sleep on a hill, and a gift exacts its price, is exactly what should have been expected. You Were Warned. For good measure, you knew that life never comes round to a happy ending and stops there. There is always afterwards. But such was the skill with which this narrative was shaped that you could not see the pattern, even when it was constantly put before you. Yes, there really was nothing about narrative that Tolkien didn't know. Diana Wynne Jones fans! You seriously need to read this book. And you, you who are interested in writing or in fantasy or in children's literature -- you too. Other bits I liked: You have to remember that villains are real people too. They have reasons for what they do, and motives for the way they behave, and they do not, as a rule, regard themselves as evil. They are acting for a cause, or out of deeply held convictions which have led them the wrong way. A lot of writers forget this. They make the baddie give evil laughs and rejoice in