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dustydigger
Posted 2026-04-25 12:22 PM (#35046 - in reply to #33734)
Subject: Re: Pick & Mix challenge for 2026.		Quote Reply



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Location: UK		Enjoyed my reread of C S Lewis The Last Battle,I love Pauline Baynes black and white illustrations,still inextricably linked to the Narnia books after 75 years. Learned something new too,that Tolkien was a huge fan of Baynes,used her illustrations in various of his children's books and originally in the early years thought she could illustrate Lord of the Rings but it just grew and grew for decades ,so that was abandoned. But when the famous iconic one volume edition of LOTR was issued with that famous cover of the stone gate and the yellow trees and the wild landscape with tiny figures of the Fellowship in the distance,that was Pauline Baynes work!. Cant believe I was ignorant of this for 60 years! lol.
Made my day.
It was pleasant to realize that The Day of the Minotaur was a a book in the retelling a myth sub genre. I also was delighted that it centred on Knossos and the Minotaur tales. One of my all time favourite reads was Mary Renault's
. The King Must Die also featuring the same myths though in very different style and method. Renault's novel was published 6 years before Swann's book.Wonder if he read Renault.
I quite enjoyed the Swann book,though the style was extremely flowery,perhaps very appropriate for this tale of centaurs,dryads minotaurs and other Beasts, living quietly in the forest glades far from belligerent humans The characters are charming,the ancient settings lush and beautiful,and the restrained romance between human beauty and the Beast is sweet. All pleasant enough but is it really up to Hugo and Nebula nominee levels? Hmmm......

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