The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is the work of a gifted writer still learning his craft. In retrospect, after producing a series of more polished novels, Garner called The Weirdstone of Brisingamen "a fairly bad book," but this judgment is too harsh. While this early fantasy is unevenly written, it is filled with creative force and lit with flashes of genuine brilliance, usually in passages of description. This makes a compelling mix. Many readers prefer the vigor and uncomplicated morality of Garner's early works to the elegant but troubling "problem" novels that he produced in the next stage of his career.

Much of this early vigor stems from the free use Garner makes of ancient tales and myths. The epilogue to The Moon of Gomrath points out that most of Garner's creatures, plot developments, and names are solidly traditional. Thus, Fenrir of Ragnarok, Nastrond's wolf, is borrowed...