I'm a huge Lloyd Alexander fan, & The Arkadians is too much a part of my early childhood not to adore it. Nevertheless, re-reading it as an adult, I have to admit it isn't his best work. The characters are much sketchier and less developed variations of those we've seen before - as another reviewer said, you can have some fun matching up Arkadians characters to their Westmark and Prydain counterparts (and, a bit, Vesper Holly versions). But it's a charming and enchanting little story, gently spoofing classic Greek myths and the nature of storytelling. For the mythology-obsessed kid I was (...and am), that angle more than made up for the stock characters.