My husband loved this as a young man, and I read it because it means so much to him. I see so much of who he is in this book. I see how it shaped him, and just like him, it's wonderful. 

It's a magnificent, epic fantasy adventure. Charming, exciting, funny. It lies somewhere between the high end of juvenile/middle grade and the lower end of young adult fiction. I would have loved it best around age 14.