He also makes an appearance in a number of works of modern commercial fiction that blend history and Arthurian legend, including quite a lengthy appearance in Bernard Cornwell's "Warlord Chronicles" and Guy Gavriel Kay's "The Fionavar Tapestry". In Stephen R. Lawhead's "Pendragon Cycle," he is most notable in the first book, eponymously named "Taliesin", in which he is depicted as Merlin's father. He is also a central character in "Moonheart", an urban fantasy novel by Charles de Lint, and appears as the chief bard of the Kingdom of Prydain in the children's novels of Lloyd Alexander which are based on the Welsh "Mabinogion". The historical novel "Radiant Brow – The Epic of Taliesin" by H. Catherine Watling is based on "The Tale of Taliesin" and the poetry contained in "The Book of Taliesin". In the young adult fiction sequence "The Dark is Rising" by British author Susan Cooper, he guides young protagonists Will Stanton and Bran Davies through the Lost Land in the final book, "Silver on the Tree". Taliesin's harp-tuning key makes an appearance in "A String in the Harp" by Nancy Bond, a time-travel story set in Wales. The key gives Peter Morgan, the main protagonist, the ability to see visions of Taliesin's life.