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deinol's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
manic_bibliophile's review
2.0
Mary Stewart is undeniably head-over-heels in love with the Arthurian histories. Reading this felt like a beautifully written love story to history and to storytelling in general. There was no point in time where I wasn’t reading and thinking “This woman loves this story.” And I LOVED that.
However. While exceptionally well written, it was not an engaging read. In fact, I might have zoned out a few times. For being almost 400 pages long, about 50 of those pages were filled with actual plot, and another 20 were what I would deem as ‘necessary’ dialogue (and oh. Was there dialogue.) with a cool 30 left for fluffage. Other than that, the other 300 could have easily been cut out.
Considering this was a book about Merlin purportedly helping to rear an adolescent future King Arthur, there was far too little of that actually going on, as the first 75% of the book was about Merlin just…waiting for the right time to integrate himself as a person of interest to an already almost grown Arthur? (At nine years old, apparently, Arthur was already described as being an almost- adult.)
That is unfortunately what I would describe this book as. Waiting. 75% waiting for the plot to happen, and the remaining 25% spent literally being told by Merlin to wait for the right moment for Arthur to become King. I’m sorry - what?
However. While exceptionally well written, it was not an engaging read. In fact, I might have zoned out a few times. For being almost 400 pages long, about 50 of those pages were filled with actual plot, and another 20 were what I would deem as ‘necessary’ dialogue (and oh. Was there dialogue.) with a cool 30 left for fluffage. Other than that, the other 300 could have easily been cut out.
Considering this was a book about Merlin purportedly helping to rear an adolescent future King Arthur, there was far too little of that actually going on, as the first 75% of the book was about Merlin just…waiting for the right time to integrate himself as a person of interest to an already almost grown Arthur? (At nine years old, apparently, Arthur was already described as being an almost- adult.)
That is unfortunately what I would describe this book as. Waiting. 75% waiting for the plot to happen, and the remaining 25% spent literally being told by Merlin to wait for the right moment for Arthur to become King. I’m sorry - what?
mariefoxprice's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Incest
kangokaren's review against another edition
5.0
I loved the first book and this one is even more exciting. Of course, I think Mary Stewart is a great storyteller.
connor1736's review
3.0
I loved Mary Stewart's writing style and character development. Merlin is a fascinating character, and I particularly enjoyed his relationship with Uther throughout the story. I give this book 3 stars because the first 60% of the book was slow, relatively uneventful, and somewhat repetitive. It was worth it for the last 40%, though.
lnbrittain's review against another edition
3.0
Not even close to how good the first book was. Disappointed. I like the young Merlin character best, from The Crystal Cave.
Still, this left me wanting more Arthur tales; might be time to reread The Once And Future King.
Still, this left me wanting more Arthur tales; might be time to reread The Once And Future King.
alina_kkn____'s review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0