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miramanga's review against another edition
4.0
I'm utterly exhausted after reading this epic tome. [a:A.A. Attanasio|5217055|A.A. Attanasio|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1328326006p2/5217055.jpg] takes us on what I can only describe as a psychedelic, New Age, quantum journey through a masterfully reimagined tale of the Arthurian legend starting from the beginning. And we *mean* the VERY beginning. The big bang, all of that. The greatest light show on earth indeed, encompassing angels, Odin (as a *very* bad guy) and a pantheon of other well known myths and gods.
The writing is florid, the first fifty pages read like a hippy trip on acid and are TOUGH to get through. Once you break through the writing becomes more compelling though by the end I was a bit baffled and relieved to be done.
I've never read anything like this and probably interested enough to track down the sequel too...
The writing is florid, the first fifty pages read like a hippy trip on acid and are TOUGH to get through. Once you break through the writing becomes more compelling though by the end I was a bit baffled and relieved to be done.
I've never read anything like this and probably interested enough to track down the sequel too...
angelasasser's review against another edition
4.0
Whatever I was expecting when I first read this book was completely blown out of the water by one of the most unique and well-crafted epics I have read in quite awhile, and since!
While this is a retelling of Arthurian legends, do not be fooled by such well-recognized themes. This novel reads more like an ancient tale told around the fire than it does the dulcet and expected lines of most predictable retellings of Arthurian legend, and yet at the same time, Attanasio adds a strange mix of scientific cosmology with glimpses of the future intersecting with the past. This can be offputting to some, but intriguing to others, such as myself.
This particular volume follows the trials of Ygrane, the celtic priestess with knowledge of her past lives, Merlin, the demon now shackled by the form of a man who ages backwards, and the rise of Uther, the would-be father of Arthur. The lives of all three intersect, their stories unfolding in vivid, fearless descriptions that harken back to the gritty clash of Christianity and Celtic religion which permeated the ancient times of Brittania before King Arthur's ascent.
I have nothing bad to say about this book other than the beginning starts out slow. But keep reading, my friends, and it does not disappoint, especially if you have a taste for the gritty, sensual, and vividly recreated style of a great myth.
While this is a retelling of Arthurian legends, do not be fooled by such well-recognized themes. This novel reads more like an ancient tale told around the fire than it does the dulcet and expected lines of most predictable retellings of Arthurian legend, and yet at the same time, Attanasio adds a strange mix of scientific cosmology with glimpses of the future intersecting with the past. This can be offputting to some, but intriguing to others, such as myself.
This particular volume follows the trials of Ygrane, the celtic priestess with knowledge of her past lives, Merlin, the demon now shackled by the form of a man who ages backwards, and the rise of Uther, the would-be father of Arthur. The lives of all three intersect, their stories unfolding in vivid, fearless descriptions that harken back to the gritty clash of Christianity and Celtic religion which permeated the ancient times of Brittania before King Arthur's ascent.
I have nothing bad to say about this book other than the beginning starts out slow. But keep reading, my friends, and it does not disappoint, especially if you have a taste for the gritty, sensual, and vividly recreated style of a great myth.
jovvijo's review against another edition
4.0
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAH!!
So honestly I didn't read the synopsis of the story and just went in because I rather like unicorns (Seriously what's not to like?).
And wow!
WOW!
This is an Arthur (Arthurian?) tale, all camelot and what not, but it's done is such a way that you just toss any preconceived ideas out of that 9th floor window and read with gusto!
It's so completely unique!
I feel so dead sorry for the dragon for all I am one of the annoying specks living on it!
(Apologies mate)
Honest and true if you like high fantasy, (or fantasy written when the author was surely high), you are going to be BLOWN AWAY by this book!
WOOOOOOOSH!!!!
Only reason I don't 5/5 star it is because at the end I was sated and have no inclination to read the books that come after it. Isn't that funny? I wonder why?
Recommended reading for YOU!
So honestly I didn't read the synopsis of the story and just went in because I rather like unicorns (Seriously what's not to like?).
And wow!
WOW!
This is an Arthur (Arthurian?) tale, all camelot and what not, but it's done is such a way that you just toss any preconceived ideas out of that 9th floor window and read with gusto!
It's so completely unique!
I feel so dead sorry for the dragon for all I am one of the annoying specks living on it!
(Apologies mate)
Honest and true if you like high fantasy, (or fantasy written when the author was surely high), you are going to be BLOWN AWAY by this book!
WOOOOOOOSH!!!!
Only reason I don't 5/5 star it is because at the end I was sated and have no inclination to read the books that come after it. Isn't that funny? I wonder why?
Recommended reading for YOU!
lostinabookbrb's review against another edition
2.0
I felt like I should have liked this book more than I did. The plot was intriguing but the pace threw me off. I also didn't think the character development was well thought out.
haukka's review
3.0
I love it so far. It's basically a very harmonious weaving of every myth and religion since the beginning of time into a Arthurian beginning.
bluepigeon's review
4.0
The writing was impressively rich. I was shocked that someone can write in the present tense, mostly, and still sound good (if you have ever written and have tried the idea of writing in the present tense, you'll know what I mean. It's not an easy feat.) The vocabulary is very rich. The stories of different beings (demons, gods, the dragon, the unicorn, the humans...) are all woven together slowly and carefully. I was worried I would feel overwhelmed with so many characters, but somehow the author managed to keep it all together. Some parts, like most fantasy, are too emotional, but I suppose that comes with the genre. The inclusion of electromagnetics in the idea behind the different kinds of energies (gods versus humans, for example) is interesting. What is perhaps most interesting is the center role religion plays in the whole story, which is accurate of the times and politics in general. The emergence of a new religion and the reshaping of the pagan soils is what's a foot, and the story never loses sight of this reality. Overall, an impressive piece of work.
smcleish's review
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in April 1998.
This is an Arthurian tale, the first of a series, telling the story of Merlin up until the birth of Arthur. It is apparent from the first page of the very long prologue that it is not a simple story, as it becomes when told by Mary Stewart, for example. Her approach was to minimise the supernatural as much as possible; Attanasio seeks to maximise it, while having some sort of pseudo-scientific justification for it. (For example, "demons" are alien creatures composed of energy rather than matter.)
Bleys, the teacher of Merlin, is a Chinese sage who finds a unicorn, another creature of energy, and steals its horn to gain immortality by losing his mortal body. He travels from Tibet, where the encounter happened, to Britain, in an attempt to escape the attention of the dragon, the energy-creature which inhabits the earth, and the source of the energy he used to become an immortal. He is also chasing the unicorn, whose help he needs to get free of the earth's magnetic field.
Merlin himself is a demon who is born in human form to defeat the Fury, which is the name Attanasio uses here for Odin, chief of the Norse gods (worshipped by the Saxons invading Britain). This he does by raising up Uther to be king over Britain in place of the corrupt Vortigern; the rest of the story will be pretty familiar to readers of other Arthur-related fantasy novels.
What Attanasio manages to do is to create an Arthur-myth completely different from any other retelling. (It is perhaps closest to that of Nikolai Tolstoy.) It can be rather heavy-going, but it is not surprising that it won awards; worth working to get into. It could definitely do with some trimming, particularly the prologue.
This is an Arthurian tale, the first of a series, telling the story of Merlin up until the birth of Arthur. It is apparent from the first page of the very long prologue that it is not a simple story, as it becomes when told by Mary Stewart, for example. Her approach was to minimise the supernatural as much as possible; Attanasio seeks to maximise it, while having some sort of pseudo-scientific justification for it. (For example, "demons" are alien creatures composed of energy rather than matter.)
Bleys, the teacher of Merlin, is a Chinese sage who finds a unicorn, another creature of energy, and steals its horn to gain immortality by losing his mortal body. He travels from Tibet, where the encounter happened, to Britain, in an attempt to escape the attention of the dragon, the energy-creature which inhabits the earth, and the source of the energy he used to become an immortal. He is also chasing the unicorn, whose help he needs to get free of the earth's magnetic field.
Merlin himself is a demon who is born in human form to defeat the Fury, which is the name Attanasio uses here for Odin, chief of the Norse gods (worshipped by the Saxons invading Britain). This he does by raising up Uther to be king over Britain in place of the corrupt Vortigern; the rest of the story will be pretty familiar to readers of other Arthur-related fantasy novels.
What Attanasio manages to do is to create an Arthur-myth completely different from any other retelling. (It is perhaps closest to that of Nikolai Tolstoy.) It can be rather heavy-going, but it is not surprising that it won awards; worth working to get into. It could definitely do with some trimming, particularly the prologue.
raitalle's review
3.0
I went into this not even knowing that it was an Arthurian legend retelling, so that was a fun surprise when I eventually figured it out. I also really enjoyed the kind of "mash-up" of the diverse belief systems of the time, with all religions actually being true on various levels, and these deities/beings interacting. This book did take me a very long time to get through, a lot of the writing was very flowery and abstract, especially when describing some of the more mystical happenings. There were several parts that were very enjoyable to read, and a lot of the writing was very expressive and sometimes beautiful, but I did find it hard to get good momentum going fairly often.
lostinabookbrb's review
2.0
I felt like I should have liked this book more than I did. The plot was intriguing but the pace threw me off. I also didn't think the character development was well thought out.
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