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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
A fun book to read, and I liked it much better than I thought I would (I'm not a big fan of Arthurian legend books). Although I knew it was totally fictitious, I was admittedly taken aback when, only a few pages in, MS describes a 3rd-4th century A.D. woman's hair as being cornsilk in color. Well....there was no cornsilk in Britain at that time, corn being a New World crop and, at that time, yet undiscovered. So I just chuckled and read on.
My mother got this for me when I was a pre-teen and I was riveted by it. I still see it is a significant eye opener to the world of fantasy.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this spin on the Merlin legend. While I don't usually enjoy books with so few women I have to admit this one had me hooked. If you're at all into things-Camelot you need to read this book.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Rounding up from 2.5
While the writing i very good, I found this Merlin origin story a bit plodding. I was a bit surprised on how little Merlin's magic plays into the story. The bleakness of the period in which the story is set regarding women's roles and the battles for power among the different kingdoms weren't particularly enjoyable for me. Die hard fans of Arthurian legend might enjoy this more than I did.
While the writing i very good, I found this Merlin origin story a bit plodding. I was a bit surprised on how little Merlin's magic plays into the story. The bleakness of the period in which the story is set regarding women's roles and the battles for power among the different kingdoms weren't particularly enjoyable for me. Die hard fans of Arthurian legend might enjoy this more than I did.
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've always enjoyed Arthurian media but don't think I've ever read an Arthurian book until now. This was a good start to the series and nice to have a whole book on Merlin's backstory before Arthur even comes into the picture.
It was fast-paced with some exciting action packed moments but also times where the pace slowed down to explore the the moral quandaries of having prophetic powers. I sometimes found the descriptions of locations and journeys hard to follow but overall the writing was good.
Merlin was a likeable protagonist and developed naturally throughout the novel and the supporting characters were also great especially mentor Galapas and companion Cadal. It would have been good if the female characters were more fleshed out and the ending where a woman is strong armed into conceiving a child to fulfil a prophecy skeeved me out but this was written in the early 70s so I will give some it some slack.
I look forward to continuing the series.
It was fast-paced with some exciting action packed moments but also times where the pace slowed down to explore the the moral quandaries of having prophetic powers. I sometimes found the descriptions of locations and journeys hard to follow but overall the writing was good.
Merlin was a likeable protagonist and developed naturally throughout the novel and the supporting characters were also great especially mentor Galapas and companion Cadal. It would have been good if the female characters were more fleshed out
I look forward to continuing the series.