Merlin - The King's Wizard Book

The middle parts of trilogies are always the most difficult to sustain, and here James Mallory has the particularly hard task of extending the three-hour Merlin mini-series into three complete novels. Given the great success of the television original, it is understandable that the producers would want to capitalise as much as possible, and fortunately Mallory is able to expand significantly storylines only sketched on screen. The Lady of the Lake gives Merlin the sword Excalibur, which Merlin must ensure is wielded only by the good Christian King, the legendary Arthur. Yet Merlin is half-man, half-elemental being, caught between the schemes of the evil Queen of Air and Darkness, Mab, and his love for Nimue. Arthur, soon to be drawn by the quest for the Holy Grail, must have a wife, though when she, Guinevere, meets Arthur's fairest knight, Lancelot, the seeds of tragedy are sown. Mixing adventure, magic and romance with an easy to read style, Merlin: The King's Wizard is very much a book for older children, while for dedicated fans of the mini-series, Trevor Jones excellent Merlin soundtrack album is perhaps a better souvenir. The Sword in the Stone by TH White offers a more sophisticated retelling of the same stories, while King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Roger Lancelyn Green's reworking of Thomas Mallory's Le Morte D'Arthur remains one of the best versions of these timeless stories for younger readers.--Gary S. DalkinRead More