Wednesday, March 17, 2004

King Arthur Rules!

Okay, it's really hard to write a review on books that you've read two or three years ago. I may not get all the books I've read reviewed but I may utilize short cuts such as this post!



I love all the various forms of the King Arthur story. Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Athur was a favorite of mine because it goes deeper into the other knights than most. The old english wording and long dialogs aren't especially great for kids but I struggled through the language and loved the story.


Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mist of Avalon gives a different perspective via the
High Priestess of Avalon but what I didn't like was the authors involvement in practicing witchcraft herself. The book was good but I made the mistake of reading about the author and that tainted my view. I was raised in a religious home and hold many of the values I was taught. so the fact that she started her own coven kind of freaked me out. That will explain why I never read her other books on the subject.



Mary Stewart's The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment is the story of camelot told via Merlin. I had a fabulous time reading these. I also, liked The Wicked Day, the story of Modred, King Arthur's bastard son. However, these written in the 1960's have a kind of innocence that are perfect for pre-teen little boys more than adults. But the story is timeless and she spun a great story out of an old one.

So if you like the camelot tale and all the characters all these are good reads!

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