What do you think?
Rate this book
Merlin's Godson #Omnibus 1-2
Merlin's Godson
Across the Seas of Darkness
Camelot was gone and Arthur lay in the sleep of the forever undead. Only a small band of loyal men were left, guided now by the magical wisdom of Merlin. United, they braved uncharted seas toward the mysterious Lands of the West. With them they carried the Thirteen Magic Treasures of Britain and the power of Merlin's Ring.
Ahead of them lay unknown lands that offered lush wonders and ecstasies beyond their dreams and savage creatures that drove them into horrors beyond any nightmare.
For Ventidius Varro, a Roman centurion who had given his service to Arthur, this was to be an odyssey of soul-stirring glory and heartbreaking discovery...an odyssey that would bring him the love of a beautiful woman and take away from him his son Gwalchmai.
And before Gwalchmai, godson of Merlin, lay an even darker and more mysterious quest.
Cover Illustration: Darrell Sweet
Camelot was gone and Arthur lay in the sleep of the forever undead. Only a small band of loyal men were left, guided now by the magical wisdom of Merlin. United, they braved uncharted seas toward the mysterious Lands of the West. With them they carried the Thirteen Magic Treasures of Britain and the power of Merlin's Ring.
Ahead of them lay unknown lands that offered lush wonders and ecstasies beyond their dreams and savage creatures that drove them into horrors beyond any nightmare.
For Ventidius Varro, a Roman centurion who had given his service to Arthur, this was to be an odyssey of soul-stirring glory and heartbreaking discovery...an odyssey that would bring him the love of a beautiful woman and take away from him his son Gwalchmai.
And before Gwalchmai, godson of Merlin, lay an even darker and more mysterious quest.
Cover Illustration: Darrell Sweet
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
3 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 12, 2019
This is a reprint of two much earlier stories by the author, 'King of the World's Edge' and 'The Ship from Atlantis', collected into one volume. As this reprint is dated after "Merlin's Ring" by the same author, I began reading "Merlin's Ring" first, then realised it was a sequel so stopped reading that in favour of reading this book first - unfortunately the early section of the sequel contains massive spoilers for the second story in the present volume.
Most of the present book is taken up by the story of Ventidius Varro, a soldier in the army of Roman Britain who witnessed the gradual withdrawal of the legions back to Rome. He tells, forty years after the event, of how he had fought in the war against the Saxon invasions, following Arthur of legendary fame. When Arthur was fatally wounded, Myrdhinn (the Welsh name for Merlin) arranged for his body to be entombed in a safe place until he would revive some time in the far future to lead the defence of the British. Ventidius, Myrdhinn, and various others from Arthur's army embarked on a ship and sailed to a land they believe to be a haven: the New World/North America.
Initially meeting friendly people on an island, they are attacked by hostile fishmen on the mainland who kill some of their number and carry off a Saxon who had become part of the crew. That character later returns to cause some havoc. The ship is sunk soon after and many of the crew drown, and the survivors, Ventidius and some of his fellow soldiers, are taken captive by local native Americans. Gradually they learn that these people are oppressed themselves, and Ventidius and Myrrhdin form friendships which will stand them in good stead later on. They are drawn into the conflicts between various tribal groups.
The bulk of the story is a version of the early history of the Americas, including the Mayans who are called Maians and portrayed as very bloodthirsty and oppressive, a somewhat different take on them than I've heard before, and the people who later become the Aztecs who seem more deserving of that reputation. There is a lot of fighting and both Ventidius and Myrrhdin are later viewed as gods. This story has a brief 'frame' which tops and tails it and in which it is explained that this is the first person account of a Roman, uncovered following a storm at Key West and translated by a scholar. Rather incredibly, it was meant to have been delivered by the son of Ventidius, Merlin's godson, to the emperor of Rome in the belief that the Romans require a safe haven to retreat from the barbarians besetting what is left of the empire. I found it hard to believe that the emperor would be expected to read a long novel just to be given that message!
The second story in the book is about Ventidius' son, Gwalchmai, who goes to deliver the message ('The King of the World's Edge') but soon loses it. He is becalmed and, desperate for moisture, drinks a potion of Merlin's (Merlin is only called Myrrdhin in the first story) which he realises later is the substance that his godfather had doled out in occasional drops to prolong his own life. By drinking the potion in one go, Gwalchmai becomes not only long lived but also has great powers of recuperation.
He comes across a strange swan shaped metal vessel, becalmed like his own, which is far in advance of current technology, and turns out to be a survivor of Atlantis. Aboard is a metal statue of a young woman, inhabited by the transferred spirit of Corenice, a young Atlantean woman who had died after the loss of Atlantis, and the two eventually fall in love. But after they help a community who are being attacked by a decadent remnant of Atlantean civilisation, disaster befalls them. I found this second segment a bit boring in places and there were too many farfetched things to have to suspend disbelief about, not least that the Atlanteans were below sealevel and preserved by a forcefield but had nevertheless learned enough of what was going on in the outside world to have been able to send fighting men to the conflicts in the first story. Corenice also has the ability to send her consciousness into other living things and she teaches Gwalchmai how to do this, a skill which becomes crucially useful in the follow up volume.
Despite all the stories about battles, this book is a bit more lively than the sequel as the main part of it is told in first person. The author has a tendency to headhop and act as an omniscient narrator when writing in the third person, which is shown in 'The Ship from Atlantis' and the sequel. So I am awarding it a 3 star rating overall.
Most of the present book is taken up by the story of Ventidius Varro, a soldier in the army of Roman Britain who witnessed the gradual withdrawal of the legions back to Rome. He tells, forty years after the event, of how he had fought in the war against the Saxon invasions, following Arthur of legendary fame. When Arthur was fatally wounded, Myrdhinn (the Welsh name for Merlin) arranged for his body to be entombed in a safe place until he would revive some time in the far future to lead the defence of the British. Ventidius, Myrdhinn, and various others from Arthur's army embarked on a ship and sailed to a land they believe to be a haven: the New World/North America.
Initially meeting friendly people on an island, they are attacked by hostile fishmen on the mainland who kill some of their number and carry off a Saxon who had become part of the crew. That character later returns to cause some havoc. The ship is sunk soon after and many of the crew drown, and the survivors, Ventidius and some of his fellow soldiers, are taken captive by local native Americans. Gradually they learn that these people are oppressed themselves, and Ventidius and Myrrhdin form friendships which will stand them in good stead later on. They are drawn into the conflicts between various tribal groups.
The bulk of the story is a version of the early history of the Americas, including the Mayans who are called Maians and portrayed as very bloodthirsty and oppressive, a somewhat different take on them than I've heard before, and the people who later become the Aztecs who seem more deserving of that reputation. There is a lot of fighting and both Ventidius and Myrrhdin are later viewed as gods. This story has a brief 'frame' which tops and tails it and in which it is explained that this is the first person account of a Roman, uncovered following a storm at Key West and translated by a scholar. Rather incredibly, it was meant to have been delivered by the son of Ventidius, Merlin's godson, to the emperor of Rome in the belief that the Romans require a safe haven to retreat from the barbarians besetting what is left of the empire. I found it hard to believe that the emperor would be expected to read a long novel just to be given that message!
The second story in the book is about Ventidius' son, Gwalchmai, who goes to deliver the message ('The King of the World's Edge') but soon loses it. He is becalmed and, desperate for moisture, drinks a potion of Merlin's (Merlin is only called Myrrdhin in the first story) which he realises later is the substance that his godfather had doled out in occasional drops to prolong his own life. By drinking the potion in one go, Gwalchmai becomes not only long lived but also has great powers of recuperation.
He comes across a strange swan shaped metal vessel, becalmed like his own, which is far in advance of current technology, and turns out to be a survivor of Atlantis. Aboard is a metal statue of a young woman, inhabited by the transferred spirit of Corenice, a young Atlantean woman who had died after the loss of Atlantis, and the two eventually fall in love. But after they help a community who are being attacked by a decadent remnant of Atlantean civilisation, disaster befalls them. I found this second segment a bit boring in places and there were too many farfetched things to have to suspend disbelief about, not least that the Atlanteans were below sealevel and preserved by a forcefield but had nevertheless learned enough of what was going on in the outside world to have been able to send fighting men to the conflicts in the first story. Corenice also has the ability to send her consciousness into other living things and she teaches Gwalchmai how to do this, a skill which becomes crucially useful in the follow up volume.
Despite all the stories about battles, this book is a bit more lively than the sequel as the main part of it is told in first person. The author has a tendency to headhop and act as an omniscient narrator when writing in the third person, which is shown in 'The Ship from Atlantis' and the sequel. So I am awarding it a 3 star rating overall.
December 29, 2016
So horrible, words may fail me. However. . . I'll try.
I've had a bad run of luck lately with random pulls from the used book store, and Merlin's Godson is the latest in a long string of torture.
It's hard to actually tell what the story line is, but suffice to say it's confusing, implausible, badly written, undeveloped, and shows about as much depth of creativity and writing ability as a creative writing exercise turned in by a 9th grader who ate a lot of lead paint chips as a baby.
It just sucks. Totally. Completely. Unconditionally. Not a single bright spot on any of the pages, the very creation of which are a crime against all trees, everywhere. In terms of bad plot and bad writing, it's not unlike my recent review of The Runestone, but exponentially more horrific.
While I firmly believe that book-burning is categorically a moral and intellectual crime, I'm really considering adding an exception loophole clause to my moral high ground. . .
If you see this book, flee. Run, run, run for your life!!!
I've had a bad run of luck lately with random pulls from the used book store, and Merlin's Godson is the latest in a long string of torture.
It's hard to actually tell what the story line is, but suffice to say it's confusing, implausible, badly written, undeveloped, and shows about as much depth of creativity and writing ability as a creative writing exercise turned in by a 9th grader who ate a lot of lead paint chips as a baby.
It just sucks. Totally. Completely. Unconditionally. Not a single bright spot on any of the pages, the very creation of which are a crime against all trees, everywhere. In terms of bad plot and bad writing, it's not unlike my recent review of The Runestone, but exponentially more horrific.
While I firmly believe that book-burning is categorically a moral and intellectual crime, I'm really considering adding an exception loophole clause to my moral high ground. . .
If you see this book, flee. Run, run, run for your life!!!
September 7, 2007
Merlin's Godson, the story of Merlin and a lost Roman contingent settling in among native Americans following Arthur's death, is equally as over-written but not nearly as entertaining or fantastical as the book it prequels,
Merlin's Ring
. Even so, fans of detail- and geography-obsessive alternate histories will probably find plenty to like. Munn's created an interesting universe in which savages cower at acts of "magic" that are obviously just proper application of scientific knowledge, but gods and mysticism rear their vengeful heads just often enough to make you realize those savages have reason to cower.
This is actually a combination of two previously published novels, King of the World's Edge and The Ship from Atlantis, which helps to explain why the last section of the book (featuring the early adventures of the titular hero, Gwalchmai) feels tacked on. Also important to note is that King of the World's Edge was originally published in 1939, and written as early as 1925, so taken in context it's a pretty impressive piece of work. Still, Godson is probably of interest mainly to people who've already read Ring and want a little flesh on the backstory.
This is actually a combination of two previously published novels, King of the World's Edge and The Ship from Atlantis, which helps to explain why the last section of the book (featuring the early adventures of the titular hero, Gwalchmai) feels tacked on. Also important to note is that King of the World's Edge was originally published in 1939, and written as early as 1925, so taken in context it's a pretty impressive piece of work. Still, Godson is probably of interest mainly to people who've already read Ring and want a little flesh on the backstory.
February 25, 2011
Kind of pointless to write a review. Read all the other reviews, I have nothing to add. Once again Munn gets too wordy and it brings down the overall effect of the book.
January 13, 2019
Written in a very over-the-top pretend old-fashioned style. I dubbed it “The Adventures of Bird-Hat”.
September 16, 2017
It turns out that after the fall of Camelot (which was, as some historians have speculated, the last outpost of Roman Britain), Merlin (Myrddhin) led a handful of survivors across the sea to the New World. Here our centurion narrator and Merlin find the continent crushed by the culture of the Mound Builders (the supposed Lost Civilization who raised mounds all over North America) and begin leading the oppressed natives in revolt. I had a lot of fun with what I found an engagingly odd mashup, but the racist subtext (thank God those Europeans showed up to conquer/save all the natives!) really aged poorly.
After this 1930s fantasy came out in paperback in the 1960s, Munn followed it up with "Ship from Atlantis" which is included here: the first story's narrator sends his son Gwalchmai to Rome to come colonize and Christianize the new lands, but the title ship and its living metal occupant recruit Gwalchmai to help them destroy a degraded former colony of Atlantis. Not as good, but it sets up the transition to the final (and best) installment, Merlin's Ring.
After this 1930s fantasy came out in paperback in the 1960s, Munn followed it up with "Ship from Atlantis" which is included here: the first story's narrator sends his son Gwalchmai to Rome to come colonize and Christianize the new lands, but the title ship and its living metal occupant recruit Gwalchmai to help them destroy a degraded former colony of Atlantis. Not as good, but it sets up the transition to the final (and best) installment, Merlin's Ring.
July 4, 2022
Awful! No character development at all. Published in 1976 yet tried to be written in old school english. Makes for a slow muddled read.
February 25, 2025
I really wanted to like this book. I love most books about Merlin and King Arthur. I just could not really get into this one and set it aside before finishing.
gave-up-on
September 5, 2025I'd had hopes for this book but I got about ten pages in, put it down and months (?) went by without having one tiny urge to pick it up again. Sad shrug
January 12, 2020
“Merlin’s Godson” is a two-book omnibus of the historical fantasy novels “The King of the World’s Edge” and “The Ship from Atlantis,” written by Weird Tales author H. Warner Munn, who was famous for his “Werewolf Clan Series” and for assisting H.P. Lovecraft in writing his novella “At the Mountains of Madness.”
The first novel, “The King of the World’s Edge” centers around Roman centurion Ventidius Varro and the legendary “Lost Legion” of Rome. After their leader and king, Arthur Pendragon, is mortally wounded in the Battle of Camlann, and transported by mystical forces to the Isle of Avalon to go into an enchanted slumber to heal himself so he can return when Britain will one day need him, Varro and his men escape the lands being besieged by the bloodthirsty Saxons and are led by the mage Merlin across mysterious seas to the unknown West. It’s there that they discover a primitive and barbarous kingdom known as Miapan, which is actually ancient America and is inhabited by what would later become known as the Mesoamerican tribes and the North American tribes of Indians. Varro defeats the cruel, iron-fisted tyrant that rules them and becomes king himself, being worshiped by the people as monarch and god.
In the second novel “The Ship from Atlantis,” Varro seeks to make this newly-discovered continent a haven for the people in Britain that are still under assault from the Saxons. He sends his son, Gwalchmai, the godson of Merlin, who is now passed into the next world, to voyage and find a suitable ruler beside the Tiber River to deliver the news of the newly-discovered continent.
In the uncharted Sargasso Sea, Gwalchmai finds a strange vessel from ancient Atlantis, drinks a potion that his godfather bequeathed to him that grants him near-immortality, and meets Corenice, the woman who is destined to be his twin flame throughout the ages. The two set out on an unforgettable adventure and quest, the span of which is staggering.
This historical fantasy duology set in the Arthurian Mythos is a very enjoyable and absorbing read. The concepts of deep time and ancient lost civilizations is on par with such writers as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. The characters are very likable and intriguing. The two titles are full of blood-and-thunder action and high adventure. Monsters, magic, and mighty deeds abound. This is historical fantasy as it should be. And honestly, this is the only Arthurian fantasy I have read that really grabbed me and intrigued me. I’m sure there are others out there that are on-par, but this one I really enjoyed. The mixture of Christian and pagan mysticism should whet the appetite of nearly any fantasy fan, and the world is well-built. Plus it has that classic Weird Tales flavor. I have never read anything by Munn before this, but I am sure glad I picked this up.
I give “Merlin’s Godson” by H. Warner Munn a 4.5 out of 5.
The first novel, “The King of the World’s Edge” centers around Roman centurion Ventidius Varro and the legendary “Lost Legion” of Rome. After their leader and king, Arthur Pendragon, is mortally wounded in the Battle of Camlann, and transported by mystical forces to the Isle of Avalon to go into an enchanted slumber to heal himself so he can return when Britain will one day need him, Varro and his men escape the lands being besieged by the bloodthirsty Saxons and are led by the mage Merlin across mysterious seas to the unknown West. It’s there that they discover a primitive and barbarous kingdom known as Miapan, which is actually ancient America and is inhabited by what would later become known as the Mesoamerican tribes and the North American tribes of Indians. Varro defeats the cruel, iron-fisted tyrant that rules them and becomes king himself, being worshiped by the people as monarch and god.
In the second novel “The Ship from Atlantis,” Varro seeks to make this newly-discovered continent a haven for the people in Britain that are still under assault from the Saxons. He sends his son, Gwalchmai, the godson of Merlin, who is now passed into the next world, to voyage and find a suitable ruler beside the Tiber River to deliver the news of the newly-discovered continent.
In the uncharted Sargasso Sea, Gwalchmai finds a strange vessel from ancient Atlantis, drinks a potion that his godfather bequeathed to him that grants him near-immortality, and meets Corenice, the woman who is destined to be his twin flame throughout the ages. The two set out on an unforgettable adventure and quest, the span of which is staggering.
This historical fantasy duology set in the Arthurian Mythos is a very enjoyable and absorbing read. The concepts of deep time and ancient lost civilizations is on par with such writers as Robert E. Howard and Clark Ashton Smith. The characters are very likable and intriguing. The two titles are full of blood-and-thunder action and high adventure. Monsters, magic, and mighty deeds abound. This is historical fantasy as it should be. And honestly, this is the only Arthurian fantasy I have read that really grabbed me and intrigued me. I’m sure there are others out there that are on-par, but this one I really enjoyed. The mixture of Christian and pagan mysticism should whet the appetite of nearly any fantasy fan, and the world is well-built. Plus it has that classic Weird Tales flavor. I have never read anything by Munn before this, but I am sure glad I picked this up.
I give “Merlin’s Godson” by H. Warner Munn a 4.5 out of 5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 7, 2016
Talk about fantasy at its limit, this book takes the reader to that point. The portrayal finds the protagonists traveling the entire world and encountering many cultures some of which where only war is their "religion". In the beginning we encounter Arthur in a battle where he meets his death. However, Merlin known as Myrdhinn in this novel, puts him into a deep sleep from which he is supposed to awake when he is needed. The story is told by a Roman soldier who laments the loss of Britain from his homeland. He follows Merlin with his remaining soldiers through Britain, across various seas and into the "New World" where they find many different trips where the living rules are so rigid that death awaits anyone who attempts to stretch the meaning. The book is part of a series that I hope to complete.
February 18, 2012
I had no idea what this book was about and was shocked at the plot. Having Merlin bring down the mighty Mian empire, teach the locals how to use the blow and arrow and other things just didn't fit the "camelot" that I look for, yet I can't say that I didn't enjoy it.
I wouldn't read it again, but it was different enough to me to hold my interest.
I wouldn't read it again, but it was different enough to me to hold my interest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2016
I read this too long ago to properly review it, but I remember half was boring as hell & the other half as good as Merlin's Godson which precedes it chronologically.
December 30, 2020
There was a fad for reviving early fantasy books for a while, but many of them, like Merlin's Godson, just weren't very good.
February 16, 2016
Interesting tale of Merlin after the fall of Camelot. Quick and easy read. Recommended
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews