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Merlin's Bones
In post-Arthurian England, ten-year old Amby and the troupe of traveling players he belongs to are on the run from a conqueror. He has been gifted with second-sight, and when the troupe stumbles upon an unoccupied castle he is the only one in the group who senses the power that lies within the stone building. In the near future, the Fisher King, Mordred and Morgan le Fay seek to gain control of Dr. Elaine Brusen’s hypostater, a machine capable of altering fundamental reality.
Both Amby and Elaine are unwittingly drawn into a power struggle that spans centuries and spills into the realm of fairy and beyond. Saberhagen reworks Arthurian legend and puts Arthur’s survival, the succession of New Camelot and Merlin’s bones on the line with an exciting blend of romance, danger and adventure.
Both Amby and Elaine are unwittingly drawn into a power struggle that spans centuries and spills into the realm of fairy and beyond. Saberhagen reworks Arthurian legend and puts Arthur’s survival, the succession of New Camelot and Merlin’s bones on the line with an exciting blend of romance, danger and adventure.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
3 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Fred Saberhagen
335 books495 followersFred Saberhagen was an American science fiction and fantasy author most famous for his ''Beserker'' and Dracula stories.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
Saberhagen also wrote a series of a series of post-apocalyptic mytho-magical novels beginning with his popular ''Empire of the East'' and continuing through a long series of ''Swords'' and ''Lost Swords'' novels. Saberhagen died of cancer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Saberhagen was born in and grew up in the area of Chicago, Illinois. Saberhagen served in the [[U.S. Air Force]] during the Korean War while he was in his early twenties. Back in civilian life, Saberhagen worked as an It was while he was working for Motorola (after his military service) that Saberhagen started writing fiction seriously at the age of about 30. "Fortress Ship", his first "Berserker" short shory, was published in 1963. Then, in 1964, Saberhagen saw the publication of his first novel, ''The Golden People''.
From 1967 to 1973, he worked as an editor for the Chemistry articles in the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' as well as writing its article on science fiction. He then quit and took up writing full-time. In 1975, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
He married fellow writer Joan Spicci in 1968. They had two sons and a daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 5, 2012
An Interesting concept, and welcome addition to the Arthurian Camelot Mythos. I've been a fan of Saberhagen's since I read Empire of the East in High School in the early 1980's. I usually find his style very enjoyable and well flowing, however, I found that Merlin's Bones took some getting used to the flow and style. It started out slow for me but somewhere just before halfway it picked up speed until it smashed into a brick wall at the end.
In medieval times, sometime after the Days of King Arthur and the Round Table, a group of traveling entertainers seek refuge in an abandoned and run down stronghold with a wall that protects several buildings including a house that has some apparent magical properties. This band of actors, jugglers, and jesters are running from a king they displeased by heckling him in their act. Little do they know that the one place they seek shelter from both the nights storm and the angry king is the final resting place of the mythical magician Merlin from King Arthur's Kingdom of Camelot. The little band of entertainers soon discover that they are indeed protecting the place where the great magician was entombed alive many years earlier, and must pose as the servants to the great oracle of Merlin's Bones.
Meanwhile in the late twentieth, early twenty-first century, a research scientist, who works for an organization that has devoted itself to the study of Reality and Time/Space is experiencing strange events in and around her lab and the surrounding facilities. Strange guests arrive who claim to be associated with the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table. These "Guests" prove to be very demanding and forceful and mysterious as well as cunning. They want to use her scientific equipment to help in their search for Merlin's final resting place and more importantly the magical powers that his bones are said to possess.
What made this a slow starter for me was the initial exposition of the band of travelers, who are after all the most important characters of the book. That coupled with jumping to the modern times future, the "Interlude" as many of the chapters and subchapters were titled. Until I got fully involved with and excited about the story. It took major character development for this to happen, at least for me.
This book crosses the Science-Fiction/Fantasy fine line it isn't totally Fantasy, yet it can't be called Science Fiction on it's own. It's primarily a fantasy set as I said earlier sometime after the Days of King Arthur and Camelot. I would recommend this book first to Saberhagen fans, then to Fantasy enthusiasts, and possibly to that small portion of Sci-Fi fans that like Sci-Fi/Fantasy crossover stories.
Personally I enjoyed reading this book, once I got into it. It was one of those reads where I would start off by reading most if not all of one chapter. Then put it down for a few days then read only a few pages, then pick it up a week or two later read a little and put it back down, until about halfway. I then began to read it more often and as much as possible until I finished it.
On a scale of one to five, with one being forget it and five being read this book and tell everybody about it. I would rate this book a three and half.
UPDATE: After a few years reflection I occurs to me that some might try to connect this book with the movie "Timeline". If I recall there are some similarities but maybe it is just the time travel between medieval times and modern times.
In medieval times, sometime after the Days of King Arthur and the Round Table, a group of traveling entertainers seek refuge in an abandoned and run down stronghold with a wall that protects several buildings including a house that has some apparent magical properties. This band of actors, jugglers, and jesters are running from a king they displeased by heckling him in their act. Little do they know that the one place they seek shelter from both the nights storm and the angry king is the final resting place of the mythical magician Merlin from King Arthur's Kingdom of Camelot. The little band of entertainers soon discover that they are indeed protecting the place where the great magician was entombed alive many years earlier, and must pose as the servants to the great oracle of Merlin's Bones.
Meanwhile in the late twentieth, early twenty-first century, a research scientist, who works for an organization that has devoted itself to the study of Reality and Time/Space is experiencing strange events in and around her lab and the surrounding facilities. Strange guests arrive who claim to be associated with the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table. These "Guests" prove to be very demanding and forceful and mysterious as well as cunning. They want to use her scientific equipment to help in their search for Merlin's final resting place and more importantly the magical powers that his bones are said to possess.
What made this a slow starter for me was the initial exposition of the band of travelers, who are after all the most important characters of the book. That coupled with jumping to the modern times future, the "Interlude" as many of the chapters and subchapters were titled. Until I got fully involved with and excited about the story. It took major character development for this to happen, at least for me.
This book crosses the Science-Fiction/Fantasy fine line it isn't totally Fantasy, yet it can't be called Science Fiction on it's own. It's primarily a fantasy set as I said earlier sometime after the Days of King Arthur and Camelot. I would recommend this book first to Saberhagen fans, then to Fantasy enthusiasts, and possibly to that small portion of Sci-Fi fans that like Sci-Fi/Fantasy crossover stories.
Personally I enjoyed reading this book, once I got into it. It was one of those reads where I would start off by reading most if not all of one chapter. Then put it down for a few days then read only a few pages, then pick it up a week or two later read a little and put it back down, until about halfway. I then began to read it more often and as much as possible until I finished it.
On a scale of one to five, with one being forget it and five being read this book and tell everybody about it. I would rate this book a three and half.
UPDATE: After a few years reflection I occurs to me that some might try to connect this book with the movie "Timeline". If I recall there are some similarities but maybe it is just the time travel between medieval times and modern times.
September 7, 2025
Not one of Saberhagen's strongest stories, but still an interesting modern-day science fiction/fantasy twist on the legend of King Arthur.
I'd only recommend it if you're a fan of King Arthur tales or if you've read quite a few of Saberhagen's other books.
I'd only recommend it if you're a fan of King Arthur tales or if you've read quite a few of Saberhagen's other books.
June 14, 2014
Ууф, свърши се. Много мъчно вървя. Навремето поредицата за берсерките ме грабна много и почнах книгата с големи очаквания, а то... действието върви някак хаотично, без смисъл и посока, разни герои се разкатават напред-назад като мухи без глави, а за капак действието, което вървеше в разказ от първо лице единствено число от гледните точки на различните герои, и всички повествования си приличаха като две капки вода, което и най- ми приседна. Нелогично е да четеш повествование в 1л.ед.ч. на 10-годишно дете от средновековието, което употребява изрази като "евентуално" и "тенденция", а викингски воин да използва изразни средства от сорта на "с висока степен на вероятност"...
October 12, 2015
Merlin wants to restore Camelot and jumps around in time trying to bring that about. It's an interesting idea for a story, but this one is disjointed. There are multiple POVs, no real protagonist, unclear motivations, convoluted sequences of cause and effect, and prose that often 'tells' the story in a distant and disinterested tone. It's not very engaging. I didn't care for it.
July 25, 2017
Great world building, annoying plot, interesting but awkward characters. I liked the ideas in it but struggled to stay interested in the actual narrative.
April 9, 2023
My brain hurts a little after reading this. Time loop fiction in an Arthurian package, this novel frustrated me, as it really didn't advance any real struggle. It just wove a time loop that you can expect to repeat.
There aren't really any good guys, but we definitely have bad guys in Mordred and Comorre. Nobody wins. Nobody loses. A series of events are put in motion and forced into place. I see how this might make an OK budget festure-length motion picture, but in terms of a satisfying resolution, I am a little disappointed.
There aren't really any good guys, but we definitely have bad guys in Mordred and Comorre. Nobody wins. Nobody loses. A series of events are put in motion and forced into place. I see how this might make an OK budget festure-length motion picture, but in terms of a satisfying resolution, I am a little disappointed.
July 5, 2024
Book club choice.
I didn’t enjoy this. Confused, badly paced, so that it either dragged or rushed through the story. Messed around with time, but spoilt the settings with odd anachronisms. Shame, as the author clearly knows his Arthurian stuff.
I didn’t enjoy this. Confused, badly paced, so that it either dragged or rushed through the story. Messed around with time, but spoilt the settings with odd anachronisms. Shame, as the author clearly knows his Arthurian stuff.
July 30, 2024
Sci-fi intersects with Fantasy for this interesting hybrid of Arthurian Saga, Time Travel Conundrum, and Sorcery. Unfortunately it drags on for about 100 pages too many and I had to force myself to finish it.
August 24, 2017
Didn't like it
January 26, 2018
Not bad, but not fantastic either. All in all, I kind of thought Meh in the end. Not my favorite book by Saberhagen.
May 8, 2018
3.5 stars. A nice take on a well-worn Arthurian time travel plot.
Read
December 7, 2024Pretty much just read the present-day interludes
July 15, 2010
It wasn't bad, but the plot points where kinda easy to guess. I knew that Amby would be Merlin, and then Vivian Nimue, Bran would be the next king-- the only real surprise was at the end with Elaine.
It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but it was okay. Not bad flow, but good meld of past and present and an unusual (albeit not that hard to guess) plot line. The only part I found annoying was the poetry, which seemed more like filler than anything.
In summation, not bad, not great, read it if you feel like reading another story about king arthur, merlin and all of that lore/mythology.
It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, but it was okay. Not bad flow, but good meld of past and present and an unusual (albeit not that hard to guess) plot line. The only part I found annoying was the poetry, which seemed more like filler than anything.
In summation, not bad, not great, read it if you feel like reading another story about king arthur, merlin and all of that lore/mythology.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2011
This is a difficult book to describe, which likely explains my prior hesitation to read it. It is an odd mix of time travel and Arthurian fantasy. At the same time, it does not disappoint. For about half the book I had no clue where it was actually headed. However, as I finally started to identify the characters, I began to see what Saberhagen had concocted. Some of the Arthurian characters are readily identifiable, but others are hidden for a time. This is a fun read, but knowing some Arthurian legend helps.
August 8, 2011
Not bad, quite some distance from Saberhagen's best work.
Sort of a re-imagining of the Merlin/Camelot/Arthur legend with some 20th-century stuff mixed in. A bit disjointed, and the wrapup at the end isn't very satisfying.
Liked it but didn't love it.
Sort of a re-imagining of the Merlin/Camelot/Arthur legend with some 20th-century stuff mixed in. A bit disjointed, and the wrapup at the end isn't very satisfying.
Liked it but didn't love it.
November 28, 2012
Some of the characters were underdeveloped or flaky and motives behind certain character's intentions to revive Arthur were left out. It doesn't have a linear timeline, so you really have to keep up with what is/was happening throughout the story.
Read
February 24, 2015I read this back in the 1990's when I was reading z lot of Fred Saberhagen. I had always enjoyed Arthurian legend-based stories, and this, although not your typical Arthurian story, had a unique and fascinating twist.
November 23, 2014
I am not one for talking negatively but this book is extremely slow and having finished it I still don't understand what it was about. it just doesn't make any sense.
March 22, 2015
This was an interesting take on the Arthurian legend.
October 8, 2015
a storyteller. couldn't stop reading. but a little lacking not sure in what. if you love the matter of Britain, you'll enjoy this version of the song.
December 31, 2015
meh
Not compelling, not interesting. A mess.
Not compelling, not interesting. A mess.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews