Merlin's mistake

Merlin's Mistake #1

by Robert Newman

Sixteen-year-old Brian jumps at the chance to go on a quest with a young stranger, Tertius, who is determined to fix a mistake Merlin the magician made long ago. This tale of adventure follows the boys on an exciting journey through medieval England.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens

173 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Mr. Newman, who was born in Manhattan, began his career as a writer for radio shows. In 1944, he was in charge of the radio portion of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's re-election campaign. He also wrote ''Search for Tomorrow'' and ''Peyton Place'' episodes for television.

From 1973 to 1988, he wrote books for young people, including ''The Case of the Baker Street Irregular,'' published by Atheneum in 1978, and many novels.

Reviews

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this when I was 10 when my Grandma gave it to me to read when I was visiting on Holiday. I can still visualise some of the scenes from the book 28 years later. That's how good the author described the setting and wrote the story to grab you. I am in the process of getting a copy for my 9 year old son to read.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of a vintage kids lit summer read-along, where there are themes rather than specific books. Digressing from my review, I do like this RAL approach as it means I can make my own selections.

I've read Merlin's mistake several times previously and do really like it. It deftly weaves together history (middle ages: knights and chivalry feature strongly, there are references to castle life and crusades, towns with guilds and merchants) with legend and magic (Merlin, magical gifts, mysterious quests, Robin Hood allusions in the form of Long Hugh), science (Tertius's gift of future knowledge being an excellent way in to this) and a bit of romance.

There is plenty of detail to immerse you in the setting and the book deals with themes of friendship, idealism and self-discovery. I think it an excellent book for young adults. I'm still on the lookout for the sequel (the testing of Tertius) - hope to find it one day.

[Elzbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a kid’s book, I genuinely enjoyed this! Even more so because it became a choose your own adventure as the pages of my aged copy began falling out. It a Merlin story that’s not focused on Merlin. Tertius was bestowed all future knowledge on accident which gave the author a lot more room to play with. Likable characters, not an Verlust young storyline. Well done

[JKR · Rating 3 out of 5]

A high three - it might have been higher if some plot twists had been less obvious and the “future knowledge” conceit had seemed more indispensable. I will definitely be reading the sequel, however.

[Daya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it as it was a childhood favourite of my mums. Really boring for the first half. I loved Nimue and Merlin’s interactions however and the ending was cute.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot honestly say that this was a good book. While I recognize the author's intentions to be humorous and to play with myth and historical chronology, it just doesn't seem to have worked out the way he intended. For one thing, my daughter was totally lost (and she is, in essence, of the age of Newman's target audience -- though I think the book is better suited toward fourteen-year-old boys than eight- to twelve-year-old girls).

Another problem is that the plot is too neat. Everything seems to work out just so, and each chapter is so tidily packaged. Consequently, the story does not progress very well, but rather reads in a series of fits and spurts with seemingly random plot elements that all suddenly fall quite perfectly into place at the very end. While this is certainly very considerate of the author and editor, it doesn't make for a very engaging story. Such perfect resolution does not allow for much character development.

That said, it has made a good bedtime story for the last month+. Each chapter is almost exactly twenty pages long, so we know in advance exactly how long it will take us to read through each night's chapter. And the book has given us an excellent opportunity to discuss new medieval vocabulary, such has "hauberk" and "Pict." I suppose any excuse for a little historical knowledge is a good one. So at least there's that.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't the best I'd ever read. The plot was a bit predictable, the characters somewhat shallow, and the whole thing almost corny, but it was enjoyable. I'm not sure I'd read it again or recommend it to someone else.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really original take on the Merlin myth, making a fun story. As an adult reader, I saw the big twist coming very early, and guessed Maude's identity, but I didn't guess the secondary twist with the Black Knight.
The only downside was that the ending seemed rather rushed to me.

[Nodee03 · Rating 3 out of 5]

a simple book... a perfect time killer and kiddies tranquilizer

[Tms · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, with interesting plot.
My only complaint is the twists and turns werent all that twisty, the plot was reasonably predictable. Still a good book though.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was kind of predictable but still a good book.

[Jenilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not exactly my favorite, but it was intersting, but I think it would have helped if I didn't read it so late at night.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthurian tale of knight and valor and love. I liked it. Fun read.

[Woodrós · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable but pleasant. Deviates from standard Merlin-derivative and quest format only in that he threw in some science.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable quest story with a few twists that were not expected. Brian, Tertius and Maud join up for a journey, each looking for different answers and each with different abilities to share.