Третата магия

by Welwyn Wilton Katz, Уелуин Кац

In this interpretation of the Arthurian legend, fifteen-year-old Morgan Lefevre is mistaken for one of her ancestors while visiting England, summoned to the alien world of Nwm, and caught between the opposing cruelties of the two Magics.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Canada, Arthurian, Adventure, Time Travel, Childrens

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Everyone has interests. Some people like my father had very few but he knew everything about them and received an OBE for the work he did on one of them during the second world war. Obviously this anecdote shows that having only a few interests isn't a bad thing. However, sometimes I think that the more things people are interested in, the more chance they have of becoming a traditionally published author. For example, here is a vastly incomplete list of my own interests: making jewelry (which I never thought would enter into my writing but is starting to, in the book I'm mentally reconstructing now), Rumi (because his poems are so beautiful and help me step back onto my own spiritual path if I've gone astray for a time), standing stones and dowsing and other new age tidbits as you will see in my book Sun God Moon Witch, playing the transverse flute and recorder and learning the Indian flute and the Japanese (zen) shakuhachi, folklore, legends, mythology [as most readers will see were resources in my books [book:False Face], The Third Magic,Witchery Hill Come Like Shadows), a writerly interest in character growth over certain excellent television series such as NCIS and Bones, yoga (both physical and its philosophical monism - a spiritual path I find fascinating), social issues such as prejudice and the changing of country boundaries because of it as shown in my books False Faceand Come Like Shadows, interspecies communication particularly with whales as in my book Whalesinger, climate change as has already outpaced my imagination as shown in my book Time Ghost, sketching, gorgeously impossible golf courses even though I don't play golf, Stonehenge and other standing stones as well as the math and science of prehistoric peoples, online shopping, murder mystery novels, J.S.Bach's and Mozart's music though mostly I prefer medieval music and some modern songs such as "You" by Fisher (album The Lovely Years),"Japanese Music Box" by Itsuki No Komoriuta (album "Forest" played by George Winston), "The Lady of Shalott" by Loreena McKennitt (album The Vist), "Leonard Cohen Live in London" (double album, all of it), "Someone to Watch Over Me" by Willie Nelson (album Stardust), "Autumn" by George Winston (whole album), "Fragile" by Jorane (The You and the Now), and "Words Can't Go There" by John Kaizan Neptune (album of same name).

Like you I love movies, nature, some TV, and I play bridge and even some video games (Wii, PS2, Nintendo DS: favourites Kingdom Hearts, and P4). Books, of course. We'll find out more about each other in my blog, I'm sure.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teenage Me could not get enough of this book. I always loved Arthurian legends, and this is such a vivid and unusual telling. I wrote a review of this book on Amazon.com once, after I had bought a stack of Teenage Me books in a fit of nostalgia. And, amazingly, I got an email from the author! He thanked me for my kind words, and was very glad that I had enjoyed the book. For that, this book will always be a favorite.

[Elodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no sweet clue how I originally ended up with this book. I think this was one of those random picks while browsing the bookstore shelves; hey this looks fun, mum can I get this? I was probably like... 14 or so when I first read it. My interpretation of it has changed some with a rereading at 28, though; but I still come out loving the book.

The good: it's a really cool original take on the Arthurian legend. It's interesting from the start and all the way through, and the slow reveal is a huge payoff at the end, with a full-circle (ha) ending that really, really works. It also doesn't try too hard; it stays light enough that you don't feel depressed reading it, and doesn't drag but mostly gets straight to the point.

The not so good: reading this again as an adult, there are a couple things that kind of weirded me out. Mostly, Morgan's relationship with her parents is fucked up - and I realize that that's intended, and a huge part of the ending, but at the same time, the text sort of makes it seem like it's Morgan's fault that her relationship with her parents is messed up. Which, I guess I can see what the author was getting at, but at the same time, the parents are the goddamn adults here, and I honestly don't even know why they're married, they seem to hate each other so goddamn much. The story about Morgan cutting down the crystal unicorn is incredibly, gut-wrenchingly sad, that an adult would guilt their child so much for liking a present the other parent gave her... ugh. That's just fucked up.

It's also a little bit fucked up that Arddu and Morgan end up together? Is it incest if she's a descendent of his sister? Or did she become his sister when the jade circlet fixed everything? Either way, a bit icky.

One thing I don't really get is the weird severed head at the end. Am I supposed to know from Arthurian legend who that is? The closest I've found is someone was given a severed head on a platter and it was his cousin...? If someone knows, help me out.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child and reread it constantly throughout my school years. I haven't touched it in a while, but it definitely gave me a lifelong love of books set in alternate worlds, and retellings of familiar myths and stories. It also gave me a love of Welwyn Wilton Katz - I read everything of hers that I could get my hands on. She and I are from the same city and I loved that some of her other books (eg. False Face) were set there.
In The Third Magice, we are introduced to Arddu, a young man who does not fit into his community. The Circle is a female-dominated community and his twin sister is a member, but he is practically an outcast because he resembles the powerful females and not the servant class of Nwm, nor the male-dominated Line, enemies of the Circle. Arddu's sister Rigan is sent to Earth to try to 'encircle' it and bring it under the sway of the Circle. She assumes the role of Morrigan - Morgan le Fay and tries to influence the fate of the earth by influencing a young Arthur. However, there is also a member of the Line from her world there who is working against her - he has assumed the role of Merlin the Magician.
Centuries later, a young girl named Morgan is exploring the ruins of Tintagel and sees strange glimpses into the Arthurian past. On Nwm, the Line have captured Arddu and are trying to use his pattern to summon his twin. Rigan feels the pull but resists, and they somehow succeed in pulling Morgan from earth to Nwm. The rest of the book explores the relationship that develops between Arddu and Morgan as they try to find a place that is neither Circle nor Line where they might both belong - a 'third magic.'

This book is a really interesting riff on the Arthurian legends and also reminds me a bit of the second Earthsea book, Tombs of Atuan in the desert setting of the Line's domain. Katz never shies away from darker elements in magical tales, so there is death and a harsh, nearly hopeless journey. Both Arddu and Morgan are outsiders and have complex relationships with their family members. I remember the story as disquieting and almost depressing, but Katz convinced me so completely of the world of Nwm and the magic that must be paid for, that I returned to the story again and again.

[J. Collbran · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Third Magic (1988) by Welwyn Wilton Katz is a young adult fantasy by a Canadian author that re-imagines and redirects the familiar Arthurian story. It begins on the world of Nwm, where the First Magic of water and circles is worked by the women Sisters, and the Second Magic of fire and iron worked by the men of the Line. Morrigan (Rigan) and her twin brother Arddu live in Nwm, but they are separated when Rigan is missioned to Earth’s past to take part in the struggle with M’rlendd (Merlin) to raise Arthur. Meanwhile in the twentieth century, young Morgan Lefevre, who is visiting Tintagel with her Canadian television-producer father, and who has some visions from the past, is spirited away to Nwm, where she is befriended by Arddu. Gradually they learn the complex plot which the Sisters are attempting to bring about, and make their own plans to alter its fulfillment. The main plot is fairly straightforward, but the implications of their actions get complicated, and as a whole the story is an ambitious one that is not entirely effectively realized. Yet it is nonetheless an intriguing and worthwhile book.

[Samantha Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fell in love with this book in public school and its been with me ever since then. Its one of the only books that no matter how much I prepare myself, I cry, and always at the same part.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I expected to love this book. The legend of King Arthur has fascinated me ever since I took a class dedicated to it during my time in university. You can imagine I was very pleased to find this book live up to those expectations.

But once again, I'll be honest. The beginning was a bit slow. Sure, it jumps right into rather important events, but the pacing in part one dragged a tad longer than I'd have liked.

Come part two, the pacing problem was fully resolved and I was officially hooked. I may have been intrigued earlier, but I was finally and truly hooked.

I won't speak much to the events in the story or the incorporation of King Arthur's legend (other reviewers have already addressed these adequately) but I will say that The Third Magic is beautifully written, or as it seems more appropriate to say, woven -- like a red and silver braid -- to satisfaction.

To Welwyn Wilton Katz,

I am sorry I did not find this book until 2022 at a used book sale for charity. I am equally sorry that I did not read it until 2023.

If it's any consolation, it was well worth the wait.

:)

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked that this book wasn't so much a retelling of the Arthur legend as it was an intertwining of that story with a completely original tale. I also thought the magic system was fascinating, and wished it could have been fleshed out a bit more. I wasn't a big fan of any of the main characters, and there were a few too many convenient plot developments for my taste, but I still enjoyed the book overall. The ending in particular was not quite what I expected, but in a good way. 3.5 out of 5 stars, rounded down because Morgan in particular annoyed me.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've recently read the first two books in Mary Stewart's Merlin series, so decided to keep up with the Arthurian theme since I happened to have this book on my shelf. The unique parallel to the legend was intriguing, but I'll admit I struggled to make sense of it. At first I attributed this to the fact I rarely read fantasy, and tried to accept the details as they were laid out, but the story continued to be very disorienting and ambiguous.

However, it was adventurous and I liked the relationship that developed between the young protagonists, which helped me to keep reading. Although I still feel confused, like I'm missing something, the story has painted some vivid scenes in my mind that linger, like a fever dream that you wake from with a headache...

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Third Magic is an interesting, but not terribly successful, take on the Arthurian mythos. When 15-year-old Morgan Lefevre travels with her parents to the ruins of Tintagel in Cornwall, she is mysteriously transported from our world to the world of Nwm, where two groups of sorcerers (the female Circle and the male Line) have been in conflict for centuries. There she meets a boy named Arddu and discovers the secret of their connection to each other and to King Arthur.

The premise of The Third Magic is intriguing, and I thought the way Katz weaves the story into the Arthurian legends was cleverly done, but there are simply too many ideas to be contained in a relatively short book. The only characters with much depth are Morgan and Arddu, and even they are often overwhelmed by the amount of plot Katz is trying to fold into the book; other characters are little more than outlines. It's ambitious, but ultimately disappointing.

[Celeste H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember going to my elementary school's library (we had elementary up until the 7th grade) and, while all the other kids in the class would run to the Goosebump books, I ran to this one. After reading it once I proceeded to fill up the name card over a course of years, taking this book out over and over again, reading it over and over and over again. I was never into Arthurian legends, but this was such a fantastically crafted story. As an adult, I made a point of seeking out a copy of this (out of print!) book so I could have it with me always. Rereading it as an adult, it still had the magic it held for me when I was 10.

Absolutely fantastic.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this book as a child. It was right up there with The Chronicles of Narnia and A Wrinkle in Time as my favorite fantasy books that I read when I was young. In fact, when it was time to get rid of the books that I'd outgrown, I couldn't bear to part with this one. It's still sitting on my bookshelf alongside the copies of the books I mentioned above and will soon be gracing my 8 year old daughter's shelf, though I might have to read it one more time before I pass it on to her. Just saying. ;)

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was much younger, maybe 11 or 12. I remember pulling it off the shelf at the Big Bend Library in St. Louis. I was immediately immersed in this Arthurian legend of sorts. So magical.

For YEARS, I searched for this book, but I had the title all wrong. I was searching for The Third Planet (because there is some interplanetary-ness to the plot). I don't know what popped in my head to search for The Third Magic, but I did and I found it. It was every bit as magical as when I read it as a preteen over 20 years ago.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was interwoven rather nicely into the Arthurian story with just enough familiarity to the story to make it recognizable but enough different to not be sure how it would all turn out. It was a bit confusing at the beginning because the author just threw us into the story and didn't explain a lot. I'm also not sure that I ever completely identified with the characters - I'm not sure that I cared enough about what would happen to them.

[Natalie Leblanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time sing I've read this book, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit. I'd love to come across it again to see if it's just as good as I remember it.

Update: So I've now reread this book, and I enjoyed it just as much, if not more. When I first read it, I wasn't very familiar with the King Arthur legend, so a lot of it went right over my head. Actually knowing what was being referenced made a huge difference!

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was young, and then again when I was older. A twist on Arthurian legend. It really sucks me in. On second review however, I found it to be more frightening. Severed heads? I don't remember severed heads?

[David Temrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was a child and loved it. It absolutely sparked my interest in fantasy novels at a very young and impressionable age. If you have kids, or you yourself loved Harry Potter, you should enjoy this book immensely.

[Susana Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books!! It's been years since I read it, but I was thinking about it the other day, and am about to start a re-read. The first time I read it I was in grade 6 or so, and I fell in love with the whole genre. It's what started my love of it, I'm sure.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

My one-word review in 1992: "Lousy."

[Sophie Ranger_of_the_oakleaf]

I love this book! It has an interesting, worldly plot, and well-developed characters.

[M. Pax · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember devouring this book when I was nine. Some of the visuals are still with me.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magical and enthralling!

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5/5