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Merlin: Darkling Child of Virgin and Devil
Merlin
Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
7 people are currently reading
363 people want to read
About the author
Robert Nye
72 books47 followersRobert Nye was an English writer, playwright and poet.
Nye started writing stories for children to entertain his three young sons. Nye published his first adult novel, Doubtfire, in 1967.
Nye's next publication after Doubtfire was a return to children's literature, a freewheeling version of Beowulf which has remained in print in many editions since 1968. In 1970, he published another children's book, Wishing Gold, and received the James Kennaway Memorial Award for his collection of short stories, Tales I Told My Mother (1969).
During the early 1970s Nye wrote several plays for BBC radio including “A Bloody Stupit Hole” (1970), “Reynolds, Reynolds” (1971), and a version of Penthesilea by Heinrich von Kleist (1971). He was also commissioned by Covent Garden to write an unpublished libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera, Kronia (1970). Nye held the position of writer in residence at the University of Edinburgh, 1976-1977, during which time he received the Guardian fiction prize, followed by the 1976 Hawthornden Prize for his novel Falstaff.
He continued to write poetry, publishing Darker Ends (1969) and Divisions on a Ground (1976), and to prepare editions of other poets with whose work he felt an affinity: Sir Walter Ralegh, William Barnes, and Laura Riding. His own Collected Poems appeared in 1995. His selected poems, entitled The Rain and The Glass, published in 2005, won the Cholmondeley Award. From 1977 he lived in County Cork, Ireland. Although his novels have won prizes and been translated into many languages, it is as a poet that he would probably have preferred to be remembered. The critic Gabriel Josipovici described him as "one of the most interesting poets writing today, with a voice unlike that of any of his contemporaries."
Nye started writing stories for children to entertain his three young sons. Nye published his first adult novel, Doubtfire, in 1967.
Nye's next publication after Doubtfire was a return to children's literature, a freewheeling version of Beowulf which has remained in print in many editions since 1968. In 1970, he published another children's book, Wishing Gold, and received the James Kennaway Memorial Award for his collection of short stories, Tales I Told My Mother (1969).
During the early 1970s Nye wrote several plays for BBC radio including “A Bloody Stupit Hole” (1970), “Reynolds, Reynolds” (1971), and a version of Penthesilea by Heinrich von Kleist (1971). He was also commissioned by Covent Garden to write an unpublished libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera, Kronia (1970). Nye held the position of writer in residence at the University of Edinburgh, 1976-1977, during which time he received the Guardian fiction prize, followed by the 1976 Hawthornden Prize for his novel Falstaff.
He continued to write poetry, publishing Darker Ends (1969) and Divisions on a Ground (1976), and to prepare editions of other poets with whose work he felt an affinity: Sir Walter Ralegh, William Barnes, and Laura Riding. His own Collected Poems appeared in 1995. His selected poems, entitled The Rain and The Glass, published in 2005, won the Cholmondeley Award. From 1977 he lived in County Cork, Ireland. Although his novels have won prizes and been translated into many languages, it is as a poet that he would probably have preferred to be remembered. The critic Gabriel Josipovici described him as "one of the most interesting poets writing today, with a voice unlike that of any of his contemporaries."
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 7, 2022
The tale is saturated with magic and filled with marvels…
The Black Book depicts an appearance of Merlin in the world…
The world is full of wonders… Some wonders are more obscene than others…
The White Book is a wee bit off-white… Merlin becomes a court magician…
The marriage of heaven and hell is consummated…
In The Red Book an infant is born… Merlin takes the baby into the green wood… There he raises and educates the child…
Arthur becomes the king… The devil keeps scheming… Morgan le Fay comes to Camelot…
In The Gold Book Arthur defeats enemies and marries Guinevere…
Did the devil create sins? Did sinners create the devil?
The Black Book depicts an appearance of Merlin in the world…
In days of old, when knights were bold.
Merlin.
My mother was a virgin.
My father was the devil…
The question is simple enough:
How come I’m watching at my own conception?
Answer:
What else is there to do in a crystal cave!
The world is full of wonders… Some wonders are more obscene than others…
The White Book is a wee bit off-white… Merlin becomes a court magician…
I have this gift of seeing past and future. From my father, the one. From my mother, the other.
But I cannot change the happenings.
I cannot change the future as I must not change the past.
The most I can do, the once and future fool, is to make it come true again in the present.
Yes, little pig, I know what is going to happen.
Up to a certain point, which is always soon enough reached…
The marriage of heaven and hell is consummated…
In The Red Book an infant is born… Merlin takes the baby into the green wood… There he raises and educates the child…
The trees our chapel.
A waterfall our font.
I baptize him with wild water:
‘In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost: Arthur.’
Arthur becomes the king… The devil keeps scheming… Morgan le Fay comes to Camelot…
In The Gold Book Arthur defeats enemies and marries Guinevere…
Queen Guinevere, that great queen, mistress of Logres, first lady of Camelot.
That great bitch, mistress of Lancelot, first lady to take off her knickers when the king’s back was turned.
I mean: Guinevere couldn’t wait for Arthur to be off and about some Quest or another and she’d be straight down the corridor and into Sir Lancelot’s bed. The king’s love for her might belong to a different world, but it was not a world that interested her. What interested her was the lance between Lancelot’s legs.
Did the devil create sins? Did sinners create the devil?
July 24, 2020
The second in Robert Nye’s reimaginings of famous legends, Merlin is a screwloose novel told in staccato paragraphs and chapters, an intentional slimming of the excesses of Falstaff. Conceived in Hades by the Devil and his brothers, born of immaculate conception to a 1970s soft-core nymphette, Merlin narrates (perhaps?) the tale of his encounters with the various personnel involved in Arthurian legend across four alchemical “books”. The narrative is slipshod, metafictional, frenetic, and ill-paced, the prose a procession of cut-glass sentences riddled with arcane references and less arcane references, spurred on by hilarious demonic dialogue. The inclusion of several pornographic romps lends the novel its “erotic” label, though the sex is more Confessions of an Arthurian Fixer than Emmanuelle.
October 6, 2023
"And Sir Perceval saw a tall tree by the side of the river, and one half of the tree was in flames from the roof to the top and the other half of the tree was green with leaves."
Reader, if there was some odd vestige of metaphorical literary innocence in my mind, having read this book it has gone now.
Stories and retellings in particular are similar to visual arts: no matter how many times one has seen or drawn an apple, there will always be some fresh, novel and funky way to draw one that will excite both artist and viewer. For me, this is one part in defining both a good drawing and a good retelling.
This book is absolutely Foul. It is an indecent, shamelessly vulgar and obscenely lewd read, and if I would have to put trigger warnings we would be here all day. And that's just for page 1.
All this is just Great. I read it quite greedily, dreading it would have to end (much too soon!), but the writing is just so damned compelling and it's so well structured, every page just had me grinning like a fox eating shit out of a wire bush.
An exceptional writing exercise, an Ode to Reading, to myths and legends, an ode to writers and beyond anything else an ode to the Devil, King Arthur and especially to Merlin.
"Two days I wandered in the green wood. It is where I go when the world overcomes me. In the wood is my mind. In the wood I can wander among my own thoughts, where they are translated into birds and trees. There is order in the growing of the wood. Yes, even in the chaos. For the chaos thrusts though grass and the grass gives it form. I could dine on grass, but never on chaos."
Merlin. The man locked in the present tense. The drop of light in the air. The spirit in the stone. The once and future Fool.
Quite an engaging drawing of an apple - rotten, maggoty, stinky smelly icky Erudite putrescence.
"Which one wanked then? The friar or the friar's shadow?"
Many thanks to mister Vit Babenco for putting it on my radar, it's going straight to my favourites shelf and I am sure to revisit this on many occasions.
" 'First rate theology. Straight out of the Malleus Maleficarum,' my uncle Beelzebub confesses. 'What's that?' 'Another book. Not yet written.' 'Do we write it? That one too?' 'Of course. I write all the books', says my father the Devil gloomily, grandly, watching his tear turn into a sore."
Reader, if there was some odd vestige of metaphorical literary innocence in my mind, having read this book it has gone now.
Stories and retellings in particular are similar to visual arts: no matter how many times one has seen or drawn an apple, there will always be some fresh, novel and funky way to draw one that will excite both artist and viewer. For me, this is one part in defining both a good drawing and a good retelling.
This book is absolutely Foul. It is an indecent, shamelessly vulgar and obscenely lewd read, and if I would have to put trigger warnings we would be here all day. And that's just for page 1.
All this is just Great. I read it quite greedily, dreading it would have to end (much too soon!), but the writing is just so damned compelling and it's so well structured, every page just had me grinning like a fox eating shit out of a wire bush.
An exceptional writing exercise, an Ode to Reading, to myths and legends, an ode to writers and beyond anything else an ode to the Devil, King Arthur and especially to Merlin.
"Two days I wandered in the green wood. It is where I go when the world overcomes me. In the wood is my mind. In the wood I can wander among my own thoughts, where they are translated into birds and trees. There is order in the growing of the wood. Yes, even in the chaos. For the chaos thrusts though grass and the grass gives it form. I could dine on grass, but never on chaos."
Merlin. The man locked in the present tense. The drop of light in the air. The spirit in the stone. The once and future Fool.
Quite an engaging drawing of an apple - rotten, maggoty, stinky smelly icky Erudite putrescence.
"Which one wanked then? The friar or the friar's shadow?"
Many thanks to mister Vit Babenco for putting it on my radar, it's going straight to my favourites shelf and I am sure to revisit this on many occasions.
" 'First rate theology. Straight out of the Malleus Maleficarum,' my uncle Beelzebub confesses. 'What's that?' 'Another book. Not yet written.' 'Do we write it? That one too?' 'Of course. I write all the books', says my father the Devil gloomily, grandly, watching his tear turn into a sore."
August 7, 2015
Merlin is Robert Nye's irreverent, raunchy and often lyrical (Nye's a poet) take on the Arthur legend. Many scenes reminded me of John Boorman's "Excalibur." To take one example: Arthur and Mordred's fight at their last battle:
If you've seen Boorman's film, that should bring to mind the very similar point where Arthur and Mordred meet in battle:
Which is not say that the book (first published in 1978) and the movie (1981) are at all alike. They are very different versions of the Once and Future King's reign.
I came across this book while perusing Merlin's page on Wikipedia. If you prefer your Arthur legends more respectful in tone and execution (and less sexually explicit, e.g., "Sir Gawain and the Sleeve Job"), then this book is not for you. However, I found it enjoyable and would recommend it.
Mordred in black armour rode to kill the king. King Arthur ran at Mordred with his spear so that the spear went right through Mordred's body and out the other side.
"Father! My father!" Mordred cries. He thrusts himself forwards along the spear that is killing him. He drags himself on. He crawls slowly, hanging by his wound. He hauls himself inch by inch to reach the king (p. 210).
If you've seen Boorman's film, that should bring to mind the very similar point where Arthur and Mordred meet in battle:
Which is not say that the book (first published in 1978) and the movie (1981) are at all alike. They are very different versions of the Once and Future King's reign.
I came across this book while perusing Merlin's page on Wikipedia. If you prefer your Arthur legends more respectful in tone and execution (and less sexually explicit, e.g., "Sir Gawain and the Sleeve Job"), then this book is not for you. However, I found it enjoyable and would recommend it.
January 9, 2013
Definitely not for the squeamish, but one of my favorite Arthurian retellings. Darkly comic, and also in fact quite scholarly-- manages to work a lot of elements in from various *very* early King Arthur tales (and by very early I mean... 1100s? Some of the earliest Merlin-centric stories, anyway). It's a book that I have returned to more than once, both for its poetry and its bizarre metaphysics.
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July 19, 2019this one's almost like a cross between tom mallin and steve katz, which i imagine would be an exciting prospect for all 3 or so ppl on here to whom that means anything. to rephrase it sits squarely at the nexus of sordid & experimental & unserious, if that's a combo of qualities that floats your personal boat. what's weird is how skimpy the portion of the book is after arthur is born. merlin says a few times in here that he finds arthur & arthurian legend boring, which: (a) it's not as though merlin's doing much besides hanging out in his crystal castle, and (b) if that's a sentiment shared by the author, what are you doing writing a book about merlin? still, while i can't claim full satisfaction, stuff like the fooling around w/ semiotics and the devils statler & waldorf-ing it up was fun... time to peep the shakespeare one mayhaps
December 19, 2017
Second time reading this one, and just as funny as the first time. It is a poetic, and also rather ribald version of the tale, being told by Merlin, with interjections by his father Lucifer, who believes HE is telling the story, with uncles Beelzebub & Astarot.
September 26, 2012
a nun *bleep*s a virgin's *bleep*, while a priest peeps through a hole in the ceiling, showering *bleep* and *bleep* all over *bleep* *bleep* *bleep*, as the nun smiles and dances underneath it all.
...Not into it.
If you're looking for an interesting spin on the merlin tale, look elsewhere.
If you're looking for a crazed porno starring demons, merlin, and posessed nuns doing mad things to devil-seed impregnated virgins, by all means.
Not my cup of tea is all, and no, I was not able to finish it.
...Not into it.
If you're looking for an interesting spin on the merlin tale, look elsewhere.
If you're looking for a crazed porno starring demons, merlin, and posessed nuns doing mad things to devil-seed impregnated virgins, by all means.
Not my cup of tea is all, and no, I was not able to finish it.
Currently reading
September 6, 2010I have been reading every Arthurian Legend I can find.
February 17, 2021
I never got a chance to finish this book but the beginning was quite good.
May 7, 2022
Wat een apart boek. Absoluut één van de meest originele Merlijnvertellingen die ik ooit heb gelezen. Vrij pornografisch, maar tegelijkertijd ook best wel grappig.
March 12, 2023
Perverse. Some of the lines are quippy. That’s what happens when you buy a used book you never heard of for its cover.
December 28, 2023
little too quippy at times but worth a glance
January 20, 2025
Piękne plugastwo. Tłumaczenie Siemiona leje się jak gorąca słoma z drobinami złota. Wielka przyjemność.
March 19, 2025
This was a delightful little surrealistic fever dream of a historical fiction. The prose was a delicious, playfuly decadent, staccato rhythm of a thing. The sensual sexual seductive vignettes (of which the author seemed to take particular time and care with) were woven in such lush, raw and unbridled sumptuous prose that Beelzebub himself would sigh in crimson tones. Which he certainly did, as did I, for I reread them slowly to bathe completely in the luxurious and ridiculous lust of them.
The rest of the story is amusingly absurdist, playfully crafted, and a pleasure to experience. My favorite, so far, rendering of the Arthurian legend.
The rest of the story is amusingly absurdist, playfully crafted, and a pleasure to experience. My favorite, so far, rendering of the Arthurian legend.
August 9, 2010
I never read a book before where the characters are aware they are in a book and fight over who gets to be the narrator. But It makes sense when the characters are Merlin, the most powerful wizard who ever lived and his dad the Prince of Lies.
I thought it was very clever how the Author fit the concept of Merlin as a baptized Antichrist into the existing Arthurian Legends. If I remembered more from my high school english class I would probably have enjoyed it even more.
I thought it was very clever how the Author fit the concept of Merlin as a baptized Antichrist into the existing Arthurian Legends. If I remembered more from my high school english class I would probably have enjoyed it even more.
February 4, 2009
Picked it up at half price books on impulse and it was a surprisingly enjoyable read. It is sadistically funny and doesn't spare details (very adult) i recommend it for people with a sick sense of humor.
April 20, 2012
Good God this was a strange book! It's sort of an erotic novel, I suppose, with a weird stream of consciousness narrative, although a lot of the erotic bits are rather violent, so I can't say it floated my boat. Not sure I'll be reading it again, but interesting nevertheless.
May 29, 2013
Seriously, this is not for the faint at heart, I put it down several times. Sick, twisted humor is the name of this game...not quite what I expected and not nearly as entertaining as I thought it would be. Lessoned learned.
July 20, 2010
Scandalous one word passages creating imagery. Passages are fascnating to read. And there's a story too! Even the non reveal of the Sleeve Job at the end can be forgiven.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2011
Excellent, full of lists, sex, profanity as befits a take about the son of the devil. A great, new take on an olde character.
August 20, 2020
Delicious. Bawdy. Lovingly reverent of sources and traditions. Good lyrical fun abounds as is Nye's joyous and learned style.
February 5, 2016
The best book ever written about Merlin. A longtime favourite of mine.
October 22, 2016
Met nadruk op de seks
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews