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Merlin #3
Merlin: Part 3 - The End of Magic
The war between Merlin and the pagan Mab, Queen of Magic, hurtles toward the final conflict.
At last, a good King sits on England's throne. But Arthur leaves Camelot on a quest of shadows, while his nemesis, Mab's disciple Mordred, grows into a monster cruel enough to laugh at his own mother's murder.
As Mab's growing evil drives away even her loyal servant, the gnome Frick, Merlin, too, is alone -- his true love, Nimue, lost to him forever. Arthur is betrayed, facing Mordred at the heart of an apocalyptic civil war.
For when Arthur battles Mordred, when Merlin battles Mab, all hope will turn to ashes, all dreams will pass into legend.
And not even Magic can survive.
At last, a good King sits on England's throne. But Arthur leaves Camelot on a quest of shadows, while his nemesis, Mab's disciple Mordred, grows into a monster cruel enough to laugh at his own mother's murder.
As Mab's growing evil drives away even her loyal servant, the gnome Frick, Merlin, too, is alone -- his true love, Nimue, lost to him forever. Arthur is betrayed, facing Mordred at the heart of an apocalyptic civil war.
For when Arthur battles Mordred, when Merlin battles Mab, all hope will turn to ashes, all dreams will pass into legend.
And not even Magic can survive.
287 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
84 people want to read
About the author
James Mallory
35 books93 followersJames Mallory is a professional ghostwriter with several books to his credit. Under his own name, he wrote the three-part novelization of the Hallmark Merlin miniseries: The Old Magic, The King's Wizard, and The End of Magic.
James was born in San Francisco and attended schools in California and the Midwest, before moving to New York to pursue a career in writing. He has held an assortment of jobs in the publishing industry, but has been fortunate enough to devote his full time to writing for a number of years, including the opportunity to collaborate with Mercedes Lackey on the critically-acclaimed Obsidian Mountain trilogy. Their partnership will continue with the upcoming Enduring Flame trilogy.
From an early age, James has been fascinated both with the Arthurian legends and their historical evolution, an avocation which triggered a lifelong interest in fantasy literature. He also enjoys studying medieval and European history, comparative religion, and the iconography and symbology of traditional folk legends. His other interests include hiking and cinema.
James resides in California with his faithful companion Diogenes, who is no less philosophical for being canine-American.
James was born in San Francisco and attended schools in California and the Midwest, before moving to New York to pursue a career in writing. He has held an assortment of jobs in the publishing industry, but has been fortunate enough to devote his full time to writing for a number of years, including the opportunity to collaborate with Mercedes Lackey on the critically-acclaimed Obsidian Mountain trilogy. Their partnership will continue with the upcoming Enduring Flame trilogy.
From an early age, James has been fascinated both with the Arthurian legends and their historical evolution, an avocation which triggered a lifelong interest in fantasy literature. He also enjoys studying medieval and European history, comparative religion, and the iconography and symbology of traditional folk legends. His other interests include hiking and cinema.
James resides in California with his faithful companion Diogenes, who is no less philosophical for being canine-American.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 5, 2023
I adore this entire trilogy. Having watched the miniseries many times before I even knew that this novelization existed, I was thrilled to discover it in a used bookshop a few years ago, and I tore through it. It's an excellent adaption! Truly, it does everything right when adapting a story from film to prose, adding details and sequences that could never work in visual format while staying absolutely true to the heart and soul of the story.
If you love Arthurian tales, this trilogy is definitely going to be in your wheelhouse and up your alley. If you love good adaptions of good television shows, you've come to the right place.
James Mallory, I salute you for making the story come to life all over again.
If you love Arthurian tales, this trilogy is definitely going to be in your wheelhouse and up your alley. If you love good adaptions of good television shows, you've come to the right place.
James Mallory, I salute you for making the story come to life all over again.
May 29, 2017
A wonderful end to a great new interpretation of the Camelot story. Merlin and Mab's fight is finally resolved, Arthur meets his destiny, and the series comes to a satisfying if unexpected conclusion.
March 3, 2024
A tragically bittersweet ending to this retelling of the Arthurian legend
November 29, 2013
See my review of the entire series:
http://rwlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/0...
http://rwlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/0...
March 29, 2017
It's tricky for me to be truly objective in rating a book I grew up loving, reading and re-reading. Nevertheless, James Mallory's Merlin is not just a great read, it's also the best novelisation I've ever come across (my apologies to Alan Dean Foster). If you've watched the Hallmark mini-series before then you'll know the story, but there is a lot to love in these books. The first and third in particular introduce new characters, concepts and backstories which always enhance and never detract from the main plot. In many cases these explain some of the more confusing aspects of the series, like just what that stone Morgan le Fay put's in Arthur's crib was. It even comes up with a beautiful meta-reason for why main antagonist Mab doesn't feature in any other Arthurian legends. The second book sticks more or less to script but even so it's a rolicking good read. What you lose in not having Trevor Jones' magnificent soundtrack is made-up for in James Mallory's effortless prose and not having to contend with the weird and varied ways the cast try to wield English accents.
If you've never watched the series but are looking for a good fantasy read then I can't recommend this enough. It's by far my favourite take on the legend, by turns epic, grim, comedic and oh so bittersweet at the end. If you don't like Arthurian legends then there's probably nothing for you here but who are you kidding? Who doesn't love some Round-Table shenanigans? And after you've read it, find the mini-series and get that in your life. It has Sir John Gielgud as a TALKING HORSE. I'd avoid the sequel though. In that one apparently Merlin and the Lady of the Lake got bizaaay...she literally states that she's made of water, how would that even work? Gross. Read this instead.
If you've never watched the series but are looking for a good fantasy read then I can't recommend this enough. It's by far my favourite take on the legend, by turns epic, grim, comedic and oh so bittersweet at the end. If you don't like Arthurian legends then there's probably nothing for you here but who are you kidding? Who doesn't love some Round-Table shenanigans? And after you've read it, find the mini-series and get that in your life. It has Sir John Gielgud as a TALKING HORSE. I'd avoid the sequel though. In that one apparently Merlin and the Lady of the Lake got bizaaay...she literally states that she's made of water, how would that even work? Gross. Read this instead.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews