The Dragon's Call

The Adventures of Merlin #1.1

by Simon A. Forward, Julian Jones

Merlin arrives in bustling Camelot eager to make his way in the world and with a sense that some greater destiny is calling him. But he soon finds that amidst the excitement there is a darker side to Camelot. Magic is outlawed here, so Merlin must keep his unique magical talents a closely guarded secret...

From the BBC TV series: Merlin

Genres: Fantasy, Arthurian, Fiction, Young Adult, Magic, Historical Fiction, Childrens

172 pages, Hardcover

First published September 3, 2009

About the author

Simon A. Forward is an author and dramatist most famous for his work on a variety of Doctor Who spin-offs. He currently lives and works in Penzance with his wife as a full-time writer.

Forward specialises in sci-fi novels such as Doctor Who. His most recent work is Evil Unlimited for the Kindle. Simon's first published work was the short story One Bad Apple in BBC Books' Doctor Who anthology More Short Trips (BBC Books, 1999). Following this, Simon had a proposal for a Past Doctor Adventure accepted, and the subsequent novel, Drift, was published by BBC Books in 2002.

Having a successful novel behind him, Simon contacted Gary Russell about the possibility of writing for Big Finish's range of audio adventures. The enquiry resulted in him writing the audio play The Sandman (Big Finish, 2002). Simon went on from this to write several short stories for the Big Finish Short Trips volumes, as well two subsequent audio adventures.

Forward also wrote the novella Shell Shock (Telos Publishing Ltd., 2003). This was part of their range of Doctor Who novellas and is now out of print. In the same year, Simon also had another Doctor Who novel published by BBC Books, the Eighth Doctor Adventure Emotional Chemistry (BBC Books, 2003).

2009 saw two novelisations of the BBC television series Merlin, followed by a third in 2010.

2010 also saw the independent publication of an original SF Comedy, Evil UnLtd, in ebook form.

Reviews

[Makenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're (or should I sadly say, were) an avid fan of the BBC TV series Merlin, this book is definitely what you need for a kick of nostalgia. It's based on the pilot episode, where a young wizard ventures to Camelot.
I love the show because of the plot, likeable characters and the witty humour. It was a shame the ending was a HUGE let-down. I say they should re-film the last episode of the series, but we all know that's not going to happen. The writing in this book was well done and reflects the first episode.
Long live Camelot :)

[shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the show, and i love the book. Absolutey mind blowing.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first in a series of young-adult books to accompany the BBC series Merlin, this book tells the exact same story as the television show's pilot episode. The character descriptions, scenes and dialogue all match what's seen in the show, but the book goes into greater detail.

The Dragon's Call tells the story of a young teenage boy named Merlin who possesses a rare and powerful gift of magic. His mother sends him to Camelot to live under the guidance of the king's physician Gaius. Upon his arrival to Camelot, he discovers that King Uther has outlawed magic upon punishment of death. Merlin struggles to learn about why he was born with magical abilities, all while trying to keep his gift hidden. Only Gaius is trusted with this secret.

All the main characters are introduced in this first book — Uther Pendragon and his son Prince Arthur, the Lady Morgana and her maid Guinevere, and the Great Dragon.

Told in the subjective third-person point of view, we learn about Merlin's thoughts and feelings as he adjusts to his new life in Camelot. This was my favorite part about this book. While I've watched the TV episode many, many times, it doesn't go as deep into Merlin's mind as this book does.

A fine companion to the TV show. I'm looking forward to reading the other books in the series.

[Polly Batchelor · Rating 5 out of 5]

"None of us can choose our destiny, Merlin. And none of us can escape it."

First book in the series, where we see Merlin arrive in Camelot. Merlin has a rare form of magic- where he was born with it rather than learning. He is now living under the guidance of Gaius, the court physician. Who is helping Merlin to learn and control his powers. AS he has to hide his gifts from the King otherwise he would be executed.

I enjoyed the book- reading the story felt very nostalgic as I have watched the tv series many times over the years, We see the inner thoughts of the characters, especially seeing Merlin's and how much he didn't like Arthur,

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first episode Merlin in book form. It’s enjoyable but almost word for word the same as the show, of course we get a different angle since it is not on the television. Nice to have but I’m not sure I’ll continue with the other books, but who knows?

If you haven’t watched the show though, go do that now

[marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i will consume all merlin content i can get my hands on and it will all be 5 stars mark my words

[Any_leaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro me lo compré por ebay en plena pandemia. Se demoró más de 3 meses en llegar lol. Quería tener algo del merchandising de la serie, ya que llegué muy tarde a ella. Lectura entretenida, para la nostalgia. Encontré muy largas algunas descripciones, eso si. Eso era un poco innecesario. Por eso, 4⭐️

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m loving reading the books of the episodes!!! There’s so much more information and thought from the characters I didn’t know I needed to know

[J. White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am LOVING this series of books!

The author has made the book exciting and every day I wanted to read more!

Highly recommended to anyone!

[scriptedknight · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 3/5 stars
~
terribly photo-shopped Merlin my beloved.

[emrysmind · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was like having the whole episode playing in my mind.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's an amazing piece of literature!

[léa · Rating 5 out of 5]

what if you were in your late teens, a sorcerer and new in town where magic is punished by death and bullied by the prince who's an ass and harassed by an overgrown lizard who keep speaking in riddles and you were made the manservant of the royal prat who's apparently your fucking destiny as a reward for saving his life would you kys yes or no - merlin probably

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book, flipped open the cover and was thrust back into the golden age of my childhood TV and all the nostalgia that came with it. Honestly, Merlin for me was the height of the BBC at its best, so revisiting this series in book format was everything.

I seriously loved reading this and I’m so glad there are others for me to read too. Written based off the very first episode of series 1, we accompany Merlin as he travels to Camelot, meets Gauis for the first time and has his first (humerus) run in with Prince Arthur too.

Filled with magic, dragons, princes and kings, there’s so much to love. The series at its heart is so full of magic and the relationship between Merlin and Arthur is something I’ll always enjoy. From there first meeting it’s so amusing and continues to be so all throughout.

I’m so glad they adapted the episodes in book form as it gives me a whole new outlet for experiencing the show now it’s so long finished. I think I’ll always return to it, whether on tv or in books so the show will always live on!

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written based on a script by Julian Jones.

This is a definite flashback in time for me, having a book based on a television series episode. In this case, it is the first pilot episode of MERLIN. I've become a huge fan of the series, for the chemistry between the various characters and the humor.

The basic story-line is that of Merlin being sent to Camelot by his mother. Now in this series there is a unique rewrite of the legend. Merlin and Prince Arthur are close to age, Morgana is King Uther Pendragon's ward, and Gueneviere, aka Gwen, is her servant.

We see Merlin meeting Arthur for the first time, considering him a prat. We get a closer look at Merlin's thoughts than we did on the series. Some scenes worked better in writing, others were much better on screen.

While written for pre-teens, this first book in the series is interesting. I would recommend it for the cover alone!

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was great, I could almost see the cast of this series going out of the pages. Everything was exactly the same as the episode it described. I remembered it clearly even though a long time passed since I saw it. A must-read for all Merlin fans :)

[juliana]

The way that I would do anything to be able to read this series is kinda concerning.

Update: I found a way.

[l o u · Rating 5 out of 5]

can’t give any less than five stars cause this is gen just the first ep word for word + a bit more insight

[ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect from these novelizations, but I really liked the first one. I learnt a few new things from the descriptions that I didn’t gleam from the episode, like wow Merlin sure was realll thirsty for Morgana. Also, the relationship between Gaius and Merlin is really sweet in the narrative, a little more in-depth; I love their father-son dynamic. Merlin’s inner dialogue is the best part of this first novelization.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think it was possible to love merlin more than i already do and yet here we are, i loved getting more insight into his character and i loved the very few moments and lines that weren't in the show (and the merthur moments were 11/10, i love the irony of how much merlin despised arthur in the first episode and the book really shows it skjshdkds)

[Полина · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please, help me. I don't understand. May I write this book? Or have I to buy it? Please, tell me, I don't understand how this site works and I didn't find information about it. But I really want to read this book, I'm adore Merlin 😭😭😍

[Kalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good!! Went extremely smoothly, easily, & was fun to read. It of course left out key details like how Gaius is Merlin's uncle. I enjoyed reading the character's thoughts. Too bad there's not a book on Diamond of the day pt 2 😭

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun and fast read. I love the TV series Merlin and so it was fun to get more insight to the characters.

[Adedeji Haemos Opeyemi]

Very nice

[Amelia Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Linn Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

👍

[Michael Adesanwo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jjjjjjjj

[Squirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless literature. Read when I was stuck somewhere with someone who acts just like Arthur, by coincidence.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing kissing

[Star_Chaser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simplemente maravilloso, Merlin tendrá siempre mi corazón 😭😭😭

"No, no way, there must be some other Arthur, because this one's an idiot" LO AMO. ES TAN SASSY😩🤌