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King Arthur and his Knights
The Forest covered the land. Dark and menacing, it spread to the rivers' borders and the ocean's edge.
Out of this Forest, hundreds of years ago there arose stories of a King and his Knights who fought against the darkness and formed the greatest fellowship of Knights the world has ever seen.
In his new version of these stories, Anthony Mockler draws us into the world of King Arthur, a world of forests and fountains, castles and tournaments, giants and wild beasts, mystery and enchantment.
He divides the stories into three parts. In the Book of Merlin the young Arthur pulls the sword from the stone and battles for his kingdom against the power of the Seven Kings with the help of the sorcerer Merlin, dark and with glittering eyes.
In the book of the Knights, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gareth, Sir Tristram, Sir Gawain and Sir Bedevere the one-armed set our on their long quests. They battle with Sir Caradoc of the Dolorous Tower, they ride into far, stony lands, they hunt the Great Wild Boar, they fight the foulest fiend alive.
Finally, in The Book of Doom, they are whirled downwards on Fortune's wheel. The love of Lancelot for Guinevere and the plots of Sir Mordred engulf them all, until they fight their final battle on the Day of Destiny.
Out of this Forest, hundreds of years ago there arose stories of a King and his Knights who fought against the darkness and formed the greatest fellowship of Knights the world has ever seen.
In his new version of these stories, Anthony Mockler draws us into the world of King Arthur, a world of forests and fountains, castles and tournaments, giants and wild beasts, mystery and enchantment.
He divides the stories into three parts. In the Book of Merlin the young Arthur pulls the sword from the stone and battles for his kingdom against the power of the Seven Kings with the help of the sorcerer Merlin, dark and with glittering eyes.
In the book of the Knights, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gareth, Sir Tristram, Sir Gawain and Sir Bedevere the one-armed set our on their long quests. They battle with Sir Caradoc of the Dolorous Tower, they ride into far, stony lands, they hunt the Great Wild Boar, they fight the foulest fiend alive.
Finally, in The Book of Doom, they are whirled downwards on Fortune's wheel. The love of Lancelot for Guinevere and the plots of Sir Mordred engulf them all, until they fight their final battle on the Day of Destiny.
- GenresFantasy
295 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 24, 2026
***Contains graphic scenes of violence and gore***
King Arthur and His Knights is a retelling of the Arthurian cycle but with a twist as it throws elements of Tolkien's LOTR lore into the mix several times. The book had readied me for a mix of various Arthuruian styles being mixed together but not a mash-up.
The book itself is written with an eye on being adventure-based thus focusing on that part of the book more so and the fights to the detriment of building its numerous ever-changing characters. As such the characters had glimpses of personalities but only if they appeared consistently as main characters. And even so most of them came off less chivalrous knights and more prideful little boys ever in contest wirh one another.
Given the approach to the book, names from all the cycles were included such as French and English characters while one chapter included also characters from both Norse as well as Celtic sources. And there was no pronunciation guide to some of the harder names for readers who try to get those at least right when they can.
Unfortunately since the book tries to cover so much, each adventure was cut down to a brief chapter, which was rather lacking in detail. Some of the more notable events were also not included such as the fighting of the red and white dragons, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the quest for the Holy Grail. Others were included in mentioning although changed to suit the story such as Merlin was never fully locked away and Mordred was made a nephew while no deep importance was given to Lancelot and Queen Guinevere until the very end.
All it was an intriguing mash-up and did keep the reader entertained although if you are looking for a purist read on Arthur this won't be it.
King Arthur and His Knights is a retelling of the Arthurian cycle but with a twist as it throws elements of Tolkien's LOTR lore into the mix several times. The book had readied me for a mix of various Arthuruian styles being mixed together but not a mash-up.
The book itself is written with an eye on being adventure-based thus focusing on that part of the book more so and the fights to the detriment of building its numerous ever-changing characters. As such the characters had glimpses of personalities but only if they appeared consistently as main characters. And even so most of them came off less chivalrous knights and more prideful little boys ever in contest wirh one another.
Given the approach to the book, names from all the cycles were included such as French and English characters while one chapter included also characters from both Norse as well as Celtic sources. And there was no pronunciation guide to some of the harder names for readers who try to get those at least right when they can.
Unfortunately since the book tries to cover so much, each adventure was cut down to a brief chapter, which was rather lacking in detail. Some of the more notable events were also not included such as the fighting of the red and white dragons, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the quest for the Holy Grail. Others were included in mentioning although changed to suit the story such as Merlin was never fully locked away and Mordred was made a nephew while no deep importance was given to Lancelot and Queen Guinevere until the very end.
All it was an intriguing mash-up and did keep the reader entertained although if you are looking for a purist read on Arthur this won't be it.
January 22, 2021
I remember borrowing his book from the library when I was young and really liking the author's take on the Arthurian legend. A decade + later I wanted to find it again and couldn't remember the author, the name of the book, or what it looked like. All I could recollect was that it this story had connections to Tolkien characters (Gandalf and Merlin being the same being traveling between worlds). I searched for years off and on, looking online, trying my luck on Reddit and searching libraries catalogs. Nothing.
There's not exactly a small amount of King Arthur books.
Finally I had an idea one day. I created a separate Goodreads account and added every. single. search result for "King Arthur" to a list. Probably somewhere between 4-5 thousand entries. I then started eliminating the options that were written before Tolkien published "The Hobbit" and after 2006 when I started high school (I knew I had read it before then). This process took months, but eventually I narrowed it down to a few hundred possibilities and felt comfortable ordering a couple books to check.
The 2nd book I got was this one, and after reading it I remembered why I liked it so much. Many of the stories are uncommon tales that usually don't make the list in standard King Arthur stories. The characters and world lean heavily on the "fantasy" side of the Arthurian legend and does so in an interesting and entertaining way. The characters themselves are interesting and full of personality and the Tolkien connection was enjoyable, and made enough of an impression on my younger self that I remembered that aspect while I forgot everything else.
I am absolutely thrilled I found this book after years of searching and would highly recommend anyone who would like a unique spin on the Arthurian legend, or even just a fun light read to give it a go. You won't regret it!
There's not exactly a small amount of King Arthur books.
Finally I had an idea one day. I created a separate Goodreads account and added every. single. search result for "King Arthur" to a list. Probably somewhere between 4-5 thousand entries. I then started eliminating the options that were written before Tolkien published "The Hobbit" and after 2006 when I started high school (I knew I had read it before then). This process took months, but eventually I narrowed it down to a few hundred possibilities and felt comfortable ordering a couple books to check.
The 2nd book I got was this one, and after reading it I remembered why I liked it so much. Many of the stories are uncommon tales that usually don't make the list in standard King Arthur stories. The characters and world lean heavily on the "fantasy" side of the Arthurian legend and does so in an interesting and entertaining way. The characters themselves are interesting and full of personality and the Tolkien connection was enjoyable, and made enough of an impression on my younger self that I remembered that aspect while I forgot everything else.
I am absolutely thrilled I found this book after years of searching and would highly recommend anyone who would like a unique spin on the Arthurian legend, or even just a fun light read to give it a go. You won't regret it!
May 2, 2013
I am currently reading king arthur and his knights. The main character in the book is King Arthur, the king of England. King Arthur is very peaceful, but when he has to fight, he will. An example of this is when Sir Mordred kidnapped Arthur's wife, and Arthur tried to make peace, but they ended up fighting. I also think that King Arthur's mind is very risk taking, because there were several times when Arthur took a risk that could have killed him, like when he risked taking a sword from the middle of a lake. I really liked the book, and I think that anyone who likes classics, will like this book.
October 11, 2009
This is a nice modern retelling of the Arthur legend. It is suitable for pre-teens, but also reads well for adults. I read this to both of my children when they were about 10 years old and they both enjoyed it immensely.
The story closely follows Malory (if only the same could be said for the current BBC TV programme, Merlin!), but also draws on elements of the Mabinogion, with bits of T.H. White and Tolkien skillfully worked in for good measure.
The story is nicely complimented by both line drawings for the chapter headings and colour plates interspersed within the chapters.
The story closely follows Malory (if only the same could be said for the current BBC TV programme, Merlin!), but also draws on elements of the Mabinogion, with bits of T.H. White and Tolkien skillfully worked in for good measure.
The story is nicely complimented by both line drawings for the chapter headings and colour plates interspersed within the chapters.
May 8, 2024
A book I read at my school library 30 years ago which I remembered and managed to track down. Clearly good enough to make an impression after all that time!
A great collection of classic Arthurian tales told in a more modern style - you can clearly see the elements which inspired Tolkien’s stories centuries later.
Docking a star for the rushed manner in which many of the tales are told, but all in all a cracking read.
A great collection of classic Arthurian tales told in a more modern style - you can clearly see the elements which inspired Tolkien’s stories centuries later.
Docking a star for the rushed manner in which many of the tales are told, but all in all a cracking read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews