Fantasy Book Club discussion

Post here if you're planning to read this book. Give us your first impressions.

read this years and years ago - along with The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment and The Wicked Day. Hope they're as good now as I remember

Mine should arrive today! I'm very excited to read it again - it's been probably 30 years...

Just started reading. I'm not a big fan of the writing so far and nothing has really grabbed my attention. But I'm only a couple chapters in so we'll see how it goes. I really love Arthurian books so I'm hoping it grows on me.

I'm a huge sucker for Arthurian fiction, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy this. I'm not crazy about the writing style so far (I'm only 7% through so far though), as it feels a little young, but hey, it's Merlin!

Read this as a kid, but that is more or less all i remember, so looking forward to reading it again when i get a chance this month.

This series was one of the first I read in the genre - long ago. I loved it then. Actually, I loved everything written by Mary Stewart, her romances too. I hope if I re-read her now, I'd still love her.

I started it and am through the first section. I have been reading The Mists of Avalon and so cant help but compare, but this book takes a different enough approach that I am enjoying both.

The whole series probably does seem quite young by today's standards. No swearing, sex, not too much violence. It is of a gentler time (literary speaking).

I read them when I was a teenager and love the whole series as it was a completely different take on the Arthurian tales.

Descriptive and wonderfully written.

I also read this as a teen. Wish I had the time to read it again, with the group...alas .... I'm involved in other reads.

I'm only a couple of chapters in, but I am really enjoying it. She's done a great job of making me feel like I'm experiencing the world with Merlin. I'm with Bev I guess - enjoying the kinder, gentler era. :)

Kindler, gentler era of fantasy writing? Early Medieval Britain certainly wasn't kinder or gentler. ;)

I'm halfway through it by now, and it does read quite young, I kind of wish I would've read this when I was 12-13 or so, when I wouldn't have noticed some of the anachronisms. I did get a little thrown by a seemingly pointless "It was so easy even women could do it.". I'm not sure if Stewart tried writing as she thinks a post-Roman/early Middle Ages Briton would think, but when it comes to herbs and such, it seemed a little off even if that was supposed to be the case.

I just finished today, and really enjoyed it. It's always interesting to compare the different Arthurian fiction out there. This seems to fit in nicely with other takes on the subject.

I read this back in the late 70s or early 80s (in my teen years). My grandmother owned all the books in hardcover and I read them over one of my summer vacations. I loved them so much I immediately went looking for any and all Arthurian legend re-writes or re-imaginings, including The Mists of Avalon and The Copper Crown, both of which are personal favorites.

Stewart's books hold a special place in my heart, though. From her I first learned how to attempt to properly pronounce Celtic place names and words (Welsh and Gaelic).

Evilynn wrote: "Kindler, gentler era of fantasy writing? Early Medieval Britain certainly wasn't kinder or gentler. ;)

I'm halfway through it by now, and it does read quite young, I kind of wish I would've read ..."

Lol Evilynn, yes the era of writing (not the era of history) as per Bev above. Just trying to identify the elements that make it read young to those who have commented so. There is so much dark fantasy now, the conjecture is that if it's not dark, it's perceived as young - I'm putting words in other people's mouths though now and that never goes well. I'm only two chapters into the book. Do you think that's it? Does it need to be darker for a modern audience? Or is it something else (maybe the anachronisms like you mentioned - or maybe it's a combination of things).

Was the line about women that riled you spoken/thought by Merlin? In the original tales, Merlin has little regard for women unfortunately. So there's a challenge for Stewart heh: how true can she stay to the original stories and still have her main character likable?

That is what I meant Liam, it seems that younger fantasy readers seem to expect huge tomes filled with violence, women with equality and a fast pace.
Fantasy was not always so, women often took a back seat and there was less pages and less sex and violence.
I am not saying that all fantasy should be like that but it certainly used to be. I enjoy modern fantasy for all the above reasons but I do love the quaint and slightly romantic writing of Stewart. Plus a lot of her writing was not fantasy but romance or mysteries with a sprinkle of magic.
Different era.

Young to me doesn't necessarily mean "not dark" just "not complex". It's very straight forward, and at least the first half we're following a young Merlin, so it deals with growing up sort of issues to boot.

The "so simple even women could do it"-line was superfluous and stuck out like a sore thumb, the passage would've read better had it simply been omitted. If she for some reason wanted to press the point that Merlin was very dismissive of women in general I'm sure there'll be ample opportunity further along in the book/series, where it won't look tacked on like an afterthought. ;)

Evilynn wrote: "Young to me doesn't necessarily mean "not dark" just "not complex". It's very straight forward, and at least the first half we're following a young Merlin, so it deals with growing up sort of issue..."

I find too many people jumping on such remarks but when the book was written the world was a different place. People of a certain age know what I am talking about and they also understand what I mean about the dark/complex argument. Younger readers expect equality, this is not me being ageist but it proves true on every similar discussion that I have had on here.

I hear you both Evilynn and Bev. I can see how a straightforward plot about a boy learning to be a wizard (wow that sounds familiar doesn't it lol) would come off "young". Stewart more than makes up for that for me in her ability to bring the sights and sounds of her world alive.

I think my problem is with the word "young" - it sounds like a critique of readers who like the book rather than the book itself... :(

Bev wrote: "Younger readers expect equality, this is not me being ageist but it proves true on every similar discussion that I have had on here. ."

1970 was most definitely after the start of the 2nd wave of feminism. Although in this case my pet peeve is more of a historical one. Women did have a certain amount of power even in medieval times, something which fantasy writers have been happily ignoring since forever. This particular example was just clunky writing though. It read like this: "He taught me to mend the bones of animals and the use of herbs, and Carthage needs to be destroyed". It just didn't fit in at all. If Stewart wanted to portrait Merlin as being misogynist, at least add it to a part where he's actually talking about a woman or women in general.

Liam wrote: "I think my problem is with the word "young" - it sounds like a critique of readers who like the book rather than the book itself... :( "

I don't think "young" is necessarily a bad thing. I happily read YA on a semi regular basis. Sometimes you just want a story, you know? I do find myself unable to not compare it to other Arthuriana I've read, and Mists of Avalon for instance, deals with a lot more complex issues, and have more complex characters. I actually chose the word "young" because "simple" sounded a little mean. "Straightforward" might've been a better choice of words?

Doing a little swap this month, because of library due dates. Promise of Blood this month and Crystal Cave next
UPDATE: Bought promise of blood, so I will read CC first :P

I don't have this series handy to re-read, but I envy those of you encountering it for the first time. If you like Mary Stewart's fantasy romance, you might consider M.K. Wren's Sword of the Lamb series and Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series. They're the other examples of this subgenre I've been really impressed with.

B. wrote: "I don't have this series handy to re-read, but I envy those of you encountering it for the first time. If you like Mary Stewart's fantasy romance, you might consider M.K. Wren's Sword of the Lamb s..."i I also like Melanie Rawns work.

I read them years ago. They are Merlin's perspective of the Arthurian legend and it works very well. I really liked these books but never re-read them.