The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart
~ Hasmita
Chander
This is one of my favourite books, and the first in the Merlin trilogy written by Mary
Stewart.
Before you get put off by the word Merlin, let me tell you, I was not familiar with King
Arthur, Merlin or anything related, so I thought I wouldn't like the book. Not true! You
don't need to know Anything to enjoy this book and the others in the trilogy. (Now I'm as
familiar with King Arthur, Merlin or anything related as if I were part of the royal family
myself!)
We've read of Merlin and seen him in our mind's eye to be an old wizard with a long grey
beard. But The Crystal Cave is about the young Merlin, from the time he was a
six-year-old. And what a tale of wonder, magic and secrets it is! Each page is delicious in
the scenes it brings forth, and the conversations it lets us listen in on. You want to want
to know, Quick, what happens next?
The book shows how Merlin comes to understand that he has the Sight, the ability to see
things happening far away from him, and gets a secret education from Galapas, a hermit in
a hill cave, on developing his power, the ability to foretell events, and much more besides.
He is a bastard living in the King's palace, but his mother refuses to tell anyone who
Merlin's father is. And she has good reason not to.
But Merlin finds out, and comes to be what he will always be remembered as--the King's
Enchanter.
The
Hollow Hills - Mary Stewart
~ Hasmita
Chander
This second part of the Merlin trilogy focuses on Arthur, the son of the High King of
Britain. Starting from his conception on the night of lust of Uther Pendragon for
Ygraine, the Duke's wife, Merlin the narrator tells of the birth of the child,
the plans made
for the child's secret upbringing, and how the young boy, at age
fourteen, comes to be accepted as king--King Arthur.
Merlin meets the nine-year-old boy, known only as Emrys, in the wild forest of Galava
where Merlin is living, disguised as the hermit of the Green Chapel, a deserted-looking,
simple temple dedicated to the old gods--a chapel and a 'hermit' who will come to play significant roles
in Arthur's life. This meeting and the time the two of them spend
together getting to know one another, and Merlin teaching Emrys all that
he can, is so delightful to the reader that you want to keep returning
to the pages to 'live' with them in that special sylvan peacefulness.
The journey through this book is exciting in the memorable detailing of the people and
events of this legendary time. Being lucky enough to possess a beautiful hardback of this
book made the reading doubly a pleasure for me. Often the second parts of books and
movies are not as good as the first, but this one is--if not better.
Thanks to Mary Stewart's writing skills, kings are not just icons who occupied thrones and
fought battles, but real people whom we love or despise, and are eager to know more
about. Luckily, there is another part where we can do so: The
Last Enchantment.
The
Wicked Day - Mary Stewart
~ Hasmita
Chander
This is the fourth and last part of the
Arthurian saga (so called instead of Merlin trilogy after Stewart wrote
this book, I suppose).
The story is not narrated by Merlin, as
the first three were, but told from a fresh angle--Mordred's. Mordred is
the incestuous son of Arthur and his half-sister Morgause. Merlin has
already foreseen that Mordred is to be "Arthur's bane" but
neither he nor Arthur could think of putting an innocent infant to death
just because of this.
In The Wicked Day we see what goes on
in Queen Morgause's land, the Orkney islands, and with more interest,
what goes on in her palace and in her mind. In The
Last Enchantment we saw that she arrives at Arthur's place along
with her five sons, including Arthur's Mordred. What brought her there?
What's Mordred's story and his past? These and more we discover in this
part, and Stewart, with her masterful writing skills, keeps us at the
edge of our seats and turning the pages fast.
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