The Merlin Trilogy

I first devoured Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy as each of the three editions was published in hardcover, the final entry appearing in 1979. Now that I've acquired this Merlin tome, I've subsequently handed off the earlier individual books to a friend.A chief distinction regarding this nicely-bound William Morrow edition is that the entire trilogy is paginated as a single work, 919 pages in total. Also, Michigan artist Greg Hildebrandt (highly renowned for his superlative "Lord of the Rings" illustrations) is the responsible party for the terrific dust jacket art on this volume.At the outset of each tale, a map of England (and the appurtenant regions) illustrates the political borders (which change somewhat from one book to the next) where the allegories each transpire. Stewart has also included a synopsis of the actual Arthurian/Merlin legends (and an abbreviated bibliography of sorts) at the conclusion of each tale. One encounters an occasional typo in this complete edition but nothing very heinous or unrelenting.Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy is recounted through a first-person delivery, from Merlin's viewpoint. Here is a synopsis of the respective tales, avoiding spoilers to the utmost possible degree which I could achieve:"The Crystal Cave": The story here addresses the youth and young adulthood of the legendary wizard. Merlin's mother is a princess who refuses to reveal the identity of his father and, as one might suspect, this actuality drives Merlin towards becoming a bit reclusive subsequent to persistent teasing and torment by his youthful peers. But when Merlin encounters an old wizard who resides in a nearby magical cave, he becomes very enthusiastic about learning all the old Master's enchantments and it soon becomes clear that he additionally has a destiny to fulfill -- but early along in the tale, little does he realize that he will someday become the cousin, tutor, and mentor of a great King."The Hollow Hills": (Mary Stewart somehow managed to turn this entry into a page-turner which is very difficult to achieve with a "part two" of any three-part series.) The focus here is as much on young Arthur (from his birth to age 14) as it is on Merlin. Danger abounds for Arthur in this post-Roman era of English political turbulence so Merlin secures him away from the moment of his birth. He is ultimately raised in a normal home near the wilds of the English forest, far from the royal house of his father, King Uther. But the time arises when Arthur must be informed of his royal heritage, (during a great war where King Uther takes on an army of Saxon and Germanic invaders.) Arthur is the heir apparent to the throne but he faces many formidable competitors before his coronation can become an actuality. It is here that the legendary sword Caliburn (later romanticized to "Excalibur") is revealed to Arthur."The Last Enchantment": There are two converging stories here. The first focuses upon the late-period travels and activities of the renowned Enchanter and Arthur's mentor, Merlin. The second is, of course, an account of life and the numerous wars throughout post-Roman England and Wales under Arthurian rule. Both men run into dilemmas which, at first, typically seem irresolvable... but aided by Merlin's sage counsel, and additional aid coming from his new apprentice and other loyalists, most of these difficulties blossom with palatable resolutions chiefly unanticipated by the reader.Stewart's trilogy clearly punctuates that the day of magic and necromancy was drawing to a conclusion as Christianity became ever more prevalent throughout post-Roman England and Wales. This is a somewhat subdued approach to fantasy writing but still solidly grounded in the genre, so that's why I note that readers should not anticipate lots of hand magic and dragons - better to just settle in for some great allegorical escapism.I've already mention that Mary Stewart, (born in 1916 and now in her nineties!), completed the Merlin trilogy in 1979 -- but she has since also written  The Wicked Day (The Arthurian Saga, Book 4)  (1983) and  The Prince and the Pilgrim (Classics of Arthurian Legend)  (1995), each of which extends the Arthurian legendary tales.Each of these entries exists as an independent account but it's folly to not read the entire trilogy, in the order in which one is intended to read them. While the content of these books plays down the magical facet of Merlin's teeming abilities, (a feature which notably escalates the credibility of the various events), there is certainly more sorcery to be found in the final entry than one encounters in the preceding two works.Of course there are various loosely related "Merlin film" adaptations including  Merlin (Special Edition) ; Merlin's Apprentice ; Excalibur , and: Disney's animated  The Sword in the Stone (45th Anniversary Special Edition) . But I would steer almost anyone toward reading Stewart's written forms first.In summary, this semi-fantasy, semi-historical series garners my highest recommendation for an eclectic spectrum of readers. Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy manifests first-rate reading for adults as much or more than it does for young people. This lengthy account profiles English literature at its finest, subsequent to the respective eras of Kipling ( Puck of Pook's Hill (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press) ); Peake, ( The Gormenghast Novels ), and; Tolkien ( J.R.R. Tolkien Boxed Set (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) .)

Book arrived in excellent condition in a timely fashion. JW

I read all 3 many years ago and have never forgotten how wonderfully she weaves magic, poetry and history together to tell a story more from Merlyn’s POV. She is the only author of the Camelot fantasy to do that. I have read other Arthur stories but it is Merlyn who is magical, it is Merlyn on whom Arthur reliys, it is Merlyn who is of major interest. It is his story that I so much remember. There is a line at the beginning of The Last Enchantment that makes reading the first 2 books worthwhile. “ And the King of all Britain laid his head in Merlyns lap.”. The stories are enchanting and I guarantee you won’t forget the stories for many years to come. This trilogy was a birthday present from friends and I cannot wait for it to come. Thank you Richard and Sheila, Candy

I love love love this series. This contains 3 books in the series, The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The last Enchantment. A fourth book, Oh Wicked Day, finishes the series but is not included.Mary Stewart writes as if she is Merlin, and takes us on a behind the scenes look at King Arthur, starting at his conception. Everything you needed to know is in this series!Ms. Stewart has since passed away, but her writing lives on. Highly recommend any of her books.

It's got to be a good 25-30 years since I read these three books, and were just as enjoyable now as they were then. Stuart has a lovely way of describing a scene, the land and the people. If you purchased the trilogy in one book, just remember that they were originally three separate books. I found that while I read it as one book this time, there were redundancies and/or things that I would have expected to be cut from one large novel, but necessary additions in three separate novels. I found myself skipping through those sections.You won't find any great surprises in the story, if you are familiar with the legends of King Arthur. This story is mainly Merlin's from boyhood to old man and beloved cousin and counselor of Arthur. While I don't usually enjoy a book written in the first person -- as you lose so much from what the other characters are experiencing -- the author pulled this off well enough. With Merlin's visions, we were able to see happenings that were not personally witnessed by Merlin.Of the books I have read so far on the Arthurian legends, my favorite is still  The Road to Avalon , followed by  Queen of Camelot  It's been so many years since I've read  The Mists of Avalon  I can't rate that amongst these until I've read it again. All in all very enjoyable and I would recommend this for younger readers whose parents are trying to find well written books without the constant presence of bodice ripping.A thumbs down to the publisher, I found many small typos that became a bit irritating after a while, i.e. women instead of woven, is instead of in, etc. You would think that after the first publication they would catch these and fix them for subsequent pulications.

Been a fan of her's for a long time. Finally got all of them in one. Excellent writer and creates a great world to slip off in to.

The vendor was very open & cooperative - answered my questions promptly & honestly. The item was even better than advertised. Very trustworthy vendor.

Perfekter Zustand!

I bought it a while back after watching the BBC Merlin series. I bought this trilogy along with "The Wicked Day". I haven't finished the book yet. But a word of advice for any customer who is also a fan of the series like me, please do not imagine the book Merlin and series Merlin as the same person, you will be disturbed. The BBC one feels like a fan-fiction compared to this. It's simply lovely with all it's bromance and fun(screw the series ending). But the book is on a completely different tone, it is true to it's period of time (5th CE). I feel like this book is so underrated, Mary Stewart has a great talent for painting vivid pictures of the beautiful English landscape, culture and characters through her words. I am so in love with this book that I cannot find the heart to finish it. This book is definitely the one of the few I'm going to treasure for life.Coming to the product itself, I have absolutely no complaints. I couldn't have got a better print and quality even if I had printed it myself.

I have never written a review before but this book has prompted me to do so. If you are thinking of reading this book, this is what I would say to you;1. It is the best book I have ever read (to date).2. It is superbly written.3. It is not an historical account but the author has researched what little is known about this period in history and the book is consistent with what is known.5. The characters are well drawn and totally believable.6. The 'magic' is no more than that claimed by mystics today and could (largely) be explained by coincidence.7. It's about 'good v evil' and particularly about chivalry.8. It's a real page turner.I hope I have persuaded you to read it, without giving too much away.

The book is an alternative view of the King Arthur's "stories". Recommended if you are interested in fiction and classics.