There were a lot of neat ideas but, like every character in this novel, they were never developed. It’s not that I actively dislike the book – it’s solidly in ‘ok’ territory – but I can’t really think of anything I liked about it either. Alas, I learn, yet again, that popularity often has little to do with quality. It was also pretty popular back in its day. All the ingredients are there – it’s centered on a character I normally like, on events that are often just skated over as prologue, and grounded in more unique ‘realistic’ Dark Age Britain than the typical ‘castles and knights’ setting. I’ve spoken about my love of all things Arthurian before, so I was really expecting to enjoy this book. The illegitimate son of a South Wales princess, his young life precariously in balance as the shifting tide of events wash over his homeland, he is aware at the earliest age of a great natural gift – the Sight.Īgainst a background of invasion and imprisonment, wars and conquest, we see his emergence into manhood equipped with learning and wisdom far in advance of his years and his time (which some call magic), and his dramatic role in the New Beginning – the coming of Arthur. The Crystal Cave plunges the reader deep into Fifth Century Britain, a country in chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal, where minor kings plot and intrigue against each other in draughty fog-bound settlements. Series: The Merlin Trilogy #1, The Arthurian Saga #1 Pages: 464 including Authors notes (Paperback)
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