Customer Reviews

The Arthur Trilogy #3: King of the Middle March

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first two of this set were interesting and intriguing. "What will happen next" was constantly a thought. Any reader would wonder how the two Arthur's worlds would intersect, what would happen to our protagonist. This third book, by a respected and experienced children's author, is simply a time server, an incomplete story to fill a deadline. None of the story lines have any sort of climax; they just end. Lazy writing: quite frustrating to anyone who cares about books.

We will always owe an English friend for introducing us to this series. As she gave us the third book in the series my wife and I immediately bought the first two from Amazon so that we could read them in order.

King of the Middle March is possibly the best in the series about a young man named Arthur in the early twelve hundreds. Author Kevin Grossley Holland again does an excellent job in writing about the times. His settings, four locations in the area of the Middle Marches, France and Italy are superb. Holland shows himself to be a real historian here. We see the young Arthur, formerly of Caldicot, then of Holt, and finally of Catmole, his own Camelot, go from am idealistic young squire to a knight. His maturity and his experiences are well done and all the characterizations are excellent.

There is again a dual story as through Arthur's "seeing stone," a gift from Merlin, he continues to follow the story of the original King Arthur. It is interesting from the standpoint of how the stone shows parallels between the two Arthur's and young Arthur learns a great deal about himself from it and the things he should be prepared for.

As I said in my reviews of the first two books, it is sad that Holland relies too heavily on Mallory and White despite many other excellent books that have been written about Arthur, especially the two series by Mary Stewart and Stephen Lawhead. Those are far from the only ones and having walked over those areas of England where Arthur's story arose I am surprised Holland missed so much despite having done the same thing. The only thing that convinces you that the original Arthurian stories may have been true is the existence of Merlin in both worlds. (There are at least two other strong clues I won't mention here.)

I also have to repeat that this is not a series for young children as there are strong sexual situations alluded to, though not described in detail.

Despite the misgivings I have expressed I loved the series and frankly there is room for a 4th book as there are still questions to be answered at the end.

A very good read indeed.

Kevin Holland Crossley's King of the Middle March left me wondering. I absolutely loved the first two books, but King of the Middle March is....a bit dull. I never cared for the stories inside the stone, and this book takes away for Arthur de Caldicot's life experiences...the chapters about King Arthur are longer than those of our young narrator. I wanted to know: What's going to happen to Gatty? Will Serle ever return?? Will Serle marry Tanwen? Will Arthur marry Winnie? Will Arthur marry Gatty? Will Arthur ever be happy if he doesn't marry Winnie or Gatty?? Will Arthur ever get Bonamy back? And will Arthur ever see his little friend Bertie again??....many unanswered questions..I read quickly because I was eager to see what would happend with Arthur's life in the Middle March. On the topic of Arthur's mother, I like the way it ended...but everything else...was slightly disappointing. This story felt very rushed towards the end of the book. Mr. Kevin Holland-Crossley's first two books were excellent, but the third doesn't quite live up to it predessesors as most books don't.

This book, like its predecessors, is for those that want to learn more about Arthurian legends. At least it will whet your appetite. It follows the story of Arthur de Caldicot who has similar (but definitely not the same) life experiences as King Arthur. Read the first two books. But the reason everyone is so disappointed (myself included) in the ending of this story is because he doesnt tie up all the loose ends we would like him to. May I introduce you to "Crossing to Paradise" first published as "Gatty's Tale" I had to actually get this book and look in it to realize it is the fourth installment of this "trilogy" it wasnt really clear either on his website or other websites. Probably because CtP is about Gatty and not Arthur. But it completes the story. So there you go.

Crossing To Paradise
Gatty's Tale

IN King of Middle March, you experience what life was like during the crusades. Some were bogged down by the flow (it is written in journal style, like the other two) Crossley-Holland does seem to explain a lot. But I found it quite interesting. Mainly these stories are about a teenage boy growing up into his own self. Who he was meant to be. That is why Merlin gave him the Seeing Stone to view the life of King Arthur. My favorite aspect of these books is the turmoil inside Arthur when he meets kind Saracens (muslims) and evil Christians. This isnt what he was taught. he was taught to hate and kill Saracens. This is a very relevant topic for today even. This aspect of the story carries over to Crossing to Paradise for Gatty has the same turmoil. The author finally arrives at a solution and I quite like it: All religions have evil and good followers. People are very much alike even if they are so different. Worth the read for teens or mature teens. If it was a movie, it would probably be PG-13. Very good story.

The final instalment in Kevin Crossley-Holland's Arthur trilogy, "King of the Middle March", takes his protagonist far from his familiar surroundings on the Welsh borders. It is the year 1203, and Arthur de Gortanore (formerly de Caldicot) is now sixteen, on the verge of manhood and about to become a knight. He and his lord, Stephen de Holt, have travelled to Venice to join what will become the Fourth Crusade as it begins its long journey towards Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Guiding Arthur on the way is his obsidian seeing-stone, a magical artefact given to him years before by the wise man of his village, which reveals to him another world: that of his namesake, the King Arthur of legend, and of his Knights of the Round Table.

On crusade Arthur is confronted by new challenges as well as old enemies, but he is a different character to when we left him at the end of "At the Crossing-Places" - older and slightly wiser - and it is interesting to see how he deals with those challenges. In particular it is refreshing to see him forge a friendship with his cousin and one-time bully Serle, while even Arthur's father, William de Gortanore, previously depicted as boorish and unprincipled, is shown to have some redeeming qualities. Indeed few characters in the novel are truly good or evil; each has his contradictions, his own demons. It is this kind of realistic touch which makes the world that Crossley-Holland has created so believable. Arthur finds that love can be complicated, that it is not always easy to do the noble thing, that the difference between right and wrong is often unclear - all of which allows the reader to closely identify with him.

The device of the seeing stone is also used to greater effect in "King of the Middle March". Whereas the first two books dealt with the founding of the Round Table fellowship and the adventures of the various knights who comprised it, this one sees its dissolution: an event which is mirrored in the crusaders' own internecine struggles, in which ideals are often cast aside in pursuit of power and of wealth. Again, the seeing stone reflects Arthur's own experiences, showing him that life is messy and that happy endings are not guaranteed, but take effort to achieve. The same message pervades the book's ending, which cleverly leaves a number of issues unresolved, showing that whereas the stories of legend often have a discernible structure, real life is seldom so neatly divided: our stories and journeys, like Arthur's, are ongoing.

"King of the Middle March" is an an excellent climax to the Arthur trilogy: a complex and enchanting coming-of-age tale which will appeal to all ages, meditating as it does on the transition from childhood to adulthood, and the compromises we all have to make in life. It will be interesting to see how the author develops the same themes in "Gatty's Tale", a semi-sequel to this trilogy featuring Arthur's best friend from the first two books.

All three of the books are very good. The overall story is great. It is mainly for young teens and older kids. The decriptions and the characters are good. It is a shame though that the ending of the third and final book is not so good. It doesn't tellyou enough and leaves you wanting to know the rest. But there is not another book. If you like medieval and magic you will like this. Not the best book of the year but i would recommend it.

I think that this book's ending did not sum up the series well. The first and second books were great, but the third left questions like who does Arthur marrie? Or does Arthur ever see Gatty again? Does Serle come home from the crusade? I am hoping that Kevin Crossley Holland will write another book to answer all these questions.

It is the best end that you could expect for this trilogy, I love it!

Review by Kevin Chapman

The story began in a village called Caldicot in 1186. A boy named Arthur works in this village and has been training all of his life to become a squire. When he is about 14 he learns that he can become a squire of Lord Stephan, a friend of Arthur's father, Sir John. At the same time Arthur's father tells him that he isn't his true father but he is his uncle. His true father is a man named Sir William, who Arthur thought was his uncle. Arthur has always hated Sir William because of his bad temper and that he beats his wife. Arthur's father also tells him that he won't have to live with his new father because Arthur is going on the crusade with Lord Stephan. His father said that Sir William will also be going on the crusade. Arthur is excited that he is going on the crusade, but he wanted to see his real mother more than anything else in the world. He decided that he would try to find her when he got back.

While on the crusade, Arthur spends a great amount of time at night looking into a stone that a friend named Merlin gave him. The stone showed Arthur stories of knights on quests, and soldiers fighting wars in a magical land, but mostly the story of King Arthur. It is just like all of the King Arthur stories where he pulls the sword out of the stone and becomes King of Britain. The stone shows how Arthur receives the sword Excalibur, and how he creates the Round Table and Camelot. The stone also shows King Arthur's knights questing for the Holy Grail, and in the end of the book, it finally shows King Arthur's downfall. Arthur loves looking into the stone, because what happens in the stone seems to relate to what happens to Arthur's real life. The story of King Arthur and his knights take up about half of the book, yet it plays an important role in the story.

Arthur had to save many people from robbers on the crusade, and it was recognized by Lord Stephan. Because of Arthur's bravery, he was knighted, and received a sword that looked just like King Arthur's sword, Excalibur. Not long after that there was a big storm and the crusade ships had to land some where. They finally came to an island called Zara, but they refused to let the Crusaders stay, because of their great numbers. Almost no one thought it was a good idea to do this, but the Crusaders decided to attack Zara. Arthur hated this decision and couldn't take watching people kill innocent people. Once they had driven off the people of Zara, Arthur and Lord Stephan found Sir William. A couple nights later Arthur found Lord Stephan trying to calm Sir William down, but he couldn't control his temper. Sir William drew out a knife and stabbed Lord Stephan in the shoulder. Arthur then leaped on top of his father and wrestled him down to the ground. During this, Arthur's father accidentally stabbed himself with his own knife and killed him self. Arthur felt like dying too, for his father was dead, and Lord Stephan might be too.

The next day, Arthur learns that Sir William will be buried with others that died on the crusade. He also learns that Lord Stephan has a chance of surviving, but he will be returning home. Arthur realizes that he still serves Lord Stephan, and it is his job to return home with him. He is sad that he will never be able to sail to Jerusalem, but is happy that he won't have to see any more bloodshed. On the way home, Lord Stephan talks for the first time in days, and it turns out that he is going to live. When Arthur gets home he tells everyone about his journey, like when he was knighted, the attack of Zara, and the death of sir William. Sir John tells Arthur that when he was away, he arranged a meeting with Arthur's true mother, and that Arthur inherited Sir William's castle. When Arthur met his mother, he learned that her name was Mair, they both hated Sir William, and that they looked alike in many ways. She had been living in a poor village called Catmole, searching for Arthur all her life. Arthur decided that she could come live with him in Sir William's old castle, and never lose each other again.

I recommend this book because it's adventurous, funny, and suspenseful. Be sure that you also read the first two books in the Arthur Trilogy.

Kevin Crossley-Holland ends his Arthur Trilogy with "King of the Middle March," an inventive yet extremely boring mixture of the Crusades and Arthurian fiction. Somehow the story never quite gels together, and Crossley-Holland's spare prose doesn't cover those flaws.

Arthur de Caldicot has become a knight, and is now engaged to Winnie. Now he ends up in Venice in preparation for the retaking of Jerusalem, still keeping his "seeing stone" and thinking of his mentor Merlin. But things take a nasty turn when Arthur learns that the Saracens are not bloodthirsty barbarians, but intelligent and cultured.

Disillusioned, Arthur is repulsed by the horrors around him -- including Christians fighting one another. And when Lord Stephen is wounded, Arthur is able to go back to England with him, which is where he belongs. With the aid of his seeing stone, Arthur is able to find the final answers of his life and his fragmented family.

The fundamental flaw of "King of the Middle-March" is the same as the previous two books in this trilogy -- there really isn't a lot of linkage between the stories of Arthur Pendragon and Arthur de Caldicot. Okay, human beings can be mean, and glorious things can deteriorate due to human evils -- that's not much to go on. The tale of an innocent young man in the Crusades would have been interesting in itself, but Crossley-Holland never explores the depths of that story.

And what's more, this story is... rather boring. The Arthurian interludes are too few to really drag you in; instead it's the minutiae of living with Crusaders. Arthur de Caldicot is not a terribly interesting character, and the details of currying horses and political chitchat just bog the book down even further. Detailed writing could have brought this story to life, but Crossley-Holland's bare-bones writing is frustratingly sparse. Even potentially glorious scenes like the finding of the Grail, complete with a cameo by Jesus Christ, are rendered almost like a poorly-written screenplay.

Arthur is the only character of any real importance, and sadly he's not interesting enough to really grab your attention. Despite the time that has gone by since the first book of the trilogy, he sounds exactly the same -- naive, a little clueless, and virtually emotionless. It's hard to care if he goes home, finds his mother, or keeps the seeing stone.

"King of the Middle-March" is a vague, unsatisfying book that limps to its finale on a carpet of sparse prose and a dull lead character. It would take a pretty die-hard King Arthur fan to read this a second time.