Customer Reviews

The Book of Mordred

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

 

 

Firstly, I have to say that Vivian Vande Velde is my very favorite author. I have ALL of her books (including her children's books) and think that she is an amazing author. So, while I only rated this book three stars, that is by comparing it to her other books, not by other books I have read in the genre of historical fantasy. This book was good and I did read it in a matter of a week, but, that said, I usually stay up all night reading her books and finish them in a day or two. I am a fan of Arthurian legend and have been for some time, so that is not why I don't like this book as well as the others. I found the character of Mordred to be... a bit flat. You never really know him through the entire book and, while he is supposed to be somewhat enigmatic, the general impression that one gets is that he is simply two dimensional. Even in the end, you don't see him really for what he is and you are left wondering "So, what is he really going to do? Who is he really?" Perhaps that is the point, but I thought that this book was supposed to help answer some of the questions about who he was. Instead, it seemed to go more to what he did. Alayna is not a character who ever really comes to life for me either. In the beginning of the book, her character starts to take shape, but in the second two parts, she becomes so secondary and lifeless that she is hard to even notice or care about. Nimue is rather interesting, but what he relationship is with anyone is never really established and she ends up coming off as completely weak and powerless in pretty much every respect, though still likable, I must admit. Kiera is largely the focus of the book and perhaps my favorite character. To me, she was the only one who seemed to be thoroughly developed, except perhaps for Arthur and the villains (who were delightfully evil). Again, the book was an interesting read. Though I found the ending unsatisfying, I am not sorry that I bought the book. If you are a fan of Vivian Vande Velde, then I suggest you read it. If you have not read anything by this author, I recommend that you start off reading "Companions of the Night", "Dragons Bait", or "The Changeling Prince", though really any of her books are fabulous, those are three of my favorites.

Everyone knows Mordred is King Arhtur's illegitimate son, destined to destroy his father's kingdom and bring the golden age of Camelot to its knees. Or is he? Several modern authors have re-examined the life of Mordred in a more sympathetic light, and the latest of these is THE BOOK OF MORDRED by Vivian Vande Velde. In Velde's work we get to know Mordred primarily through his interraction with three women named Alayna, Nimue, and Kiera. Arthurian readers will already be familiar with Nimue, though Velde's interpretation of the character is an interesting variation on the traditional one. Alayna is a wizard's widow who shares an uncertain relationship with Mordred, and Kiera is her daughter. These women share several adventures with Mordred, in which the author introduces a particularly nasty evil wizard and his accomplices. It is these characters that Velde handles best--when working with other well-known personages from Camelot, Velde's prose seems uncertain and her otherwise sure and deft descriptions falter. It's as though she doesn't know the rest of the cast very well. Sadly, this applies to Mordred himself. Velde's Mordred never really emerges from the shadows, and the reader may not feel like they know the character any better after reading this book than they did before. The conclusion is, up to a point, very rich and atmospheric, but again it's as though the author doesn't really know what to do with Mordred and so the end is something of an anti-climax. Still, this is by no means a bad book, and if Velde writes more on the subject later on I will certainly want to read it. On a basic level, THE BOOK OF MORDRED is very well-written, but it's author's apparent uncertainty with Mordred himself is a major flaw. Nontheless, this is fun book that does go in some new directions with the familiar tale, and one I do recommend to Arhturian or fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different.

Vivian Vande Velde is a great children's writer and we here in Rochester, NY are honored that she comes from here. She writes well and has a good way of using words and detail. I liked the book because Vivian has given the reader a new perspective of Mordred and his story. She has brought in young female characters who experience the story and for the young people who are the intended readers of this book. I was moved by Kiera who witnesses the fight between Arthur and Mordred.

This is a dull entry in the Arthur mythos depicting mordred from the account of 3 women who loved him.

I like this book because it gives a little more detail on the story behind the scenes. I mean the only things that you really see with King Arthur is him the knoghts of the round table. There is some betrayal, but you do not get to know the characters. This book is a book that comes very seldom. This book was well because of the realness of the characters and desription of them. It's so real that you can imagine in your mind what is happening. It is like you are there in the book along with the charaters. The characrter I liked the most was Kiera. I also like Nimue, but Kiera is the one I can relate to the most in the sense that she has lost some of her family when she was very young. Nimue was a bit more interesting than Alayna because you don't really see much of Alayna in the book. She is usually off in her own little world fearing magic and being caught up in romance. When Nimue disappears, you kind of wonders were she goes and you don't get anymore information about her for a while. She is practically gome from the story. I read this book in a weekend and it was so good I had to read it again a second time. That is why I rated this book a five out of five.

What can I say? I read this book last summer when I saw it in the library and wow, this truly is a good read. I picked it up and read through the first 10 pages right there, standing up in the middle of the library; it was then that I knew that I had to read the rest. Overall, it is an enjoyable, some-what light (although it does pick up in a number of parts) read.

I read this book because I am a huge fan of anything King Arthur, and so I picked this up even though it was in the young adult section. I have to say I was very disappointed. It isn't really about Mordred at all. The book is narrated through three women's point of view and their feelings about Mordred. Which would be fine, except it gives very little insight to the character himself and his appearances are always brief.
Another thing I didn't like was that SO many characters died in the book. It was almost as though a character was destined to die if you liked him or her even a little bit. (And I don't mean just the ones you EXPECT to die, we all know who those are) Lancelot, Arthur, Guinivere barely made "cameos" appearances in this book. I was very disappointed in this book, if you want a good Arthurian novel, pick up "Queen of Camelot", there the characters will be explored in depth. You'll see MUCH more of Mordred in this book than in "Book of Mordred" where he is supposed to be the title character.

I read this book for the seventh grade and did a project on it. i couldn't imagine any of the characters that weren't on the covers of the book. i tried to search for pictures of the people but no one had even heard of them. the plot line was okay, but it didn't really keep me hooked.

The book of Mordred is a book for people who likes King Arthur. This book is about three different people who are acquainted with Mordred. They each have their own adventures with him and they all come together in the story. This book relates to the fall of Arthur. This book has magic and knights which creates a great story. There is also a lot of rivalry and betrayals. The book of Mordred is a very suspenseful book with a lot of deaths and clash of friendships.

-L!M

I read this book because I'm a huge fan of historical fiction in general, and Arthurian novels in particular. Wow--what a disappointment. Although the book is written for young adults, Vande Velde writes like an immature teen herself: her prose is overwhelmed by useless adverbs, her attempts to get into a character's mind through internal dialog are artificial, and her dialog is inappropriate for the historical period. Yes, I understand that language must be updated for modern-day readers, but that requirement does not necessitate the need for idioms used by present-day teens. The plot contains some interesting twists and turns (the only reason I'm being generous and giving this book two stars instead of one), but it's also riddled with gaping holes that leave the reader unsatisfied. Vande Velde dedicates the book to writers who have been tempted to give up. How true! If she managed to get this poor book published, aspiring writers have all the reason in the world to take hope that they'll get their works published, too. Let's just hope they learn from Vande Velde's mistakes.