Customer Reviews

Last Enchantment

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A long time ago, I read Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy, which consists of three books: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. I had last read the trilogy back in the mid-1980s, back when I was in high school. So, recently I turned back to these old favorites, and found myself enjoying the tale once again.

Here's a brief background of the story, without spoiling it too much for potential readers. England is suffering under fractured leadership following the departure of the Romans, some time before. England is broken up into several small kingdoms, with a High King to hold them all together, and to try to repell the Saxon threat already encamped on the shores. Into this time, Merlin is born, the bastard child of a local princess. The trilogy tells the tale of his life.

In the first book, Merlin is first a small boy in Wales, where he finds his tutor in magic and the gods and medicine, and is touched by the prophecy which will shape his whole life's work. He flees Wales, for his own protection, and his subsequent actions inexorably lead to the conception of a child: Arthur, the future High King.

In the second book, Merlin is charged by both the High King, Uthur, and his god to keep Arthur in his care, and to train him for his coming challenges. The story closes with Arthur assuming the mantle of leadership, following the passing of Uthur.

In the third book, Arthur and Merlin work to end the Saxon threat, found Camelot, and close with Merlin's final destiny, as he had long since foreseen...almost.

The tale is told in the first person: Merlin. In this fashion, the story feels personal in a way that few other Arthurian fantasies ever have. Merlin, the character, is a sympathetic one: he has good in his heart, he looks after his mission in life with care and humility, and he certainly doesn't buy into this "Merlin the Enchanter" crap circulating about England...though he's not above using it to his benefit from time to time. The other characters in the story are also fleshed out with care...and the characters are certainly not one-dimensional or static.

The storyline is clearly grounded in historical "facts", as much as possible. Clearly Mary Stewart put some time into research, before beginning the writing of this tale.

The writing style is very descriptive. In some novels, the description is somewhat threadbare, willing the reader to fill in the look of the setting to some extent with their own imagination. It's a perfectly valid writing style, and I've enjoyed many books written with that style. Here, however, Mary Stewart has sought to ground us, again, in a historical setting, and she puts a lot of attention into describing the setting so as to help with that grounding process. It's very effective.

So, with the close of the tale, I feel somewhat saddened. Merlin became like a friend. So, I encourage other readers to pick up the challenge, and read the Merlin Trilogy, so you can be touched in this way also.

I have just finished listening to the Chivers Audiobooks' recording of The Last Enchantment, read masterfully by Stephen Thorne. Mary Stewart's story is wonderfully written, but Stephen Thorne truly brings it to life. His reading drew me in from the start, and I knew I was enjoying the magic of a true storyteller. He brought the many characters and scenes completely and vividly to life. I know that years ago I read and enjoyed The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills, but I have the audio versions on order at the library so that I can enjoy Mr. Thorne's reading of them. In listening to Mr. Thorne read them, I know he'll bring a completely new dimension to the stories. I highly recommend both the book itself, which is beautifully written, and the wonderful reading of it by Mr. Thorne.

Anybody who loves tales of Merlin and King Arthur will love this book! This is the third book in Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga, written from the viewpoint of Merlin, it tells the tale of how Arthur came to be the legend that everyone has heard of.

Unlike many tales of Merlin it is not a fairy tale of unbelievable magic rather it is a brilliantly written story of a man who is extremely powerful, intelligent and gifted, who has a vision of a united Britain and has found the one person who can fulfill this dream, Arthur.

Based on the Legend of Arthur it is rich in detail both of character and landscape, and genuinely takes the reader back in time to the days of chivalry and Camelot!

Compared to the first two volumes of the "Merlin" trilogy, this concluding volume is a bit weak -- but it's still far ahead of most romantic historical novels. Perhaps it's because, by the nature of the narrative, Merlin must now take a back seat to the adult Arthur, the High King and a growing legend to his people. The enchanter is also growing older, the power of the gods is leaving him bit by bit, and he's relegated to undercover espionage work in the north of the country, spying on Arthur's treacherous half-sister, Morgause. Stewart does a good job of re-interpreting the legend of Merlin being shut up alive ("waiting") in his cave in the hollow hill, and, as throughout the 900 pages of the trilogy, the author displays amazing powers of description, both of the characters and of their surroundings. Give it ten years to settle into my unconscious and I shall be re-reading this marvelous epic yet again.

The first book was good, the second book was slow, but important to the series. I was somewhat weary to pick up this last book, one reason i wasn't sure what to expect and the other was actually that i was finally reaching the end and did i really want it to end??? I didn't. This book, the Last Enchantment was by far the best. The last three hundred pages kept you wondering, whats this mean? What will happen? it seemed like the story should end in some parts even though you saw that there was a hundred or fifty pages left and knew that there was more. You grow old with Merlin throughout this triology. Something you rarely do in other triologys, but here you do and it adds alot. 5 stars and more are deserved, did i mention the discriptions are absoulutly wonderfull and vivid???

This is a great book and concludes a fabulous triology. Stewart finds just the right balance of historical fiction and fantasy, creating a Merlin and King Arthur who are not as they really were but are has they might have been if we indulge a imagination just a little. The characters are real and compelling. And though all three books are accessible to young readers, the books are just as entertaining for adults. I can't say enough about this trilogy.

Having never read anything about Arthurian legend, I was hesitant to pick my first introduction to it. I feel that I chose wisely in Mary Stewart's trilogy. Her writing will draw you into the story, and each book assumes you have little to no knowledge from the previous books (which was great for me, it helped to hear some of it again). I just found myself wishing afterwards there could have been a little more romance! However, I guess these books were more about Merlin, not Arthur or Guinevere. Another confusing aspect is that some of the more familiar names have been changed, and some are repeated. Having no base knowlege of the legend this was slightly confusing for me. Anyway, these books are highly enjoyable and I would definitely recomend them.

For several reasons, I found this third volume of Stewart's "Merlin Trilogy" less, well, enchanting than the former two volumes. The primary ones are:

1.) The writing - In the previous two novels, especially in The Hollow Hills, Stewart writes in a bewitching poetic prose which captivates the reader every bit as much or more than the story. Here, the writing seems more than a bit stretched and worn. Stewart still retains her descriptive powers, but they are like Merlin's powers, on the wane and frequently plodding.

2.) The story - The plotting and the characters themselves, not Merlin alone, are all too cosy. One expects something far darker, more haunting - from Morgause and Nimuë especially! But Stewart proffers us instead a very insipid rendering indeed of these enchantresses in the book, with a tidy, pat ending; So much so that they come to remind one of Hampshire hausfraus more than dangerous, bewitching magical beings.

The book is, of course, a must read if one has read the previous two volumes. But don't expect too much enchantment from The Last Enchantment.

I was at a garage sale last summer and picked up this book as well as the first two in the series, The Crystal Cave and The Hollow Hills. My only previous experience with Arthurian legend, was Disney's The Sword and The Stone when I was little, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The series is told from Merlin's point of view from the time he was a child until he his older and his powers have started to fade. In this book, Merlin is dealing with the fading of his powers and Arthur is at Camelot and a grown man.

Mary Stewart puts greatly detailed descriptions of the characters and the scenery into the book which causes it to be slower moving than some other novels, but still enjoyable. I like that she includes the Legend at the back of the book so you can see the basis for the novel. The only thing that I didn't really enjoy was Merlin's love affair. I thought it was a bit creepy since he was so much older than the woman.
Overall, this was an excellent read and I plan to read more Arthurian novels.

Mary Stewart's rendition of this legend is my favorite by far. I take the time to read the set every year. Wore my old copy out. Thanks seller for the great experience.