Customer Reviews

Merlin's Mistake

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It's pretty hard to find original ideas about King Arthur, Camelot and Merlin. Original ideas that don't stink, that is. But this light little novel overflows with them, with tidbits of as-yet unknown info and a great, twisty storyline that leaves no loose ends.

Despite being an Arthurian novel, nothing takes place in Camelot and few of the characters are from it. Brian is an idealistic young man at an out-of-the-way castle, whose father was killed years before in the Crusades. (Nice intertwining of reality and fantasy) When a rather odd young man named Tertius appears, Brian jumps at the opportunity to come with him. Tertius's quest is to find someone who'll teach him magic -- the famed wizard Merlin tried, but made a mistake and so Tertius has no knowledge of magic, but plenty of knowledge about science (from the future, no less!)

Along the way, Brian clashes with a mysterious Black Knight that keeps a city paying tribute to him. There is supposedly a knight with a red shield, a sword, and certain emotional requirements who can defeat him; to find this mystery knight becomes Brian's personal quest. They are joined by a crabby crone and a strange Pict in their journey, venturing into great danger -- and finding unexpected allies.

Perhaps the main problem with this book is that it dashes from one scene to another, with relatively little time for character development. For most of the book, Brian feels underfleshed despite being the lead; characters like Maude, Tertius and Merlin are better defined and more individualistic, aside from nice-serious-minded-good-hero. The three of them have personality quirks that flesh them out, while Brian does not.

The writing is pretty sparse, but descriptions of action are good; the scene in Nimue's hall is worth it by itself, it's so amazingly written. And though the book initially seems lightweight, there are twists and mysteries in it that you will NEVER guess until you read to the end. Then, you'll smack yourself on the head and say, "of course!"

And the mix of fantasy and science is nice: the rather odd White Lady; the most unusual dragon; the pleasant forest thieves; and the Viking sword. And though a lesser author wouldn't have managed it, it never becomes tedious when Tertius blurts out some fact that nobody else understands, given that nobody knew what a quasar was back in medieval times.

Even if you're not an Arthurian fan, you may enjoy this tight little book. I sure did.

Okay, since I adore Arthurian fantasies, I thought I might give this book a try. I'm really glad I did. This book is about a boy named Brian who wants to be a knight. So when Tertius, who also has a quest, shows up at his castle, they leave together. Before long they arrive at Meliot which is besieged by a great evil. They leave Meliot again, with a crone (but is it a crone?) The three of them have their separate quests. Before the end of their journey, they will have met a dragon (or is it a dragon?), a giant, a few witches, and the greatest wizard of them all - Merlin.

Having gotten over my King Arthur mania a few years ago, after reading so many Arthurian fantasies that I swore I wouldn't touch another one, I was a little hesitant about buying a book called Merlin's Mistake. I didn't have any very high expectations, but it turned out that I really liked it.

It's not really an Arthurian tale at all, and though Merlin does play a role in the premise, he's hardly the center focus of the book. Anyway, the enchanter accidentally gives Tertius not all magical knowledge, but all future knowledge. Merlin then disappears with Nimue. Knowledge about nuclear reactors isn't particularly useful in the medieval ages...although chemistry does come in handy later on. Tertius joins forces with Brian, a young, idealistic squire, and they go off on adventures-- Tertius continues his quest to find someone to teach him magic, Brian acquires the mission of rescuing a kingdom from the menace of an invincible and mysterious Black Knight.

This has all been done before, of course, but Robert Newman somehow makes it fresh and enjoyable all over again. They encounter everything from outlaws (sensible enough to steal from everyone and keep their loot and yet not without honor) to a giant (who would rather not be disturbed, thank you very much), a very unstereotypical dragon, an anachronistic goddess, and the usual knights and princesses. But are even they exactly what they seem?

By turn serious and humorous, Merlin's Mistake reminds me just a bit of Lloyd Alexander, Patricia C. Wrede and T. H. White. Its messages about mercy and good judgment are never overstated and never get in the way of a good tale. I read it shortly after seeing "A Knight's Tale," and they are a little similar-- but in Merlin's Mistake, there's a likable female protagonist! There's a sequel, The Testing of Tertius, but it's out of print and I haven't read it.

Ailanna

Merlin's Mistake
By Robert Newman

Merlin's Mistake is a medieval fantasy about a 16 year old boy named Brian. He meets a boy named Tertius. They convince Brian's mother, the queen, to let them go on a quest. They get to a town name Meliot and are told a story about a black knight. This black knight comes to collect a tribute twice a year and they had come on of those days. Only "The Knight with the Red Shield" can defeat him in a joust. Brian sees one of the princesses. She is stunningly beautiful and he decides to joust with the black knight. He loses and is injured. The other princess nurses him back to health. He decides to go on a quest of his own to find "The Knight with the Red Shield."
Tetris's quest was to find someone to teach him magic. At birth Merlin had bestowed on him, all future knowledge. Now Brian had a quest as well. They quest and make many friend and defeat many enemies, but do they find "The Knight with the Red Shield", and does Tertius find a teacher? Read this book to find out.
I liked this book not only because I like medieval fantasies, but also because this book is so descriptive. It's written in a way that it feels like you're there. So complete that it's like watching a movie. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great adventure, or fantasy.

I loved this book. It was too bad we lost it in our house fire.

There is a sixteen year old named Brian who finally decides to become a knight,and goes on a guest.So one day he is greeted by a man named Tertius. He is telling Brian about how Merlins mistake on how he was suppose to give him the knowledge of magic. But instead he was given the power to know all about the future. I thought it was really good,because it had magicial spells and sword fighting,and jousting. It kinda remind me of the Harry Potter series because of the magic spells. I would reccomend this book to all my friends and yours.

OMG! This is one of the most wonderful books ever. If any fantasy loving person has not read this book, they really should!