King Of The Middle March (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Arthur Trilogy) [Library Binding]

Kevin Crossley-Holland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006 | Series: Arthur Trilogy (Book 3)

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Arthur de Caldicot witnesses the horrors of the Fourth Crusade in Venice and Zara, as well as the downfall of King Arthur's court, in his seeing stone.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–A glorious and uplifting conclusion to the trilogy. As before, Arthur de Caldicot tells his story, which this time finds the teen on an island off the coast of Venice waiting for a Crusade to begin. He is full of both wonder at his surroundings and the multinational band of men and anxiety over what is expected of him. Arthur is knighted and takes his oath to defend God seriously, but he is conflicted to learn that the Saracens are educated and devout people not unlike the Europeans. At the forefront of his thoughts is Merlin's admonition to keep asking questions. When money and politics wreak havoc with the plans for the Crusade, Arthur becomes disillusioned, and he faces a crisis of faith when the Venetians bring the Crusaders into an internal conflict to siege the city of Zara. Concurrently, Sir Stephen, Arthur's lord, is wounded and must be taken home to England, and because of duty, Arthur takes him and leaves the Crusade. Parallel to Arthur's own quest is that of legendary King Arthur and the Grail knights, whom Arthur watches in his seeing stone. He watches as Camelot is thrown into chaos, and he learns that not all battle ends in glory and that treachery exists even there. In a return home at Easter that is full of symbolism, Arthur finds answers to lifelong questions. Whether readers are familiar with the two previous Arthur sagas or not, they will be gratified by the majestic resolution to the parallel stories of Sir Arthur's coming of age and King Arthur's demise.–Cheri Dobbs, Detroit Country Day Middle School, Beverly Hills, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 6-9. This third volume in the trilogy that began with The Seeing Stone (2001) opens with Arthur, Lord Stephen, and thousands of other crusaders camped near Venice, awaiting the building of a fleet of ships and the arrival of money to pay for them. Eventually, their leaders agree to help Venice recapture the Christian city of Zara in exchange for the vessels that will take them to the Holy Land, and Arthur sees horrors that he is powerless to stop. All this is mirrored in the old story of King Arthur, which young Arthur watches unfold at intervals in his magical stone. Just as the promise of Camelot dissolves into treachery, chaos, and death, so the boy's world seems fatally flawed by greed, brutality, and human frailty. Arthur's response to his fellow crusaders' violence and the questions he raises about religion, morality, and war resonate not only in the two worlds of the novel but also in our own. The traditional Arthurian story comes to its inevitable end as Arthur the narrator returns home to England to take up his new life, fully cognizant of a world full of evil but also filled with promise. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 409 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417730323
• ISBN-13: 978-1417730322
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak finish for the trilogy, November 23, 2004

By 

Page Hudson (Williston, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Arthur Trilogy #3: King of the Middle March (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting conclusion for a series and room for a 4th., November 25, 2005

By 

Dr. Fred R. Eichelman "arous" (Salem,, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Arthur Trilogy #3: King of the Middle March (Hardcover)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly disappointing, March 25, 2005

By 

Adelaide Guzman "ladie" (Florida,Vero USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Arthur Trilogy #3: King of the Middle March (Hardcover)

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.