The Return of Merlin [Unknown Binding]

Deepak Chopra (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1995

The author of the million-copy best-seller Ageless Body, Timeless Mind emerges as a powerful new force in fiction with a luminously written novel about the final act of the Arthurian legend playing out in modern England. The Return of Merlin is a brilliantly realized narrative that begins in Arthurian times and jumps boldly to our own 20th-century dark age of war, pollution, predation, and hatred--with a message of hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The bestselling holistic health guru and popularizer of Indian Ayurvedic medicine plunges into fiction with this oddly engaging, complex tale that grafts Arthurian legend onto a police procedural set in modern England. The story begins in Camelot, as the evil wizard Mordred, King Arthur's banished bastard son, blasts the kingdom to rubble. We then leap into a grimy 20th-century British country town, where police detective Arthur Callum is investigating a case of arson and possible murder. Chopra's conceit, only partly effective, is that Arthurian figures-Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Mordred, arch rival Merlin and others-live on through the centuries, secretly assuming the identities or occupying the souls of ordinary people. In addition to these royals, knights and mystics, the plot is replete with dragons, magic, Tarot cards, sacred stone circles, the Holy Grail, Arthur's sword, Excalibur, dreams and spells. As the forces of good and evil do battle, Chopra, with sparkling wit, spiritual insight and a light touch, weaves an inspirational parable imbued with the hope that trust, love, empathy and awareness will one day supplant fear, hatred and ignorance. This is a bold, occasionally brilliant retelling of Arthurian lore, at once livelier and less pedantic than the comparable The Celestine Prophecy but still inflected with Eastern wisdom and with Chopra's New Age perception of the temporally interconnected universe posited by quantum physics. Major ad/promo; simultaneous Random House Audio; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The author of numerous New Age best sellers updates the story of Camelot in his first novel.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 422 pages
• Publisher: Harmony; 1st edition (June 13, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517598493
• ISBN-13: 978-0517598498
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #959,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deepak Chopra, M.D.
Founder of The Chopra Foundation
Senior Scientist, The Gallup Organization
www.deepakchopra.com
www.facebook.com/DeepakChopraCommunity
www.twitter.com/deepakchopra

As a global leader and pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, Chopra transforms the way the world views physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social wellness. Known as a prolific author of over sixty books with eighteen New York Times best sellers in both the fiction and non fiction categories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chopra transcends the legend!, December 21, 2001

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Return of Merlin (Paperback)

When Deepak Chopra publishes, readers take note. And when he writes about the
Arthurian Tales, what can one say? Intertwining his sense of mysticism, his intellectual scope, and a
fast-paced, very moving, novel in one is a bit much to hope for! But in “The Return of Merlin,”
Chopra has accomplished this feat. Not an “easy read” generally, Chopra’s magical touch with the
printed word maintains his reputation in this tale from Arthur.

In his introduction, Chopra writes that “The Return of Merlin” is about waking up the
wizard that sleeps within all of us, so that we can reclaim the field of pure knowledge and dream
anew world into reality, from the purity of our hearts.”

“Merlin” is another odyssey of life, a story of the traditional good vs. evil and the struggles
therein. It is a story that erases the confines of time. “To be alive now,” he writes, “is to be dead to
the past. To be alive now is to have life-centered, present-moment awareness...(and) you will discover the dance of the divine in every leaf, in every petal...in every rainbow...in every breath of every living being.” A momumental undertaking, to be sure.

Taking the Arthurian characters, from Merlin to Arthur to Mordred with a cast of many
others, and mixing in a complete disregard for any logical historical time frame, Chopra explores
this struggle, this “to be or not to be” of Camelot. Despite its frenzy, its whirlwind of action and
activity, “The Return of Merlin” is at once captivating, suspenseful, mesmerizing, combining
elements of spectacular hope and goodness and the depravitiy--nay, the power-- of penultimate
evil, Chopra shatters the pastoral hillsides of our psyche with this very-readable narrative.
Scholarly--yet quite readable!, the book is a page-turner. Chopra’s magic comes alive in a work
that is satisfactory and fulfilling.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for Fantasy Lovers and Spiritual seekers alike!, October 16, 2001

By 

Tim Britton (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Return of Merlin (Paperback)

This is an incredible book. I haven't been much into reading fantasy in years, although I have always been a fan of Merlin, King Arthur, and Camelot, Fantasy books failed to hold my attention for every story has been told and retold in one way or another. I have to be honest, it was Deepak Chopra's name that drew me to this book, and then seeing Merlins name on the same cover, I had to check it out. And I am so glad I did. What a truly wonderful book for fantasy lovers, and spiritual seekers alike. Don't miss out on this great read, books like this come far and few between!! This book and the characters in it will stay with you for a long, long time.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical Reading for Adults, February 5, 2005

By 

Elaine Sonne "ancientdesign" (Los Angeles,CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Return of Merlin (Paperback)

I've read this book every year since its debut ten years ago. I've just read it again and I still believe it's one of the must-reads for anyone on a spiritual/mystical path. And aren't we all? Dr. Chopra continues to teach me to find my magical self, to walk backward in time and call my ageless, timeless soul forward. I'm a big fan of all his books but this one, and the Way of the Wizard inspire me to really think beyond my normal boundaries. I've always dreamed that Merlin was my mentor. I certainly think Deepak Chopra is. Return of Merlin encourages my magical thinking and that's the best evolutationary step for me. Maybe it is for you too.
Elaine Maginn Sonne, PhD, author of Legends of the Stones