This book was well written, but the language was extremely sophisticated. The author wrote the novel in how ,now days,we thought the residents of the Medival Times talked. The overall story wasn't too bad, but not as good as I thought it would be. Although the novel was difficult to read, from what you could make out was truly brought to life. You could tell that Howard Pyle truly has a love for writting; reflected from the content in the novel. This novel would be for anyone with an adventerous soul. This novel truly helped my understanding of the Medival history.

Even though this book is very well written. It is NOT and I mean NOT a 9-12 book. The grammar and words are for the reading level of a high-schooler, or adult. Unless I have read a different version... They had the same covers and everything, but it was a hardcover. I don't recommend this to an average kid, unless you're some ultra genius.

I found the book very interesting. It is a great story of legend. The stories have been passed down for many generations; Howard Pyle has done a great job of keeping the stories alive and well written. The characters in the book are all very well developed, by not giving you all of the characteristics at one time. From the beginning to the end, never telling more than what need's to be told. In the beginning of the novel starting with the young King Arthur, before he was the king, telling of how he meet each one of the knights of the round table, and how they came to be at his services. To me that most interesting part of the book was in the beginning when Sir Kay and the other knights where engaged in the battle, the description of the fight, and especially of how Arthur came by the great sword excalibur. The descriptions of not just the first, but of all of the great battles involved in the unfolding of the final story are just great. The book is a great piece of literature and I would recommend it for anyone who needs a little adventure in his or her lives

This is the best anthology of Arthurian fiction I've ever come across. Ashley treats us with every variety of the legend imaginable. First, he draws from pre-Malory sources: a retelling of the last chapter of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of Britain; "The Lady of the Fountain" from the Mabinogian, an ancient collection of Celtic myths; and the 12th century epic poem Jaufry, which was forgotten for 600 years.

He also includes retellings of famous selections from Le Morte D'Arthur, including Steinbeck's take on Sir Balin and the Dolorous Stroke, and Roger Lancelyn Green's somewhat liberal translation of the "Tale of Perceval".

And finally there are many modern fantasy stories that treat the Arthuran mythology in turns as comical, idyllic, historical, or romantic. The depictions of Merlin and Arthur vary from author to author depending on the mood and setting, but that is what makes the legend so exciting to study.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the stories of King Arthur and Camelot.

The Pendragon Chronicles : Heroic Fantasy from the Time of King Arthur is some of the best peices of work put down in one book. The 12 stories in this book prove and prove again why arthurain stories are the most wirtin type of stories ever. Most of the stories have detailed and booldy battles in them, some even have love and lust. All of my favorite characters show up in the stories, Sir Arthur and Lancelot of the Lake all make there own appearances. No matter what type of book you like Jane Yolen gives you the best stories you have ever seen.
This book is a colliction of stories of the dark ages to the middle ages. I gave this book a five because of the way for if there was a bad story you didn't like they made up for it by two more good ones. You also can add to your useless triva of all the differnt ways to dei a slow and painfull death. Some of the stories area little to detailed like one about Merlin and how he misses love but other than that it was a awsome book. I Would say this is alittle more of aboy book on the subjects it deals with but its a perfect book if your looking for different subjucts of Arther.
My favorite story is called Midnight, Moonlight, and the secerct of the sea. It doesnt deal with the happy go luck time of jousting and marryment but of the awfull cursaides were the nights ran through the streets beheading and killing everthing they say and one nights exploits and banishment to wonder. I would tell more but this is a story that its just too good to give away the ending.
This is the end to my review
untill next time
Dan

I liked the book because I like learning about theMiddleAges. People that like the Middle Ages should read this book.

I think this book was Exalent!This book eas about King Arthurs jurnes and battles.It is also about some of King Arthurs Knights jurnes. I whould recomend this book for people that like battle,middle age books and King Arthur books.

I think this was a exalent book about King Arthur. I would recomend this book for a person that likes King Arthur and also people that like battle and books on the mideivel times.

While it makes for an interesting read as an opposing point of view to the current ideas concerning the origins of Arthurian literature, the authors, in their attempt to "deconstruct" the Arthurian myth and cut it clean from Celtic studies, often make outstanding leaps in logic (without sufficiently reliable sources being cited) and quite often mangle the Celtic evidence (which they are trying to discredit) by utilyzing incorrect etymologies of Celtic words and ignoring Celtic literary themes and archaeological evidence which would tend to discredit their Iranian-origin theories. By throwing the baby out with the bath water, they weaken their argument, for it has been consistently proved by other authors in recent years that there is, without a doubt, a strong Celtic influence over the entire genre of Arthurian literature. This shaky scholarship, coupled with a printing that is riddled with spelling/graphical errors unfortunatley leads to a strong warning of caution to any potential reader.

For those who cling stubbornly to the customary interpretations of the Arthurian sagas as being wholly Celtic in nature, this book may well present what appears implausible evidence. But for those who seek further than the past thousand years for clues about the nature of the Arthurian drama and the quest for the Holy Grail, as well as many of the symbols surrounding it, this book offers much convincing evidence that rings true on many levels. Strongly recommended!

This book was a great pleasure to read.I not only reread Herodotus, I did the Illias as well - again. Great book, well written, loved it.

A selection from Jill's library, she recommended White's magnum opus to me as a book that she loved from her youth, but wasn't quite sure how well it help up today. After reading it, I can see how it could easily capture the heart of the young. It is like Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings--it opens on a light, fanciful note, then moves into a deepening gloom, filled with despair and humor, epic quests and little character studies, ending on both a sad and hopeful note. The Once and Future King is, of course, Arthur, about whom Sir Mallory made his fame, and made Arthur famous, in L'Morte D'Arthur. White expects his reader to have read Mallory, making reference to it more than once. White is not merely retelling the story of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table (although one can pick up the salient points by reading The Once and Future King); he is using the legend to explore the idea of honor, might, strength, and the feudal system.

Most people are familiar with the opening book of The Once and Future King, "The Sword and the Stone," from the obligatory butchery done to it by Disney. Like Carlos Collodi's Pinocchio and Felix Salten's Bambi, the flesh of White's story--the part that illuminates and fills out the plot--was picked clean from the bones of the structure. You recognize the major points in Disney, but there is always something that gets left out. Disney's version of "The Sword and the Stone" leaves out the rough parts, showing only the fun and fanciful bits (Kay remains, but he is a one-sided shadow of his book self). Yes, it contains humor, but Arthur's upbringing by Merlin also has its dangerous aspects as does Sir Ector's treatment of his young ward. The following three books are as different from "The Sword in the Stone" as Disney's version of it differs from White's. The second book, "The Queen of Air and Darkness," basically sets up the Orkney clan, a hot-headed Scots bunch that Arthur is related to (his father raped their mother's sister). While interesting, it lacks the "story arc" of the first book, and is mainly background for readers to understand why they act like they do in the third and fourth books.

The third book describes how Arthur created the Round Table, and what it's purpose was (to redirect the "might" of the ruling class inward, rather than outward at the people). He achieves his wish too well, creating a competition that he had hoped to avoid (the idea of the Round Table is that all who sit there are equals--no one sits at, or by, the head). Guinevere and Lancelot show up here as well, and the seeds are placed for their betrayal of Arthur (who herein is not that surprised or bothered by their adulterous affair--instead, it is envy of Lancelot by one of the Orkney clan and hatred of Arthur by his half-son Mordred that brings about their downfall). It is this downfall that the last book covers.

Some believe that Tolkien never intended for the Lord of the Rings to be read as an analogy of anything, contradicting the many scholarly essays on how Sauron represents Hitler, etc. White, on the other hand, is definitely saying something here about England, its imperialistic downfall, and the state of the world. Some of it is obvious, as in the discussion of Force Majeure and the concepts of "might" and "right." Other parts require a PhD dissertation. I enjoyed The Once and Future King, but not as much if I had read it as a teenager, or if I had spent more time at it as a college student.

T.H. White's The Once and Future King is an incredibly detailed story of King Arthur's life and reign as King of England. While the book looks intimidating as one picks it up, in reality it is somewhat of an easy read. Once into the book, the reading seems to get easier and more exciting. Although White does overwrite many portions, and seems to attempt to make the book longer, sacrificing quality, he does still manage to maintain a flow to the book.

The first book, The Sword in the Stone, is the same story that everyone knows from their childhood. King Arthur, known then as The Wart, meets a wizard named Merlyn, who using various animals teaches Arthur what he needs to know to be a king. However, White does a good job of including minute details to keep the book far from basic. Although portions of the book including characters such as Robin Hood really have nothing to do with the basic theme, I enjoyed them. These little additions keep the mood of the book from becoming monotonous, and are very insightful.

The second book, The Queen of Air and Darkness was the only book that I truly had trouble reading. It is a poorly written section, and although it does show the Orkney's during the period of their youth, I did not feel it was very important. The only thing it does is to attempt to establish the mindset of the power hungry Orkney family, and to show that their greed and viciousness pose a threat to Arthur later in life. This did not have to be made into another book, and certainly could have been demonstrated in less than a hundred pages.

In contrast to book two, the third book , The Ill Made Knight, was very well written. This is the story of Lancelot, beginning in adolescence and moving forward. It tells the story of his worship of Arthur, and the quest to be a perfect knight. Then it progresses to Lancelot jealousy of Guenever, until that changes into love. This book also describes in detail Lancelot's quest, and then the conflict that arises between the two lovers upon his return. Overall, this was a very well written book, and for pure reading enjoyment, was definitely the best.

Although book three was the easiest to read, book four was by far the most thought provoking. The Candle in the Wind told the story of the downfall of Arthur's kingdom, ranging from the Orkney's greed, to the love affair between Lancelot and Guenever, and Arthur's indecision. I could write much more about this final story, but than I would spoil the ending. This was easily my favorite section because of the depth of it. It may seem boring at first, but if gone over closely, the depths of Arthur's feeling become clear, and the book is very, very moving.

Overall, this was a fairly good book. Books three and four were easily the best, but book two was awful. It is not the kind of book I would suggest for a younger audience to sit down and read because there is little action. People wanting to read it because of the glory of Arthurian legend may be disappointed, but someone willing to get into a book would probably enjoy it very much. I would not suggest anybody younger than a freshman in high school read it, but for anybody older who is interested in classic books, this is a very good book to read.

The Once and Future King is by far one of the best books i have ever read. I was assigned this book as a summer reading book, when I first bought the book I was scared by just looking at the size of it. The first book The Sword in the Stone is about Wart and his adventures with Merlyn, animals like ants, fish, and owl's. The story goes off on tangents occasionally but most of them are pretty interesting and have famous characters like Robin Hood. Books 2,3, and 4 all deal with Arthur growing up to be King and Lancelot becoming the greatest knight of all time. It tells the story of Arthur's rise and fall of his Kingdom. If you enjoy the Arthurian legend or if you just want a great fantasy story than you should read this.
Final Note:
Pellinore owns everyone in the story, what, what?
JHS forever.

The Road to Camlann
By:Rosemary Sutcliff
R Bhatt
P.6
This book is about the worst times of the Round Table. There are many wars, treacherous events, and lots of hatred. One of the treacherous events is the love between Queen Guenever and Sir Lancelot. The king's stepson Mordred causes all of this destruction. He wants to destroy the Round Table and gain the throne for himself. In the end everyone loses and many die including King Arthur and Mordred.
I liked some parts of this book and didn't like others. It sometimes got boring but I am very much interested in the medieval times. Especially of King Arthur and the Round Table. The thing that interested me most was a phrase on the front cover. "The darkest days of the Round Table are at hand." This pharse describes the book in one sentence.
I also found another pharse that I liked. " After years of Arthur's fair rule, evil has come to Camelot." This sentence describes the plot of the story. You can conclude from this that many calamities will happen in the book. This is a good book to read if you like suspense, treachery, and wars. Otherwise you may not like it.
My least favorite part was when the final war took place at Camlann. There many knights died and one of them was Mordred. However Sir Gawain died there and King Arthur was wounded and later died aftere the war. The war was very bloody and got a little boring. The most boring part was at the end when a few of the knights including Sir Lancelot become monks. They all eventually died of old age.

Sutcliff depicts these authorian tales with the pace, technique and vigour I have become to associate with her writing. I recommend this particular novel for anybody above the age of 10 years who is interested in historical fiction.

Do you like mythology? Do you like suspense and action? Well, I have the book for you. This book is about the death of King Arthur, and what leads up to his death. The Road to Camlann is about the darkest days of the Round Table. Some of the characters in this book are, of course King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and King Arthur's evil son Mordred. In this book Mordred tries to defeat King Arthur.

I loved The Road to Camlann. It was very suspenseful. It was full of action and intensity. This might be the last book in the series by Sutchcliff, but it is really good. I would definitely recommend this book. It is wonderful!

Many of our roots run deep into Celtic Myth and Legend. The Tuatha de Dannan, their cycle of the Year and many of our holiday names are derived from the Celtic.

But how much does the average pagan know about the stories from whence these things came? How many know the story of Lugh, or the men of Ulster, or even who the Gods of the Britain's were? We may know a fragment here or a passage there, but many of the really good stories go untold.

Mr. Charles Squire has collected some of these stories from the old texts and put them in one place for us to read, without us having to sort through a myriad of books to get just the right ones.

I found his selection to be very deliberate in choosing the stories that epitomize Celtic Mythology. The stories of the Tuatha de Dannan are the foundation of the Celtic Traditions, and from these sprout the Fairy Trads as well. The story of the Kings of Tara are also a good choice for it is part of Gaelic/Irish traditions.

I have always liked the stories of King Cormac and Finn mac Coul. Balor and his daughter, Gwen and Gwyddneu, Manawyddan and the early stories of King Arthur all evoke pictures of heroes and heroines.

If you do not have a collection of Celtic Myths and Legends, then pick this one up. The selection of stories is excellent and gives a good overall picture of the wonderful stories from the Celts. If you already have a book or two, as I do, then supplement your collection with this one. Each of the books I have contain stories that are similar, but there are always the different ones that can not be found elsewhere.

This book is a classic, and is one of the best collections of Celtic myth on the market. Maybe _the_ best. Everyone who is a mythophile or a Celtophile should have a copy of this.

That said, it isn't perfect. Most of the flaws in it can be traced to the time in which it was written (1912). First, it stretches too far to compare everything to a Greek or Roman myth. To call the Dagda "Zeus" or Branwen "Aphrodite" is a little inaccurate, in my opinion, but I try to keep in mind the fact that he was presenting the Celtic myths to an audience obsessed with Greek myths. He even mentioned in his foreword that part of the reason for writing the book is because he was bored with poets' constant classical allusions, and wanted to give them a fresh well of legend on whicb to draw. So, in drawing parallels between Celtic and Greek myth, he was probably just trying to translate the Celtic myths into a format that his audience would understand.

The second, and more serious, gripe is Squire's anti-paganism. He buys into every rumor ever spread about Druidic human sacrifice. While at least one body has been found which was probably the victim of sacrifice, there is no evidence I've seen to indicate that the Celtic religion was the bloodbath it has sometimes been made out to be. Human sacrifice seems to have been present but very rare. Squire loves the Celts' stories, but tends to present the people themselves as bloodthirsty savages in dire need of Christianity to "civilize" them. Again, this may just be a product of Squire's times; he might have had to bash paganism just to get his book published in those days. Or the stories of widespread sacrifice may have been more commonly accepted as historical fact. I don't know. But if you can take his bias with a grain of salt, this is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Celtic myth.

This book is great for the beginning reader of celtic mythology. Although it is fairly heavy reading it covers many points (not always in great depth) that can then be followed up in other books.

A very useful purchase that is opened at least once a week in my household for reference reasons.

This book is only 160 pages and filled with illustrasions but it is very good. I think that this book would be good for eighth grade and up because sometimes it is hard to understand and follow. It also has wonderful illustrations and a summery of each one.

This book is small in size but beautifully illustrated. It is ideal for the person who wants a taste of both Arthurian legend and scholarship and delights in richly colorful reproductions of great masterpieces of art that have been inspired by the legend. It deals with sources for the legend, including reproductions of some documents, themes, main characters, major works, etc.

Young Arthur, (known to everyone else as "Wart",) learns from his tutor, Merlin, stuff that he could only dream about before, coming to life before his eyes. Like watching Jousts, turning in to fish, birds, and other animals, and going on adventures with Robin Wood,(commonly known as Robin Hood.) but makes mistakes, gets injured, and learns from them. And all of this only helps in his future life, and his quest, which is his destiny. I rated the sword in the stone a 5 because It was a extremely good book, and the only things that might affect my judgment is the fact that sometimes they use old English. It is sometimes hard to understand because some of the wording is a little old, and, and stuff like that. But T.H. White is able to incorporate a story of king Arthur, and a story full of distinct, funny and odd people, (basically, a comedy,) in to one great book. Another reason that I think that it is a good book because T.H.White gets really in depth throughout the whole book, he can describe every detail, in other words, he can really "Paint a perfect picture." So all in all I say that if you are interested in King Arthur at all, you should definitely read this book! It does not matter if you are twelve or twenty-one, thirty or seventy, you will truly enjoy The Sword in The Stone. It is definitely a top ten on my list! If you like The Sword in the stone as much as I do, then I recommend reading The Once and Future King, also by T.H.White.

The Sword in the Stone is a truly wonderful book. It is the classic story of young King Arthur, but told in greater depth and detail, and filled with wonderful, humorous characters. The tale so many times retold suddenly becomes fresh and original, as T.H. White's stunning narrative sweeps the reader into the world of Midieval England, and makes the old story come alive in a new and delightful way. Never before has anyone been able to make the old characters of Arthur and Merlyn, Sir Ector and King Pellinore come alive in such a real and fantastic way. The story is brought to life, and is better by far then the traditional telling of the tale. White does not only tell the simple story of the sword in the stone- here he tells the story of the boy who pulled it out. He goes back and tells us about the growing up of this boy, that we might better understand why it was he that was meant for this destiny, and what it was that shaped him for this task. And throughout the entire story, the book sparkles with humour, wit and charm, which is all the better because it is told in Old English. There are too many books these days written in modern language, using slang and twentieth century dialect, so the Sword in the Stone is a delightful change of pace. And while the Old English sounds perfectly authentic, it is not overly used, and is never difficult to understand. My nine year old sister understood it perfectly, when I read it to her. All in all, this story is the best retelling of any Arthurian legend that I have ever read. I would encourage anyone who has an interest in King Arthur to read this book.

A boy named the Arthur, called Wart, livng during the Middle Ages, is taught by a magician about the past, present, and future, and about all creatures living on the Earth. When the opportunity arises for the Wart to become King, he must recall everything he has learned to pull the magic sword from the stone and become the new leader of England. I enjoyed this book because it had so many exciting battles and page turning adventures. Even a small bit about Robin Hood! The plot really doesn't appear until the last few chapters, where you realized that every story within the book was connected all along. It is nice to know that there are fun and interesting books to read about the Medeival times. I think that if you are looking for a book with lots of adventure, this is truely one that you should read.

'The Eagle and the Sword' is an incredibly heavy-handed dull book. Attanasio uses a running narrative for the entire 340 pages, so that instead of feeling like a part of the action, the reader is treated to a history lesson. (Example: This happened, then this happened..and then this happened..That's the basic gist of it)

At several points I found myself wondering whether English is Attanasio's original language, or whether this book had been translated from another tongue. It's hard to believe that this is the same author responsible for the stunning Adam Lee 'Dominions of Irth' trilogy.

The eagle and the sword proved to be a very entertaining continuation of Mr. Attanasio's very literate version of the Arthurian legend; however, I must say that it did not fully live up to it's predecessor, the dragon and the unicorn. The book has less of the beautiful mysticism and focuses more on the life of Arthur (I suppose it is Arthurian legend after all). To me, the best ingredient in this book is the character of The Demon Lailoken, aka Myrddin, aka Merlinus, aka Merlin. The characters of Arthur, Morgeu the Fey, and The Furor are well thought out and vivid, but Merlin and Prince Bright Night(a prince of the Daoine Sid) steal the show. For me, the most fabulous section of the story was when Hannes (an unlikely apprentice of Merlin) enters the shadowy twilight world of the "hollow hills" to bring back Excalibur. The preternatural, eerie scene almost wails it's otherworldly ululation right off the page. Overall, the book is a very interesting read. I reccomend it (and the series) for anyone interested in Arthurian Legend that is tired of the same old, worn out stories endlessly circulating through the halls of bookstores everywhere. This is a fresh, creative and ingenious new take on the once and future King. Finally, I must say that the archaic and oft difficult to comprehend language of The Dragon and the Unicorn is not carried over to the Eagle and the Sword. This book is a bit easier to read, but just as entertaining.

Lailoken, a.k.a. Merlin, Aquila Regalis Thor, a.k.a. Arthor, and Morgue the Fey are the three main characters in the book. In this book, a demon-turn wizard in a human guise, creates the glorious kingdom of Camelot, while looking for a true king, despite complications by the powerful sorceress Morgue who seeks to avenge her father who had accidentally been killed by Merlin. However, as Arthor takes his title as king, Merlin discovers that Arthor is but a callow youth whose only joy is killing and destroying; can he be stopped? I was greatly entertained by this fantasy novel with all of its action and suspense. The way the author displayed the legendary events in Arthor's time was very detailed and vivid; it allowed the book to come to life. I could see and feel Merlin's long battles with Morgue. It felt like I had a front row seat as a spectator when Arthor pulled the sword Excaliber out from the giant stone! I also enjoyed how the author created distinct, unique, and bold personalities for each of the main characters in the story. What the characters wore was interesting because their attire had come to symbolize each of them: Merlin with his glamorous and magical robes, Arthor with his sharp and heavy suit of armor, and Morgue with her light and seemingly swift sheets, appearing and disappearing with the wind. I thought the characters were magnificently done. So, I would like to conclude my review of The Eagle and the Sword by congratulating the author, A.A. Attanasio, on doing a great job of compiling all of the widely known, as well as some not-so-well known, characters and events into one fabulous book. I highly recommened reading this book to anyone at or above the age of 12! I assure you that you will enjoy this book as much as I did!