Product Description

Fifth century Britain is a country in chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal. This is Merlin's world - the illegitimate son of a South Wales princess - he is aware of the gift of "the sight". The other books in this trilogy include "The Hollow Hills" and "The Last Enchantment".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46470 in Books
• Published on: 1983-10-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Review
'Vivid, enthralling, absolutely first-class' -- Daily Mail 'Mary Stewart brilliantly recreates the Britain of the fifth century' -- Books And Bookmen 'Her style is simple yet vivid, displaying a love of words and the sounds they make, and her story is poetically imaginative' -- Daily Telegraph 'A deft colourful ... re-creation of Merlin's early life' -- Sunday Times 'A fascinating story which lays a firm hold on the imagination' -- The Scotsman 'Mary Stewart lightens the Dark Ages with legend, pure invention and a lively sense of history. -- New York Times

Books And Bookmen
'Mary Stewart brilliantly recreates the Britain of the fifth century'

Sunday Times
'A deft colourful . . . re-creation of Merlin's early life'

Customer Reviews

Engaging re-telling of the life of Merlin
The Crystal Cave is one of a multitude of fictional works pertaining to the times and life of the legendary King Arthur. It differs from the others however, in that it focuses on the life of the great enchanter Merlin, who although intrinsic to the legend, rarely is considered by authors as a principal character of their stories. Generally, Merlin is presented as a learned sage of whose earlier life little is known. Mary Stewart shows Merlin to be more human, than the reader has encountered him in the other Arthurian tales. She achieves it by creating for him a childhood and parentage. In the popular myth it is believed that Merlin was a devil- begotten child, hence his magical powers. The Crystal Cave shows him a very real person possessed of heightened perceptions and extraordinary intellect, which a medieval audience, whence the original stories of Arthur stem, would very likely have equated with powers beyond an ordinary mortal. The book is an engaging and highly probable tale, beautifully written and entertaining. Mary Stewart cleverly links her story with original legend and her fresh approach makes for excellent reading. Even an adult reader well familiar with the legend will be transported to another world, one he might not have visited since his childhood days.

Favourite retelling of the Arthur myth
First read this series (Crystal Cave - Hollow Hills - Last Enchantment - Wicked Day) in the seventies and it stands the test of time well.

Mary Stewart makes the best attempt I have so far read to combine most of the legends passed down to us (especially Geoffrey of Monmouth who is her main source) with such historical knowledge of the period as was available at the time. And she does it in a way that is highly readable, with convincing characters, good pace, and a version as near plausible as anything that must cover some magical element can be.

Monmouth would have voted for it.

Merlin from boy to profit... and it's actually quite believable...
Mary Stewart's much lauded Merlin Trilogy starts here. As a regular reader of fantasy novels, and a sucker for King Arthur and everything related to him since I was little, I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy, and in particular the Crystal Cave.

Stewart takes on the unenviable task of making a character of extreme legend - Merlin - and focussing a story on him. The reason it works comfortably and entertainingly is that she works in interesting bits of history with the legend. She looks for the links between the legend (based on older versions of the Merlin stories) and facts. You still have to suspend your disbelief, and Merlin still works magic, but he is also an engineer and a mathematician. Overall, he's clever, brave, lucky, and a little blessed by the gods.

The Crystal Cave follows Merlin from childhood through a number of the famous early episodes of his life - such as the dragons under Vortigern's fortress. It adds some twists and turns, and a little humour. It links him with a variety of powerful figures from the time's history, and shows us of course all sides of being a young profit and wizard!

I can recommend this novel. It is not a rip-roaring blockbuster, but it moves on with purpose and a good deal of interest. And there are scenes here that are as vivid and engrossing as one can hope for in a novel.