The Arthurian Saga

I have to admit I never referred to this series as "The Arthurian Saga" growing up, but this is what it appears to be called now.  I am only reviewing the first three books, which form a trilogy.  This consists of  "The Crystal Cave", "The Hollow Hills", and "The Last Enchantment" by Mary Stewart.

 Someone gave me a copy of this series as a child, it took me a few years to get around to reading them, but once I did I loved these books.

 The narrator is Merlin, he tells the story of his life, starting from when he was just a boy.  This is really the story of Merlin, not the story of Arthur.  Arthur does not even exist until the second book, and even then he is still mostly a child.

 Merlin grows up a bastard, living in a minor kingdom where his mother is Queen and married to a man that it not his father.  The story follows his education at the hands a hermit, who Merlin discovers living in a cave not far from his mothers keep.  Later this crystal cave serves as sort of home base for Merlin, he continually returns to it throughout his life.

 Merlin is a very well developed character in the hands of Mary Stewart, she knows how to craft a character and does it expertly here.

 There is very little, almost no magic in this series, and what little "magic" exists could be interpret as just being some inner eye/mind Merlin posses and which he chooses to listen to.

 The series is terrific through the first two books, but I do feel that the third one suffers somewhat.  Merlin is very old by the second half of the third novel, and I felt it negatively effected the story.

 There is a fourth novel of sorts, but Merlin is not the narrator, and the quality is low compared to this masterful work, so reading it is by no means necessary.

9.3/10