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Summary: Steinbeck's Favorite Books
Review: This was John Steinbeck's favorite book his whole life and is one of the best books ever in my opinion. It contains romance, action, humor, and suspense, it is a perfect book, too bad we don't have any modern day Malorys around.
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Summary: Le Morte d'Arthur
Review: This was a very intriguing book. I felt it had very little description used throughout the book, the plot lines were so complexed that they got to point where it was impossible to follow them. Then characters just seemed to come and go throughout the book, sometimes their name was not mentioned for three or four chapters and the bam all the sudden it is like they were there the whole time, but yet it was still so interesting. Mallory did an excellent job just describing the scenery and the daily activities that occurred around the castle. When he tried to describe the feelings or justify the acts of the characters is when the book got too confusing. The way he wrote this book really makes it seem like a legend; the castle is so grand, the people are so happy, the villains are so evil, and the knights are so incredibly strong. My favorite part of the book was at the very beginning when Arthur went to get Excalaber. Mallory described the scenery and the actions with such vivid description it was so easy to get the gist of what was going on. He even throws in some supernatural elements to make this excerpt even more interesting. There was the mystical lady of the lake that could not be seen; all Arthur saw of her was her hand holding Excalaber above the water, and then the fact that Excalaber was just a normal sword and that the scabbard is what was truly magical. Woah this guy threw so many twists and turns in there.
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Summary: AUDIO ODYSSEY THRU THE WORLD OF CHIVALRY
Review: Highbridge Classics' "Le Morte d'Arthur,"as read by legendary British thespian Derek Jacobi, is a great adaptation of Thomas Malory's quintessential Arthurian tome. Newcomers to Malory will find the audio book more accessible than the beautiful but often enigmatic source volume, while long-time Malory devotees will discover fresh nuances in Jacobi's authoritative rendition. Necessarily, some significant abridgements have been made, but at six audiocassettes this production still captures much of the Arthurian world's enormous scope. Featured storylines include Arthur's rise to the throne and his claiming of Excalibur, the epic search for the Holy Grail, the doomed love between Lancelot and Guenever, and the tragic final battle between Arthur and his ill-begotten son, Mordred. Jacobi conveys all the glory of Malory's prose style, while nonetheless cleaning up the diction a bit for modern ears. Finally, Ruth Morse's concise text introduction provides some keen observations on the big picture of the Arthurian myth. A magnificent version of Malory that no lover of Camelot should be without.
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Summary: arthur
Review: this book was a waste of time
do not read this its too long and is boring. Nothing goes on in it and the charecters are stupid. this book is not worth your time. If I was you I would buy GTA Vice City .
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Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is the authoritative version of the Arthurian Legend. Despite its title (meaning the death of Arthur) it deals exhaustively with the life of Arthur and his knights. Malory combined several pe-existing French and English Arthurian tales to create his grand compilation.
Within the pages of this book are found the famous stories of Lancelot and Guenevere, Tristam and Isolde, Galahad and the Holy Grail. However, since Malory write these tales in no paticular order, they are inconsistent here and there. Also, Malory's version of the Grail quest is not even worthy of comparison to earlier versions such as the Old French Poem Perlesvaus or the Didot-Perceval. Still, this is the best version of the Athurian legends ever written.
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Summary: The breadbasket of medieval legends
Review: LE MORTRE D'ARTHUR (The Death of Arthur) was written by Sir Thomas Malory while he was imprisoned for some number of years. It was one of the very first times that the Arthurian legend was penned in English. There were some older Latin fragments of the myth floating around, but it's thru Malory's account by which we know the stories most thoroughly. The most successful movie adaptation of the legend, EXCALIBUR, is based on elements taken from Malory's epic. As I struggled through Chaucer while in college, I've not yet gotten up the courage to read the original middle-English version of this work (my apologies to all of the English professors out there). Therefore, it is good that Mr. Keith Baines was kind enough to translate the middle-English into a more accessible lexicon for me & people like me. Baines reveals the myths and legends in all their glory, and I can't help but believe that he expresses them in at least some measure of their middle-English power. This is an ABSOLUTE must-read for all persons who have even a remote interest in the Arthurian fantasy. Although the book is abridged from the original, it nonetheless contains all of the most famous characters and episodes from the legend. Within these pages, one will encounter Arthur, Gwynevere, Sir Launcelot, Sir Galahad, Sir Modred, Sir Bors, Sir Percivale, Merlin and all the rest. The purity of Galahad is contrasted with the sinful nature & temporary madness of Launcelot. The memorable allegory of Sir Percivale's duel with Satan, as well as so many other knightly adventures, are all recorded for us here. This book is highly recommended to all fans of medieval times, medieval literature, the history of Great Britain and the idea of Chivalry. The codes of honor, the rules of fair play and the heroic ideals conceived by the knights of the middle-ages have followed us down thru the centuries and are still as relevant to the best of us today as they were 500-1500 years ago. The story ends with one of the most memorable Latin phrases in literary history: HIC IACET ARTHURUS, REX QUONDAM REXQUE FUTURUS [Here lies King Arthur, the once and future King] Now for the details, open up the book!
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Summary: Engrossing! Worth the effort it took to read! Excellent!!!
Review: Where do I begin? Watching the film Excalibur inspired me to try to track down this book. I found out shortly after that day of this edition. Boy am I glad I did. The illustrations, whether in color or black and white are absolutely beautiful and vivid. They transport you expertly in your mind to the place being depicted in the image. When I first opened this book I was reminded in a way of reading Scripture almost. This is VERY old English folks, but PLEASE do not let that deter you. It only takes a little while to get used to the wording and you can soon begin to appreciate the "flavor" of, and get lost in the world of this book. To me this is the quintessential story of ideals, one man's dream as he wanted to affect the world for the better, and the problems, trials, and triumphs in his trying to make that dream a reality. It has EVERYTHING. Chivalry, love, honor, family, friendship, conflict, malice, trust, betrayal, and spice too. There is something in here that will surely delight everyone. Just give yourself time to get used to the wording of the text. A glossary is provided for this purpose in the back of the book as well. I loved this text partly BECAUSE of the way it was written, it did not "modernize" or "dumb down" the words. The "flavor" is ancient, noble-sounding, and captivating. It MADE me want to slow down and actually READ this thing, to ABSORB the text and story, the world and the people that live in it. If STAR WARS is a trip to a galaxy far far away, this is a voyage to a past rich in ideals, ideas, and passions of the human heart and soul that seem to have grown either cold, taken for granted, or simply and quite sadly, forgotten in this modern age.
Again...please do NOT be turned off by the archaic writing style. Kick back, open the book, and let it carry you away to a world of romance, beauty, adventure, and passion that has seldom, if ever been equalled in our time. I fell in love with this work, and I think you will too... it can put a spell on you... and draw you into a world that you may wish you never had to leave. Even when you close the book, the allure and beauty and romance of this work just may stay imprinted on your heart forever.
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Summary: Simply Stunning
Review: Most everyone has some knowledge of the King Arthur legend. Either they've read it, been exposed to it by Disney or Robert Goulet, or have just heard of it from someone else that knows. So, I'm not recommending this book so much for the text. The reason why this edition of Le Morte D'Arthur is an absolutely necessary part of any collection is for its stunning illustrations. Anna-Marie Ferguson must have dreamed of Camelot when she was a child for there is simply no other way to explain the attention to detail, the romantic cast to all that we see. As real as Arthur and Lancelot may have seemed to us before, they become infinitely more human in the hands of Ferguson. I never tire of walking to my shelves and pulling out this book to just flip through it. To track my fingertips down the smooth sweep of colors and the beautiful images that really bring Camelot to life.
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Summary: Someone format this text for modern readers
Review: Ever read the Bible? Shakespeare? Well this is harder. This beautiful edition includes and excellent forward, brilliant illustrations and a clean, clear type face and print. Unfortunately the format is from the 1400's. There are nearly no paragraph breaks, no quote marks around dialogue, and few dialogue tags. A difficult text made harder by old fasion formating. What a shame, it would be brillient otherwise.
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Summary: Ancient tales, but inaccurate
Review: This is one view of the famous legend. I prefer the Holy GRail as discussed in the Defenders of the Holy Grail, or the works by Baigent and Lincoln. This is just a space taker for your shelf.
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