The Once and Future King

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Summary: Try again, T.H. White
Review: I had to read this book for school. I stopped halfway through and had to force myself to keep reading this book. I easily confused fact with fiction because "The Once and Future King" mentions so many legends about King Arthur such as The Sword in the Stone. Any person could become easily confused between fact and fiction. "The Once and Future King" is a collection of 4 stories about King Arthur. The first story is about his childhood. The secon and third stories are about his reign as king, and the fourth story is about the end of his reign as king. There is no action because King Arthur just sits around and brags about his castle, knights, and everything else. His knights also brag a lot. Once in the book, a knight of the Round Table yielded(forfeited)a jousting match against Sir Lancelot when he was disguised as Sir Kay and Sir Kay took all the credit and bragged for hours. This book was not very well written because it didn't grasp and hold the attention of the person who was reading it. Any action lasted 2-3 pages and all of the boring parts stretched over many more pages. At one point, Arthur went on a quest and 12 pages were used to describe how they set up camp. This book is also very gory. A man cut off his adulteress wife's head and it explains this action in great detail. This book lacks in action, clarification, quality, and value.

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Summary: One of the greatest adapted fantasy novels ever written.
Review: First of all, if you are going to read this book you have really got to forget this "real King Arthur" thing and just accept the book as a fictional story as another reviewer said. Now, saying that this book is well written is an understatement. As you read, the text begins to flow in a very smooth ryhthm. TH white paints a lovely painting about this legend. This was also good because the language was modernized to fit anyone who wants to read it today. Many people do not know that the Arthurian legend can be compared to Carl Jung's archetypes. For example-the paradoxical unity of the King/Queen power coupling. The energies of a warrior, a Magician, a coward, a hero, a weakling, a know it all trickster, an addicted lover, etc. King Arthur is the land and the land is King Arthur. A good king gives life to things, while a tyrant takes it away. And when the King is powerful so is the land. When King Arthur found out about Sir Lancelot's betrayel, and Guenivere's disloyalty, King Arthur becomes a miserable weakling. Then the land has a huge swelling famine. So what does King Arthur do about it? He goes on a quest, to seek the Holy Grail. And whether or not they ever get the grail, the Knights are reunited;and the land's greatness is restored. This book is more than just a bedtime story, it is a portrate of human traits. People beings need images such as these,it's human nature.

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Summary: Wonderful fantasy epic.
Review: Great retelling of King Arthor after Mallory. Don't get bogged down in historical inacuracies or the fact that Arthur is Norman rather than Welsh like in most recent versions. King Arthor isn't a real person he is a real legend and he has been evolving for centuries. Sometimes he's a Celtic warlord other time a Roman general and other times a Norman king. Often Lancelot is by his side, but Lancelot is a French invention added to the story centuries after it originated. So just enjoy this story as fiction, and Legend and don't worry about the "real" king Arthor. The Once and Future King is actually four books (a fifth, The Book of Merlin, is also available but it isn't nearly as good.) Of the four books Ill Made Knight is the best as it deals with Lancelot and Guenivere's affair with such poignancy and heart. The Queen of Air and Darkness is often unecessarily silly and is the worst of the four (I'd give it three stars by itself.) But the whole is an incredible epic. Well worth your time.

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Summary: I don't believe i'll ever come upon a book as good this
Review: I am in senior high and I have a few month before having to move on to the "real world". This book is not just a amazing work of art, but it is a guide onto life. The mesmerizing imagery and the sneaky satires drew me in to the story faster than you can say wow! It allowed me to see things that I've never seen before. It also confermed some of my doubts towards life. This book is better than a classroom. White's way of communication reaches pass your defences and leave you senseless. He takes on the role of Merlyn and makes you his student. I love this book, especialy the lessons and the symbolisms. White satirizes the major world powers without directly putting down his own thoughts. This book is for all ages. As long as you have an obsession towards learning and strive to better yourself. I mean, who could be a better teacher than Merlyn-"Education is experience, and the essence of experience is self-reliance." This is a must read!

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Summary: A Sea Of Arthurian Enchantment
Review: I read this book when I was 12...I loved it back then...although it was the Sword In The Stone first part that enchanted me growing up...Arthur learning with the animals with Merlyn at his side...now in later years as I reach mid thirties, I've re-discovered this timely book...and it is the latter parts that draw me in...here are characters that are truly human and flawed, many striving for the high ideals of chivalry of which all but one fall short...TH White is my first inspiration...the characters of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere are well developed...Gawaine is perhaps one of the most interesting...hotheaded,proud yet endearing..... the book is well written, enriched by a multitude of literary influences from Lewis Carroll to Cervantes...the best modern Arthurian retelling

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Summary: Arthurian Legend as Insight into Humanity
Review: This was a wonderful book, to say the least. It was one I meant to read when I was 15 but found myself too young and too undisciplined to achieve that goal. Now, at age thirty, I marvel at the depth of philosophical insight captured in the pages of "The Once and Future King": the truths exposed in human nature, the complexities of issues within society, and the realities of political movements. I took notes during my reading to categorize some of TH White's more fascinating and intricate observations, particularly his opinions on war and education, love and resignation, youth and consequence and the intractability of certain moral problems. I recommend this book to anyone searching for a fun novel -- peppered with modern refernces alongside ancient retellings - that makes you think and reflect on your place in the world.

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Summary: Read with caution
Review: White's novel is testimony to his exceptional writing skills, but White fictionalizes history in ways that can be misleading. The great irony of this book is that, in spite of White's diatribes against the Celts, Arthur himself was of Celtic origin. To learn the real story behind the Arthur legend, I recommend Ashe's book The Discovery of King Arthur. If Arthur really was Riothamus, this defeats the political agenda of White's novel.

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Summary: One of the great fantasy novels
Review: White's masterpiece stands with a few other 20th century works as timeless classics of fantasy: THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE WORM OUROBOROS, and perhaps Crowley's LITTLE, BIG. A number of reviewers claim that the book is "boring"--perhaps they were too young (although I certainly enjoyed the book when I was no older than 12) or have television-age (not even feature-film length!) attention spans... At any rate, THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING can only be considered boring in the sense that it is not a sequence of battles or magic tricks. Instead, it is a retelling of one of the Great Stories; and in the end, it is a telling of the story of what it means to be a good man.

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Summary: "Read it and be glad you are human..."
Review: Whenever I need to truly escape, to take my heart and my mind to a far away place, I re-read the Once and Future King.  My mother, who calls this a classic, took lessons from it to teach us when we were young (about growing up and becoming self-aware).  This is the story of the boy who will be King Arthur, and his friend, mentor, and guide, Merlin.  The boy (called "Wart") spends a childhood of magnificent talking beasts and fascinating creatures.  He develops with guidance into the kind and balanced King Arthur.  It is the tale of Camelot as one might imagine it long before Hollywood glossed it over.  T. H. White wrote this in 1939.  To old to be relevant today?  You will find this paperback on the front counters of every and any Border's and Barnes and Noble's you enter.  The reviewer who mirrored closest my own feelings wrote, "...a warm, sad, glinting, rich, mystical, true and beautiful tapestry of human history and human spirit.  Read it and laugh.  Read it and learn.  Read it and be glad you are human."  Exactly. 

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Summary: A Creative Mix of Hopes, Dreams and Imagination
Review: The Once and Future King is the unforgettable tale of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, as well as Merlin, the King's friend and Royal Adviser. The story covers all of Arthur's life, from his childhood to his wife's betrayal. Arthur is a very likable character, as are his friends and family -- despite the fact that one hates the actions of certain characters, their personalities are irresistible. Emotion flows freely throughout this story as you feel Arthur's pain, confusion, love, and victory. For this truly is the story of a man who gave up many things that he had to make the world a better place for all. It is simple enough for children to understand, yet complex enough for adults to find a deeper meaning. This is a story for anyone who has ever watched Disney's The Sword and the Stone and wondered where Arthur's nickname, Wart, came from, a story for anyone who fell in love with princesses or dragons as a child, a story for anyone who has ever had a dream -- in short, it is a tale for everyone.