The Once and Future King

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional
Review: I was browsing in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of my bookstore, and this book intriqued me. Only when I had begun to read it did i realize that it was a timeless tale. I grew up watching Disney's The Sword and the Stone. I might mention that I am merely 13, and some parts of the book are a bit confusing (like, skipping around, and similar characters with similar names). I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: My all time favorite book
Review: I first read this book when I was 11 years old and stayed up all night reading it. I have re-read it about every 10 years since (I am now 40) and got something different out of it at each age. I still loved it each time. It says something about the depth of the book that it could seem so completely different to me now than it did 20 years ago. I am a voracious reader, and I have never been sucked into a book like I have been with this one.

Rating:
Summary: One Of The Greatest Books Of All Time
Review: The Once and Future king is more than a story about a boy who becomes king. It is a commentary on humanity whose wit, whim, love, power, sadness, and simplicity tell us so much about ourselves. It is one from which the reader emerges better, sadder, and wiser. It is truly the story of all things lost and wonderful and sad. Read this one. Read it because you want to, because you have to, because you are human.

Rating:
Summary: SATAN SPAWN
Review: a TRULY INSPIRING BOOK.......THE FIRST OF ITS KIND I EVER READ ALSO TRY THE "WHEEL OF TIME" AND THE SWORD OF TRUTH SERIES WIZARDS FIRST RULE , STONE OF TEARS, BLOOD OF THE FOLD, AND CASTLE OF THE WINDS

Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: If you're interested in Arthur, begin with this book, otherwise your attention might wander a bit. (I read this one after reading Mallory's "Morte d'Arthur" and I fully agree with White's comments on the battles and tournaments: ("Let's skip the parts where Sir Somebody smote somebody, took his horse and gave it to Sir This or That")). This book is one of the funniest, well-written, interesting books I've ever read. Sir Ector, especially, is wonderful - not to mention Merlin! The story about Lancelot, the lady and her lost hawk (and her husband) is one of the (many) highlights in this masterpiece. Another good thing about this book is it's length. You've got hours of reading. Do it

Rating:
Summary: A Once and Future Book
Review: What makes a book a good book? An interesting plot? Sure. An original approach to the subject? Of course. Beauty in style? Without a doubt. The Once and Future King by Terence Hanbury White is certainly a good book. But it's also a great book, and that's because it gets to your soul. Starting as lightfooted proze, this recreation (naming it retelling does the book unjustice) of the Arthurian legend, slowly turns into dark drama. You are sucked into the story: when White writes that the sun shines, you feel the warmth on your skin; when he tells of a Christmas hunting party, you feel the crisp snow under your feet. And at the end of the tale you ask yourself, as does Arthur, is Might Right? And you feel truly sorry for the heroes of the story, who are full of good intentions, but are defeated in the end by the gosts from their past. As White wrote himself at the start of the second book: When shall I be dead and rid of the wrong my father did, how long, how long till spade and hearse put to sleep my mother's curse? And if the above is not enough to convince you: The Once and Future King is the only book I got twice: 1 original version and 1 translation in my native language.

Rating:
Summary: The greatest 'King Arthur' since Malory
Review: This book tells the story of not only bloody gore and deadly knights, but of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenever's emotions leading up and to the tragic end of his civilization, and also describes why Arthur was like he was, and barely twists the story, but does it in a way that makes it even better to read. This truly is the best King Arthuur since Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D' Arthur. Perhaps even better

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the finest retelling of the Arthurian legend
Review: This is perhaps the finest retelling of the Arthurian legend. The work conveys a broad swath of emotions from humor and youthful idealism, to introspection and self doubt, to grief and quiet resolution. The author, by making a slight, but crucial modification to the story -- Lancelot is physically hideous in this telling -- offers tremendous emotional and psychological depth to the characters and their relationships. The work is also notable for how it reveals characters with complex emotions and frailties, seamlessly shifting from internal to detached perspectives. And it is so beautifully written, with quietly lyrical passages that convey the author's passion and knowledge of the subject

Rating:
Summary: Arthur myth lets White coment on what it means to be human
Review: I've always loved the Once and Future King. It can't be said to be neglected, but I think the thriving Arthur cult are by no means the only ones who would love it if they had the chance. Using a twentieth-century convention of speech in order to allow the reader to identify with the characters' concerns and dramatize the fairy-tale nature of the world around them, White gradually alters the tone of the four "Books" from whimsically silly (Arthur's childhood in "The Sword in The Stone") to high tragedy at the end of the tale. Any reader who had special skills or experiences as a kid that made it hard to fit in will identify with White's version of "The Ill-Made Knight," Sir Lancelot, who is the real hero of most of the story. This is simply a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING
Review: OMG THIS BOOK SUCKS IM FORCED TO READ THIS BOOK FOR SUMMER READING AND ITS BORING ITS GOES SO DETAILED THAT ITS REALLY SLOW. IM SORRY BUT THIS BOOK IS VERY SLOW I ONLY GIVE IT 1 STAR CAUSE THERE IS ONE PART THAT IS ACTUALLY INTERESTING....WHICH IS THE END!!!!!!!!!!!