Rating: 
Summary: One of my favorite books of all time
Review: I have always loved Arthurian legend since discovering TH White's "The Once and Future King" in college. I adored that book and was hooked, but found most Arthurian books did not measure up - until Mary Stewart's series came out.I read it many year ago when it was first published, so had the agonizing wait of years between each episode in the trilogy. It was torture, but well worth it. The Crystal Cave was a marvelous book, but each book in the series is marvelous. Mary Stewart is one of my favorite authors. Merlin truly comes to life in this book as he has in no other. The only other book I have read that addresses Merlin is Stephen Lawhead's and that series, while decent, is merely a pale imitation of the depth and power of Stewart's series. I wish Mary Stewart could continue to write forever.
Rating:
Summary: The best realistic account of Merlin
Review: The series that starts with the Crystal Cave has to be one of the most accurate and interesting trilogy I've ever read. Also, the sequels become richer and more entertaining, unlike other series of novels that dry up after the first book. Anyone interested in fantasy or mythology will enjoy this book.
Rating: 
Summary: If Merlin was a real person,this is what he'd be
Review: For many people the name Merlin conjures up a mysterious figure who aided King Arthur with all kinds of spells.This is the saga of Merlin as he may have actualy existed.It traces his early life and the surprising discovery of his true heritage. The story reveals what could've been the truth behind all the legends and shows that Merlin was a real man,a little bit smarter than many of the others at the time.The naarative is fascinating as it recounts realistic events which were(of course) exaggerated more and more in the retelling.Mary Stewart did her research on early England well,and told a true-to-life tale with her own magic.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: This is one of the best examples of Arthurian Legend and tales of Merlin I have ever read. I highly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys reading about Merlin and Arthur (even though Arthur isn't in the story yet). If you don't know the legend, however, you might be just a little confused.
Rating: 
Summary: Confused
Review: I don't really know if it would be that boring but it is now because are teacher is forcing us to read it. The fastest way to turn people away from a book is to make them read it. Another thing, I really don't understand whats going on in the book. To me it's as if the characters are not throughly introduced just kind of thrown in there. I just don't understand some of it maybe its my age or something or that I'm not really interested in it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: A wonderful and refreshing look at an old legend. It's great to read a fantastical tale without the fantastical characters. Mary Stewart has written a wonderful array of non-heroic characters in a hitherto overly heroic topic. The characters are very believable if not always likable, and always very human. I have reserved the last star not because of any fault in the book, but because of the the existance of other greats, such as 'Lord of the Rings', or the 'Cosmic Trilogy', to which few authors can hope to aspire. A very strong recommend for all readers.
Rating: 
Summary: okay, knowledge of the merlin legend would help
Review: This book was detailed but the story itself was really neat. I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if I knew about the Merlin legend in greater detail. I chose this book for a book report and as I was going back and re-reading chapters I understood what was happening a lot better. My advice to people is to read this book if you are really in to the Middle ages and the Merlin Legend. I was caught unprepared for such a detailed and complicated book.
Rating:
Summary: clearly not as good as claimed
Review: the reason why this book got such a good review is as follows. the people who hate this book such as myself, do not often write reviews about books they do not like. try reading the "Pendragon Cycle" by Stephen R. Lawhead. it is a much more enjoyable book on arthurian legend.
Rating:
Summary: This was a good book.
Review: The Crystal Cave, and the rest of the Merlin books are some of the best that I've read. Even though they onlly gave it four and a half of those little stars, it deserves five. I can't even begin to describe how good this book was and how it affected me, and the quality of the writing. I know, this paragraph is total cheeze, but when something's that great, it's necessary.
Rating:
Summary: Um...WOW
Review: I think we'll probably never know what the real Arthur of Britain was like, if indeed there ever was such a man. However, of all the Arthurian books in the world (which I admit I have not read most of), Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy seems to me the most authentic. A lot of it deals with real historic events, such as the Romans in Britain, and suppression of paganism, the raising of Stonehenge, and so on, all of which is incredibly fascinating, esp. to a medieval scholar such as myself. (Aint no perfectly pure Medieval Christian knights HERE, thank you.) The trilogy centers around Merlin, and "Crystal Cave" actually gives the reader a glimpse of Merlin's early years, following him through his rise to power to the conception of Arthur. A formerly shadowy creature is brought wonderfully to light in this book since it's Merlin himself who tells the story. (Arthur actually has very little to do in the trilogy, which is just fine.) This is an incredible page-turner. Once you start, you're pretty much hooked. There are very few books I'll read a second time, but this is one.
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