Rating: 
Summary: An interesting take on the story of Arthur
Review: As an avid reader of the Arthurian legend, I am always thrilled to find a different "take" than the stock retellings. And, in "Mad Merlin", J. Robert King has truly found a different take. This tale is a veritable mind barrage of conflicting theologies and mythos. Unfortunately, this strength was also a weakness for me. Thought I enjoyed the story as a story, I always felt that I was missing something by not being as versed in Norse, Roman, and Greek mythology as the author expected me to be. This is probably a personal problem, but anytime I see reference to Joseph Campbell, as I did in the liner notes of this book, I immediately think "dense and difficult". I realize that this is a weakness on my part, but, hey, I'm giving my take right now. . .None of this is to say I didn't like the book. I enjoyed the alternative characterizations of Merlin as defrocked god and part-time madman, Guinevere as earth mother (a refreshing departure from many of the self-serving, vapid treatments we see all too often), and the more benevolent handling of Nyneve. I have "Lancelot du Lethe" in my possession and it will be the next book I read. My favorite version of Merlin is probably the old standby of Mary Stewart, and "Mad Merlin" has done nothing to change that. But "Mad Merlin" is a welcome addition to the store of contemporary Arthurian literature and I, for one, appreciate every single one of them and enjoy the differences they offer.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of good, some bad.
Review: As the child of someone who studied the King Arthur in great depth, I have been fascinated with Arthur, Merlin, and the whole lot. It is a story told and retold throughout time, and is rarely looked upon with such a fresh set of eyes. This is not the standard fair for an Arthurian Mythos; In fact, Mad Merlin is, in many ways, quite the departure. Fair enough. There are far more views of the legends than are adequately represented in the thousands of fiction stories. Gone is the Merlin who was the quiet orchestrator, the man with a plan who pulled the strings behind it all. In his palce, we find an endearing and often humorous, yet tragic wizard. His memories are wracked by delusion, a madness to which he believes Arthur to be the cure. Merlin is haunted by delusions so intense he cannot seperate them from reality, which leaves his memory in a fragile status. Had he really been there? Did he dream the past? Was he dreaming of his salvation, or were his visions true? Woven into his madness are gods and the God-Killing sword Excalibur, and the boy that would grow to save him. Through his visions, he orchestrates the birth of Arthur, and he and Ulfius train him so that he may one day become King. Ulfius is a practical man, while Arthur tends to follow "Grandfather" Merlin with awe, latching onto his delusions and fantasies all the while. The first half of the book deals with Arthur's birth through the beginning of his reign, as naysayers challenge the right of a sword-puller to claim the throne. It also deals with the recovery of Merlin's sanity, and his final memories--Both of his origin, and of Excalibur. The second half deals with the aftermath and the forging of the great Kingdom. J. Robert King has taken some brave (And sometimes brilliant) ventures out into left field where the mythology is concerned. He involves Deities of many Pantheons in one large cosmology, where a God is only strong as long as people believe. The Norse God of mischeif plagues Merlin through his madness, and Wotan seeks Excalibur. Jupiter and the Roman Mythology are also present as is the Christian God (Often referred to as the Tetragammaton by fearful pagans). Excalibur and Avalon take their place in this giant mythos, each afforded decent explaination. While I do admire this departure, it was both confusing and contradictory at points. Sometimes I think King got lost too deep in this subplot, when the characters could have used some more attention. It is a minor quibble, however, as the large part of this mythos was pulled off quite marvelously. King's style is quite intruiging. Even when I was uncertain about this book, something in the first few pages drew me in, and kept me reading. Seeing what twists he had in store was quite the treat. Some people will not be pleased by this book. Some people only want to see the story told in variations on one of the many themes it has been presented in. Others will enjoy the book for what it is--A fun read with interesting variatons on an old theme, not a blasphemic slur of something Holy. While I would have liked to see more of the scheming Merlin we know from Malory, the mad mage was quite the enthralling character (He could have done with a little Machiavelli for his madness, though). All in all, an entertaining read. I give it 4 1/2 stars, with the singular caveat that you may not like this book if you cannot look past the difference in the euation. If you love fantasy and unique storytelling, you'll be hard pressed to be disappointed in this book
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: I got about a quarter of the way through the book and lost interest. Apparently, JR King decided since every one was already familiar with Merlin, Arthur, etc, that there was no need for character development. The chapters are each little vignettes - 6-10 page short stories in chronological order. These usually involve Merlin eating everything in sight, forgetting who he is, and casting vast stage magic spells that consume much of the chapter in their descriptions. Arthur has no flaws, and thus is uninteresting. However, JR King does try to flesh out Sir Kay. When we first meet Kay, he is a youngster who is completely obsessed with fantasy. The entire chapter is devoted to his obsession, leaving the other characters barely able to squeak in any sort of personality to the mix. In later chapters however, the obsession is gone, as if it never existed. Kay somehow threw aside the character flaw and became a perfect warrior; thus becoming like Arthur - uninteresting. Maybe it's just me, but the Merlin I'm accustomed to was more of a schemer and plotter than stage magician. His reputation lay more in his mystery and subtlety than vulgar display of power. If you like flashy special-effects and don't really care about plot, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect Arthurian book...
Review: I had already read "Lancelot Du Lethe", but hadn't yet gotten a chance to read this book. To put it simply, this is the story of Arthur in a mythological setting. All the gods are being killed by the Christian God, and Arthur seeks to create a land in which all of them can live in peace.
The overall feel is done well. They present Arthur as a great man, but not as invincible. In fact an unspoken truth goes through the whole book (although it may just be my knowledge of what will happen that made me imagine this), essentially you get the feeling that Arthur is just delaying the inevitable, which he is.
It's certainly an interesting twist to have Merlin be Jupiter, but one thing made the book perfect: the fact that it knows when to be serious, and when to be funny. Dagonet was hilarious, and Loki gave an interesting twist on what "pure evil" means, almost to the point where you wanted to argue against him being so, but couldn't see him doing ANYTHING that was less than amusing to himself (even when he helped others).
Rating: 
Summary: not for true Arthurian legend lovers
Review: I read the first 100 pages of this book - and closed it for good. I wish I had read the available reviews a little closer - mostly to learn that this book is NOT for traditional Arthurian legend lovers. It truly is not. I have read many many very good versions of the Arthurian legend - they are a literary passion of mine. I love how the character's roles can be developed differently in each telling - sometimes only slightly but the different twists are always enjoyable. Merlin has always been dear to my heart...his love for Arthur, his power and magic, his sentiments toward the "old ways", his imposing image. This book portrayed Merlin as a laughable disgusting buffoon - I couldn't even use my well-developed power of imagination to begin to like him. He was gross...eating most of the time but getting most of the food in his beard and on his clothes instead of in his mouth. His magic was a bit much. I much prefer a subtle magic, which stretches the imagination to almost believe it...but not quite. Clouds that form faces and talk...pickles that turn into iron and fly around in mid-air sword-fighting...come on!!! Perhaps I should have given this book more of a chance but it was torture to keep trying.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: J Robert King brilliently takes the story of Merlin, King Arther and Camelot and encapsulates it in a magical fantasy story. I could not put this book down. King's words to describe the actions taking place are of none other I have ever read before. Emotions poored out of me: excitement, sorrow, happines, anger, and even teary eyed . King puts you right there in the story with Merlin and Arthur with great detail of each event happening. No doubt a 5 star, must read, fantasy novel.....
Rating:
Summary: Wherefore art thou Merlin...
Review: King does seem to have made a genuine effort in his first original novel (he's written novelizations, but not original stuff) but unfortunately the result is decidedly unpalatable. This is a very skewed version of Arthurian legend, shot through with dubious mytho-theology and a weird undercurrent spawned by Merlin. Uther Pendragon orders a soldier named Ulfius to bring in the legendary mad wizard Merlin, who lives off in the woods by himself, and can't tell his dreams from reality. Ulfius encounters a horde of beggars claiming to be Merlin - and all exhibit magical powers. He finally finds the real Merlin (who has been watching it all from a hill and talking to the god Loki in the form of a stump) and brings him to Uther. Unfortunately, Uther soon becomes infatuated with Ygraine, the wife of a small lord. In exchange for Merlin's help, Uther promises that any child resulting from his night with Igraine will be given to Merlin, as Merlin foresees that the baby will help him discover who he is. He and baby Arthur end up in the castle of Sir Ector and his imaginative young son Kay. Except for the "true" stories of events centuries before, "Grandfather" and Arthur live peacefully. Then Ulfius reappears ' Uther is dying, and Arthur must be taught to be king. From there it launches into the familiar legend -- from Mad Merlin's perspective, one that spans many lands and many gods. Let me start by saying that I love Merlin -- his independence, intelligence, subtlety and the fact that he is a force unto himself. Many authors have treated him terribly over the years ("Mists of Avalon's" cowed, weak Druid; Rosalind Miles's raving, power-hungry loony) or is beautifully portrayed (Stewart's intelligent, strong Merlin; Jane Yolen's poetic young dreamer; TA Barron's hero of legend). But I have rarely seen a loss of dignity in a character like this. Merlin is often a sympathetic character, especially when he meekly admits that he doesn't know what is real. On the other hand, he also is kind of disgusting, eating all food in sight and getting it on himself. His magic is flashy, without the subtlety we've come to associate with Merlin -- I almost winced when he caused those barrels to explode and dance around the place, while he calmly goes off and eats. And he seems to get kind of nasty when dealing with priests. I commend King for courage in trying to combine different mythos such as Norse, Greek, Roman and so on into one big pantheon. It takes a lot of guts to go into such an attempt; and, admittedly, it was intriguing to read about his theories on the origins of Excalibur. That was original and intriguing. Unfortunately he includes Christianity in the mix, and can't seem to make up his mind whether he's for or against the Christian God (who, for some reason, is called Tetragrammaton. Don't ask why, I'm not sure myself). God is more powerful than the pagan deities and is slowly pushing them into extinction, yet there is none of the exploration into Christianity as there is into the other faiths (and Christianity teaches that there is only ONE God, not Big God over Little Gods, as it is implied here) Arthur, Ector, Uther, and most of the characters are pretty much ordinary. Kay is intriguing because of his obsessive love of fantasy; Igraine is given a spine and a brain, she's not just a passive pawn who gets pregnant by Uther, but a strong woman dragged into a very difficult situation; Ulfius is one of the best, an intelligent and courageous man who has to deal with a seeming lunatic and events far out of his control. He's by far the most human character of all. King's writing is excellent, managing to draw mental images into the mind, such as the mob of loonies and beggers who are suddenly endowed with magical powers. Sadly the storyline does not match the excellent writing. I see that he's putting out "Lancelot du Lethe." Given the dissimilarity of the two characters, I sincerely hope that his second effort is superior, and will read it optimistically when it comes out. But if you want Merlin, read Mary Stewart, TA Barron, or Jane Yolen. You won't find him here.
Rating: 
Summary: Get that wizard some prozac
Review: Mad Merlin is yet another take on the King Arthur legends of early Britain. Sometimes, it seems like Arthurian pastiches are a dime a dozen. But King does a wonderful job of mixing the legends with other mythologies, creating a taut tale of magic, intrigue, violence and royalty that will take your breath away. Books based on the Arthur legends can be predictable, and in a sense this isn't any different. However, King throws so many interesting side elements into the mix that the reader is constantly wondering what's going to come next. He has created, in Mad Merlin, a very interesting character that you want to read about. Not only is he destined to aid Arthur in his quest, but through Arthur he will come to know his own mind. He is truly mad at the beginning of the book, and it is only through his actions and his time with Arthur that he slowly becomes aware of who and what he is. What is his relation to Excalibur? What is the source of his power? As the book goes on, you find out more and more and the story never lets you go. I'm not going to reveal Merlin's secret, but it just adds another intriguing layer to an already interesting character. The side elements are the flavoring for the Arthurian myths, and they make the book a great read. King throws in the Roman pantheon of gods, the Norse gods, the land of the fey (fairies, pixies, nayads, and many other mystical creatures) and tells a tale not just of personal destiny (in the case of King Arthur) but also of religious destiny. The war is not just between men, but between gods. There are a lot of Christian images that will infringe on the other pantheons if they don't fight back. Christ himself is not portrayed in any way, but the Christian mythos is portrayed as an overwhelming force that will wipe out anything that stands in its path. I liked how this book moved beyond the typical Arthurian legends, even as it rewrote them. All of the main elements are there: Merlin, Guinevere, Excalibur, the Lady of the Lake (though she's called something different in this one), Camelot, and the Round Table. Lancelot doesn't show up until the next book, though (one which I will also review shortly). Even the origins of Morgan Le Fay and Arthur's son Mordred are detailed, probably in much the same way as the legends go, though the details surrounding these events are different. There's even the act of Arthur removing the sword from the stone, though the circumstances are very different, and it even becomes a bad thing that he does it when he does. This impulsive mistake drives the action for the rest of the book, and adds an interesting element to the mix. The language and the prose King uses are magnificent. It took me forever to read this book (and the next one), and I thought it was because of the mood I was in. But I'm reading another, lighter book now, and I'm breezing through it. Looking back on this book, I realize that it's the beauty of the imagery and description that kept me going so slowly. King really knows how to tell a story. When the battles rage, you're right there with blood flowing, heads being caved in and swords finding their way into the seams of plate mail armour. The good times, the festive and romantic times are also well told. At times King gets a bit excessive with the description, but it's so beautiful (or chilling, depending on what is happening), that you normally don't notice. You just notice that you haven't moved very far into the book. There is one strange thing about this book, however. It feels like it's two separate books combined into one. There's no hint that this is true, and books are divided into "Books 1 and 2" quite often. However, the second book begins with a bunch of description of the previous events, a recap of sorts, that isn't really needed considering the events in question happened just a few pages ago. It's almost like the second book was supposed to be published separately (or it was published without any indication in this book of this fact). I found it quite distracting, but thankfully that only lasted until I got into the second book. It was quickly gone again. A couple of other minor problems mar what would otherwise be a marvelous book, both having to do with the ending. The final battle just drags on a little too long, and then the sequence with Loki in the land of the Saxon gods, while entertaining at times, seems a bit useless. I realize that Loki's exploits have a lot to do with Excalibur so they are important to the story, but the writing of these events just makes them feel extraneous. It's the only place where the writing fails a little, and it makes the final sequence more of a chore to get through than it should be. This combined with the seemingly never-ending final battle makes for a dull thud of an ending. All in all, though, this is a great King Arthur book. I picked it up on a whim, and I'm glad I did. What a marvelous mixture of everything. You think you know King Arthur? Think again. Then read this book, and its sequel. You'll be glad you did. David Roy
Rating:
Summary: Took awhile but finally got there...and I enjoyed it.
Review: This book took awhile to get past the normal arthur legend and moved on finally to an interesting twist. I will say I did enjoy the tale in full...but you must read the entire book to realize the writers plan for the story. I would recommend this for a nice change.
Rating:
Summary: Took awhile but finally got there...and I enjoyed it.
Review: This book took awhile to get past the normal arthur legend and moved on finally to an interesting twist. I will say I did enjoy the tale in full...but you must read the entire book to realize the writers plan for the story. I would recommend this for a nice change.
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