Last Enchantment

Rating:
Summary: Engaging and Exiting!
Review: Having never read anything about Arthurian legend, I was hesitant to pick my first introduction to it. I feel that I chose wisely in Mary Stewart's trilogy. Her writing will draw you into the story, and each book assumes you have little to no knowledge from the previous books (which was great for me, it helped to hear some of it again). I just found myself wishing afterwards there could have been a little more romance! However, I guess these books were more about Merlin, not Arthur or Guinevere. Another confusing aspect is that some of the more familiar names have been changed, and some are repeated. Having no base knowlege of the legend this was slightly confusing for me. Anyway, these books are highly enjoyable and I would definitely recomend them.

Rating:
Summary: Great end to a great trilogy
Review: I have become a huge Mary Stewart fan after finished these three well-written books. This final book gives a great conclusion to an amazingly eloquent trilogy. I was so disappointed that it has come to and end and am ready to start the fourth book, The Wicked Day.

Rating:
Summary: The Audio Version is Truly Moving
Review: The first book was good, the second book was slow, but important to the series. I was somewhat weary to pick up this last book, one reason i wasn't sure what to expect and the other was actually that i was finally reaching the end and did i really want it to end??? I didn't. This book, the Last Enchantment was by far the best. The last three hundred pages kept you wondering, whats this mean? What will happen? it seemed like the story should end in some parts even though you saw that there was a hundred or fifty pages left and knew that there was more. You grow old with Merlin throughout this triology. Something you rarely do in other triologys, but here you do and it adds alot. 5 stars and more are deserved, did i mention the discriptions are absoulutly wonderfull and vivid???

Rating:
Summary: The Last Enchantment
Review: The last enchantment was a great book for me to read. The book is set somewhere around the 5th century and is about the arthurian legend. Although the book is based on a very well known legend, Mary Stewart puts it in a totally new and controversial perspective looking at Merlin as very human with feelings like the rest of us, instead of an old and evil wizard with the blue hat and stars. The story is told from Merlin's point of view after he is old and retired, and is a very captivating read.

Merlin has successfully seated Arthur on the throne and now must protect Arthur from the many dangers of kingship, after doing that for a bit Merlin goes into retirement and takes an apprentice Nimue who later becomes the replacement of Arthur. Merlin lives out a full life but the book does not tell of how he dies.

The book is a very thoughtful and exciting read. I thought that the book not only stimulates the mind but also moves the heart. The book is written in the first person, so you can really empathise with the character. I would recommend this book to anyone regardless of whether they like fantasy or not.

Rating:
Summary: A Magnificent Epic Continues But Does Not End
Review: The Story: "The Last Enchantment" is Book Three of Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy, and focuses on how Merlin meets, trains, and falls in love with Nimue, while helping Arthur solidify his kingdom and deal with the follies of Guinevere and other members of Court. Merlin and Arthur have to decide what to do about Arthur's sister, Morgan, and half-sister, Morgause, who separately plot against Arthur, and as well deciding upon the disposition of Morgause's five sons, one of whom is Mordred, illegitimate son of Arthur.

Technical: The writing of Mary Stewart is highly detailed and takes patience, but nothing is extraneous or irrelevant. Ms. Stewart's writing style reminds me of Sir Walter Scott's writing style in "Ivanhoe".

Overall: A great epic continues, but the reader must be patient and up to the challenge of a long, intricate, and detailed saga. When I first read this trilogy, the fourth book did not yet exist. Because the fourth book, "The Wicked Day", focusing on Mordred, exists, I'm more satisfied with the ending of "The Last Enchantment".

Rating:
Summary: A Magnificent Epic Continues But Does Not End
Review: The Story: "The Last Enchantment" is Book Three of Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy, and focuses on how Merlin meets, trains, and falls in love with Nimue, while helping Arthur solidify his kingdom and deal with the follies of Guinevere and other members of Court. Merlin and Arthur have to decide what to do about Arthur's sister, Morgan, and half-sister, Morgause, who separately plot against Arthur, and as well deciding upon the disposition of Morgause's five sons, one of whom is Mordred, illegitimate son of Arthur.

Technical: The writing of Mary Stewart is highly detailed and takes patience, but nothing is extraneous or irrelevant. Ms. Stewart's writing style reminds me of Sir Walter Scott's writing style in "Ivanhoe".

Overall: A great epic continues, but the reader must be patient and up to the challenge of a long, intricate, and detailed saga. When I first read this trilogy, the fourth book did not yet exist. Because the fourth book, "The Wicked Day", focusing on Mordred, exists, I'm more satisfied with the ending of "The Last Enchantment".

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent storytelling
Review: This book embodies all that is wonderful about Arthurian literature and fiction in general: fancy, treachery, romance, and friendship. A great sequel to the Crystal Cave.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent storytelling
Review: This book embodies all that is wonderful about Arthurian literature and fiction in general: fancy, treachery, romance, and friendship. A great sequel to the Crystal Cave.

Rating:
Summary: The best king Arthur story.
Review: This is a great book and concludes a fabulous triology. Stewart finds just the right balance of historical fiction and fantasy, creating a Merlin and King Arthur who are not as they really were but are has they might have been if we indulge a imagination just a little. The characters are real and compelling. And though all three books are accessible to young readers, the books are just as entertaining for adults. I can't say enough about this trilogy.

Rating:
Summary: The best king Arthur story.
Review: This is a great book and concludes a fabulous triology. Stewart finds just the right balance of historical fiction and fantasy, creating a Merlin and King Arthur who are not as they really were but are has they might have been if we indulge a imagination just a little. The characters are real and compelling. And though all three books are accessible to young readers, the books are just as entertaining for adults. I can't say enough about this trilogy.