TOMORROW'S MAGIC

Rating:
Summary: A novel take on the Arthurian legend
Review: A sequel to "Winter of Magic's Return" this book deals with King Arthur's return to England, with the aid of a very young Merlin and his companions. Set in a nuclear winter where technology barely exists and magic is staging a comeback this is a highly amusing book. Merlin (for reasons explained in the prior book) is in his late teens and his two companions are also teens of that era. The three of them, plus Arthur are attempting to reunite the various duchis, kingdoms and principalities that England has become, against Arthur's old enemy Morgan Le Fay. While not as fascinating as the book that preceded it, this is still a servicable sequel, although i wish there were one to this as well.

Rating:
Summary: A novel take on the Arthurian legend
Review: A sequel to "Winter of Magic's Return" this book deals with King Arthur's return to England, with the aid of a very young Merlin and his companions. Set in a nuclear winter where technology barely exists and magic is staging a comeback this is a highly amusing book. Merlin (for reasons explained in the prior book) is in his late teens and his two companions are also teens of that era. The three of them, plus Arthur are attempting to reunite the various duchis, kingdoms and principalities that England has become, against Arthur's old enemy Morgan Le Fay. While not as fascinating as the book that preceded it, this is still a servicable sequel, although i wish there were one to this as well.

Rating:
Summary: If you give a wizard a nuclear warhead...
Review: I don't know why these ("Winter of Magic's Return" and "Tomorrow's Magic", the review is for both) were recommended to me. There's nothing special about them; their bindings are old standard-library issue with a blurred picture and un-breakable binding (I must add something: "Tomorrow's Magic" has someone on the cover and I can't figure out whether it's Morgan or Merlin). Maybe it was because my friend knew I was digging through Arthurian legends and needed a respite from Malory and his Bible-sized work, maybe it was because we were in the area and she needed to lure me away from the brightly illustrated "The Vampire Goes to the Farm". *snicker* Whatever the reason, the heart or the shoes...

Service's series tells the tale of a post-Apocalyptic world in which everyone but the British are dead (essentially). England (and Ireland, Scotland, and Wales) have been reduced to feudal states harried by "muties" (radiation-mutated humanoids). And, at some point or another, Merlin was nuked out of his cave. Yes, that's right boys and girls, now you can destroy magic with nukes-- maybe if we bomb Iraq we'll find the Holy Grail. Anyways... thanks to some arcane plothole, Merlin has gone amnesiac on us and is fourteen (he moans about not having a beard almost as often as he turns things purple). There's some stereotypical geeks who find their inner strength/beauty travelling with him and to find King Arthur-- though why getting Arthur from Avalon is a good thing isn't explained in "Winter of Magic's Return". Morgan is portrayed as the evil, petty, destructive witch, which grates on me since I subscribe to the Bradley-esque "Good Morgan" school of thought.

These books are absurd, badly written, and poorly contrived, but I would recommend them to any would-be-author-- they'll make you feel better about yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent sequel to WINTER OF MAGIC'S RETURN . . .
Review: I just want to know when Ms. Service is going to come out with a third book!

This is a magical follow-up to WINTER OF MAGIC'S RETURN, and it focuses on the trio of close friends, Welly, Heather, and the youthened Merlin, now known as Earl. Five centuries after nuclear devastation, magic finally returns to the world, and King Arthur as returned to Britain in time of her need. However, as evidenced in the title, there is a new kind of magic appearing in the world -- and there may not be any room for Earl's magic now! As fun a romp as the previous book!