The Crystal Cave (1970)

4.5 stars ( )

This is the most convincing retelling of the tales I have ever come across. The tale is told by Merlin himself as an old man, looking back on an extraordinary life lived in the courts of great kings and warriors, but also among the plain folk of the Welsh hills. It is a world in turmoil, the Romans have left and a gaggle of small Celtic kingdoms has sprung up in their wake, who are now beleaguered by bands of Saxons who have come to settle and build their own kingdoms. This is the tale of his youth as a bastard prince, an exile in Brittany, and his return with the last Roman-descended king to Britain who dies before his task is fulfilled. Merlin picks up where he left off and plans the intrigue that will see the conception of Arthur.
The world he describes looks and feels real, petty concerns, powerful emotions, strong convictions drive the characters. All the time there is the sense of knowledge and old powers dying, the sense that Merlin is the last of a vanishing breed. Great stuff. ( )

It's hard to put my finger on what bothered me about The Crystal Cave. On the surface, it's something I should love: other people whose taste I trust loved it, and tore through it; it deals with Merlin, whose life I'm interested in; it's set in Wales; I enjoy elaborations on less explored facets of the legends... But somehow, it just took me far too long to get through it, and I happily abandoned it for whatever else looked interesting, given half a chance.

Merlin's voice never quite felt real to me, for a start. I know that it's a retrospective voice, but it's so very measured, and few parts felt truly passionate. The one image that's likely to stick in my head is actually the image of Merlin travelling back to England with the king-stone stolen from Ireland, while Ambrosius lies in bed dying. The relationship between those two, I enjoyed. Mary Stewart's Ambrosius was quite similar to Rosemary Sutcliff's Ambrosius, though, which didn't do this book any favours, since I got to the part with Ambrosius after having read Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset.

The whole thing about Merlin needing to remain a virgin bothered me a little. I dislike the 'women are eviiil and will steal your poweeer' trope, even if it is balanced a little by the strong and clear-headed figures of Niniane and Ygraine -- although I would have loved to see more of those two women as women, and not just the concern about who they were sleeping with. And there were several throwaway comments about women that made me disinclined to like Merlin, e.g. "Duchess and slut alike, they need not even study to deceive."

I was also fond of a couple of minor characters, who died, which doesn't help with my disinclination to read the rest of the series. Maybe someday, not now. ( )

Definitely one of the best Arthurian re-tellings that's out there. Reminds me of Mary Renault in style - also definitely a good thing. ( )

This story if the first of four books dealing with the legends of Merlin, King Arthur and Camelot.

Ambrosius and Uther are the sons of a British king who has been defeated and they have fled across the channel to an area called Less Britain (Brittany?) to regroup and gain strength. Years ago Ambrosius had a secret liaison with the daughter of the King of Wales, Niniane. But he left her when he fled, not knowing she was pregnant. The son that was born to Niniane was named Myriddn Emrys , but he was known as Merlin. Despite his mother's rank he was nonetheless a bastard and looked down upon. He mother refused to name her lover despite torture and Merlin was not looked on with his Grandfather's favor even though royal bastards are plentiful in those times.

Merlin grew up keeping secrets, hiding in the shadows and eventually met his destiny in the form of an old man who taught him medicine, botany and many other things. The old man lived in a cave that had a secret compartment filled with crystals. It was here that Merlin had his first visions and he knew that God had plans for him. These were the times when paganism and Christianity existed side by side,and while Merlin believed there were many gods in and around the earth he knew that there was one God supreme and it was this God that was to use him an an instrument.

Thus begins the story of Merlin the magician. Mary Stewart grabs ahold of the reader and takes them back to the days when Britain was overrun by Saxons, many small kingdoms with their leaders alway warring to gain more territory. The tale is exciting and engrossing. I have already started The Hollow Hills which is the following book. ( )