First of a series set in 1199 told by a boy called Arthur who has some kind of connection to the legendary Arthur, as he can view his exploits through the 'seeing stone' of the title. Ostensibly, it was marketed to children, but there is a really graphic account of killing a pig in it which I think children would find upsetting, for a start.

Quite interesting, but I acquired this and book 2 without realising they were a trilogy and don't want to get the third. ( )

First in a trilogy of kids' books, centering around a 12 year old boy in 1199, who gets given a "seeing stone" of Obsidian by Merlin, and sees a corresponding story of Arthur the once and future king.[return][return]Not too bad for a children's story

READING LEVEL: 4.3 AR POINTS: 10.0

This is the first book in the Arthur Trilogy. It's hard to believe this was actually written for young adult readers. I found it difficult to follow and understand. It is supposed to be a bit of retelling of the legend of the early life of King Arthur through the "seeing stone". But, it seemed more fantasy than anything. It is set in the March of Wales during A.D. 1199-1200 and told in the first person by the main character, 13-year old Arthur de Caldicot, where he learns his life runs parallel to King Arthur's life.

Arthur was given the "seeing stone" by Merlin, the wizard. The stone is an obsidian stone and is square, kind of flat and pure black, bumpy on one side and slick, mirror-like on the other, where the stone tells the story. This stone has special powers that Arthur will soon learn about. But, he is to protect this stone, and it's secrecy, with his life, or else the stone loses its powers. The stone reveals different things in life to whom ever owns the stone. This is Arthur's journey.

Unfortunately, this kind of story was just not my cup of tea. I, personally, would prefer to read a truly historical novel based on all real events of King Arthur's life without all the magic and superstition. The problem for me is I have no earthly idea what part of the story could be true of King Arthur's young life, and the book doesn't offer any notes to let us know. I also was thrown off by the choppiness of the story with super short chapters that seemed to jump around from one random subject to another. At times, I was lost in the medieval terminology and also confused about which life I was reading into, Arthur's present day situation or inside the seeing stone. It wasn't always so clear to me. ( )

[This is a review I wrote in 2007]

Young Arthur, at the age of 13, in the year 1199, is given a beautiful obsidian stone by a man named Merlin. The boy Arthur lives a normal, if priveleged, existence as a page to his father on a wealthy manor in the Marches, just on the "England" side of the border with Wales. He lives together with his parents, his elder brother and younger sister, and he dreams of nothing other than one day becoming a Squire.

The stone seems perfectly normal at first, and then one day Arthur starts to see images in the stone and a story starts to emerge... a story featuring another young boy named Arthur!

The plot is really good, and with the awards that the book received, including winning the "Guardian Children's Fiction" prize, I was expecting it to be that good. However, I was quite disappointed to find that the text of this average-length book had been chopped up into a staggering 100 chapters, some just the length of a short paragraph!! I felt as though I literally "struggled" through to Chapter 33 as the text, for me, was lacking immediacy and flow!

I persevered, and my annoyance at the constant disruptions of thought faded as I was drawn into the lives or Arthur, his family, and their retainers, skilfully woven with the threads of Arthurian Legend. The book is built on solid foundations of well-researched historical evidence regarding the lives and customs of Britons at the turn of the thirteenth century. I now look forward to experiencing the rest of the Arthurian Legend through the eyes of young Arthur, in books two and three ("At the Crossing Places", and "King of the Middle March"). I only hope that the chapters become more substantial and terrible chapter headings such as "Mouthfuls of Air" (Lynne Truss would have a field day with this one!!) are avoided!

A good story - worth reading if you can persevere with the numerous chapters! ( )

A young Arthur living at the end of the twelfth century in England is given an obsidian stone by his father's friend, Merlin. In the stone, he sees the life of another, older Arthur, and their two lives are strangely similar.
Meh. I couldn't get into this one much, although in general it was an okay read. I don't see the point of the link between the two Arthurs and that irritated me and spoiled the book for me a bit. ( )