King of the Middle March

A really strong tale set during the beginning of the Fourth Crusade. It is strange to find so many knight who, like Lord Stephen, can barely see or who, like Sir William, are failing in all their faculties. I guess the young knights are supposed to do the athletic portion of the fighting.

The terrible things he has observed and been unable, mostly, to prevent and even the very real fighting he has had to do himself, mostly against his fellow crusaders has changed the protagonist greatly. The previous books were not very easy going, but this book, since it is set in the middle of a war is by far the most difficult and contains the most terrible and barbaric events.

The protagonist's metaphor of himself as the apple containing the knowledge show more of good and evil in the garden of Eden is really striking.

Michael Maloney's reading is excellent. show less

The third in a trilogy telling of the life of a 12th Century boy who can "see" something of the life and heroism of King Arthur. The language tends to be a bit simplistic, even for a young person but the story is interesting and does a very nice job of packing information about the period and some moral lessons in with enough adventure to keep a child engaged.

Sixteen-year-old Arthur leaves the Middle March to go on a crusade. He makes new friends, gets to know his real father better but does not really learn to like him but never makes it to Jerusalem. The obsidian is still part of his life and he continues to follow King Arthur's and his knights' lives in it.

OK but did not engross me.

The book after this in the series "Gatty's Tale", I didn't enjoy quite as much, probably because I wasn't quite convinced that in the Middle Ages a peasant girl could become a fine lady so easily.

Arthur - King of the Middle March ist der dritte Teil der Artus-Trilogie von Kevin Crossley-Holland. Der Leser begleitet (Sir) Arthur de Gortanore auf dem 4. Kreuzzug (1202/03), der unter keinem guten Stern stand. Gleichzeitig sieht Arthur in seinem Stein das Ende der klassischen Artussaga - die Liebesgeschichte zwischen Lancelot und Guinivere, das Auseinanderbrechen der Tafelrunde und schließlich die Schlacht Mordred vs. Artus. Zum Glück geht die Geschichte für Arthur besser aus, auch wenn er realisieren muss, dass Krieg alles andere als heroisch ist.

Wie die letzten Bände auch ist die Geschichte in viele (hier: 112) in der Regel sehr kurze Kapitel eingeteilt. Sonst waren es auch mehr Schlaglichter auf die Geschehnisse um 1200, show more abgewechselt mit Erzählungen der Artussage. Im dritten Band ist die Erzählung durchgehender, da waren die kurzen Kapitel am Anfang etwas irritierend, auch, weil wenig Entwicklung statt fand. Zum Ende hin las sich die Geschichte dann nochmal flüssiger.

Insgesamt ein überzeugendes Konzept, die Artussage mit dem mittelalterlichen Leben in England an der Grenze zu Wales und einem Kreuzzug zu verknüpfen. So, wie Kevin Crossley-Holland das mittelalterliche Leben beschreibt, könnte es wohl wirklich gewesen sein. show less