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Loading... Celtika (2001)by Robert Holdstock
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.  Arbieroo | Jul 17, 2020 |    ) babybelle | Jul 2, 2013 | moonsoar | Jun 7, 2011 | jbekesi | Jan 3, 2008 |  ) jguy7500 | Aug 13, 2007 | no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesThe Merlin Codex (book 1) Is contained inAwards
Centuries before he meets Arthur, Merlin wanders the earth, eternally young, a traveler on the path of magic and learning. During his journeys he encounters Jason and joins his search for the Golden Fleece. It is a decision that will cost him dear... Hundreds of years later, Merlin hears of a screaming ship in a northern lake and divines that it is the Argo...that Jason still screams out for his sons, stolen by the enchantress Medea and thought dead. But death is not the end, and Merlin's trek to the north leads to the revival of both man and ship, and a new quest, with new companions-to find Jason's sons. Roving from the frozen north to the blighted island that will become Arthur's realm, from the deep forests of ancient Britain to the sun-washed shores of ancient Greece, Merlin's journey is an epic tale of mystery and enchantment. Celtika begins a retelling of the Arthurian legend unlike any other. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.29)
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Wikipedia in English
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Flash forward 700 years and it turns out that Merlin was one of the Argonauts and that he's discovered that Medea did not kill Jason's sons afterall - in fact they are alive in the present, hundreds of years after they should be dead even if they had lived to old age.
Jason isn't dead, either - he's half-dead in the bottom of a demon haunted lake, protected and kept from fully dying by the Spirit of his ship, the Argo. Merlin brings both from the bottom of the lake and restores them to full life. A new quest begins with new Argonauts, a renewed Argo carrying a forest Goddess rather than Hera and only Jason and Merlin remaining from the quest for the fleece. This time Jason is searching for his sons but the voyage of the Argo proves as inordinately long and difficult as the previous ones and the story is not over when the end of the book arrives - indeed there are two more volumes following.
The story is set mainly in the lands and time of the Pagan Celts and I've never come across a more convincing evocation of them; it's not a suprise though - rather to be expected from the author of the Mythago books - and it transpires that there is a gigantic Mythago Wood in Britain, known to one of the New Argonauts, Urtha, whose home borders it, as Ghostland.
Merlin is an intriguing character with an intriguing background. His mastery of the natural magic in the world comes from charms written on his bones and his tale (he tells it himself in the first person) is a strange one. I'm very keen to finish it. (