Merlin

by Jane Yolen, Tim Waggoner, Marc Bilgrey, et al.

Book Overview

Representing diverse cultural viewpoints, Muslim Women in War and Crisis collects an array of original essays that highlight the experiences and perspectives of Muslim women--their dreams and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0886778417
• ISBN13: 9780886778415
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Daw Books
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 1 year and up

Customer Reviews

The good outweighs the bad

At the halfway point, this anthology appeared to be heading for a three-star rating, but a series of strong entries in the latter half of the book enabled it to go up a star. The experienced reader will start out with certain expectations of a Merlin-themed Greenberg anthology, and, in that vein, the book does not disappoint: we have Merlin in the present; Merlin in the future; Merlin (or other Arthurian characters) as endlessly-reincarnated epic archetypes; "parallel" stories whose characters' names are comically derivative of the originals; and a couple of instances where Merlin namedrops T. H. White (though not Marion Zimmer Bradley, as far as I recall). As is often the case, someone else has already done a good job of listing and briefly describing the individual stories, but I can certainly weigh in with the high points as I see them. I particularly enjoyed the pieces that played fast and loose with the Arthurian genre. Most (but not all) of these are humorous pieces, such as Thomsen's "Mouse and the Magic Guy," a detective story set in a rather untraditional Arthurian setting where the usual elements appear to have been recombined slightly differently; Dungate's "The Magic Roundabout," which inserts a pair of dogs and their young owners into a modern version of the myth in place of the principals; and Braunbeck's "The Ballad of the Side Street Wizard," an entertaining look at a perpetually drunk birthday party magician who may or may not be the titular wizard (this one felt a little generic; it wouldn't have worked any less well if it had just been a generic wizard rather than Merlin himself). A more serious standout is Norman's "The Wild Hunt," a future tale postulating a series of Merlins (not entirely unlike "The Santa Clause" in concept, actually), in which a paradigm shift is brought about by the selection of a Merlin unlike any that has come before. Though there are many peaks, there are a few troughs as well: Helfer's "The Final Battle" (a rather generic story that could easily have been transposed into a non-Arthurian millieu and lost nothing) has a predictable ending that falls absolutely flat; and Friesner and Stutzman's "Repro Man" is an uninspired retread of a theme that's been done much better by others. The rest fall in the middle; McConchie's "Other Agendas," for example, is a nice "Sword and Sorceress" sort of tale, though with a corny ending, and Pecks's "The Well-Made Knight" presents us with an original variation on the theme of the magical construct, though the creature's exact nature isn't revealed until the very end, as a wisp of another rich but very different culture insinuates its way into the saga. A lot of these sorts of anthologies come with recommendations to consume them a story or two at a time; I usually disregard this advice, but in this case, I pass it on instead. Because each of these stories, however original, deals with the same cast of characters, a little of it goes a very long way, even if th

1 poem+19 stories - fantasy, urban fantasy, tragedy, comedy

The tragic treatments generally fare better than the comic, though some are neither. Bilgrey, Marc: Merlin, "Waiting for Tomorrow" and the return of his king and his duties, loses more of his heart on each rare occasion when he falls in love with a mortal woman who reminds him of lost Nimue. Braunbeck, Gary A.: "The Ballad of the Side Street Wizard" An alcoholic stage-magician, who isn't sure whether he's the real Merlin, must get through a birthday gig, despite the 6-tier wedding cake in his car. (He'd planned to propose to his beloved, but she just became engaged to Arturo the mechanic). de Lint, Charles: "Forest of Stone" appears in TAPPING THE DREAM TREE. Davis, R.: Who, of all Arthur's court, had the greatest motive to bring about "The End of Summer" at Camlann? And Merlin, of all men, has the wit to understand the truth behind Arthur's fall. Dungate, Pauline E.: "The Magic Roundabout" is in present-day Birmingham, inhabited by an unnamed old man who goes unnoticed; after all, who really *looks* at a roundabout, except the parks people who care for the plants - the old man himself? Interesting urban fantasy twist, matching modern names and characters - two of them *dogs* - to the figures of legend. Friesner, Esther M. and Anne Elizabeth Stutzman: "Repro Man" Merlin is once more trying to civilize a teenager - only this time, it's not Arthur, but his daughter Maisie in the modern world. (Merlin's nostalgic about dealing with demons, who are at least adults who'll talk sense.) Maisie's become romantically involved with the son of a female free-range genie, who empathizes about what the young are coming to these days. :) Helfers, John: "The Final Battle" isn't about Camlann, but Merlin's awakening after a millennium of sleep, and the unexpected appearance of a young man whose presence *destroys* Merlin's magic - and even after a thousand years, Merlin knows Mordred by sight. But how can this be, when the intruder apparently lacks magic himself? Massie-Ferch, Kathleen M.: Merlin, "Touched by Moonlight and Sunshine", seeks power from his beloved Lady of the Lake for Arthur's sake. McConchie, Lyn: "Other Agendas" Aging Nimue, preparing a spell that will transform her into the young Merlin, foolishly substitutes ingredients, more foolishly uses an incomplete copy of the spell, and won't give up upon the first failed attempt. Norman, Lisanne: "The Wild Hunt" This version of Merlin - the name/title of the chief of the Druids - has reached the end of his tenure, when his memories will be transferred to the next unwitting youngster marked for the mantle, and the current Nimue's role will change from that of younger student/lover to that of elder mentor. But the 2nd-ranking druid has developed an evil-vizier complex, and dreams of rearranging the system... Norton, Andre: "Root and Branch Shall Change" doesn't pick up MERLIN'S MIRROR's storyline. Paxson, Diana L.: When the "Cauldron of Light" vanishes, Merlin comes out of retirement to join t

Excellent book which brings all of wizardry together

An excellent book, not for the faint of heart. If you like other fantasy books this one is for you. If you like the hobbit, well step back, this one is twice as good!