The Story of King Arthur

by Robin Lister

Fourteen tales from the magical land of Camelot -- stories about the Round Table, the doomed love of Lancelot and Guinevere, the quest of for the Holy Grail, the magic of Merlin and the treachery of Morgan le Fay -- are sure to capture the imaginations of young readers. Atmospheric illustrations by Alan Baker depict the medieval times.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Arthurian, Fantasy, Adventure

173 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1988

Reviews

[Farah Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

To get an insight of the legend and some of the basic facts then this is a great book. The images go along really nicely and the way it is put together. Everyone has their own twists on the legend and I really like Robin's account of the events. I love the Authurian legend and learning about the complexity of relationships in a run down way is so much more clearer way like the ship to Avalon and all the tales of Lancelot. He is more complex than I thought.

[Sterling Wesson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a big fantasy person, and at times this was hard to follow. But I found myself enjoying it quite a bit once I started to understand who was who, and the illustrations throughout are very pretty to look at. They really help to enhance the story and show what the words are saying. This was fun, short and sweet.

[iz]

this king Arthur book is from Merlin's perspective which was a groovy twist, resulting in a couple of tales at the start from before Arthur's reign, an addition I enjoyed as it's not something that's often included in a vast quantity of King Arthur retellings.

[Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Shayyan Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it although took more time than expected to finish and not really sure when I started reading but that's the magic of a book. The story was well written and composed I would recommend it to anybody. Bummer for the sad ending, though...
Overall it is a book for all ages. Great contradiction and creativeness but other than the fiction you can learn a thing or two. Finally, this book is supposedly thought of as a sad tale after reading the whole thing.
For all ages.
Would recommend it!!!

[Will Dickinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although King Arthur was based on a true person, this story is very much fiction. King Arthur was the main character for the majority of the story. Arthur was introduced to the readers when he was first born and Merlin the wizard decided to raise him. Merlin looked forward to raising Arthur because he knew that Arthur had the ability to become someone great, and he did. Arthur was a special person because was placed into a position of leadership at a very young age and he quickly developed into one of greatest leaders in world history. His motivational qualities were immense because he got an entire empire to follow him and his cause while he was only a teenager. Merlin the Wizard was another very important character, especially in the beginning of the novel. Merlin was a wizard of sorts, well to be specific he was taught powers from his grandfather that were magical. He was a very kind person, he served as an advisor to many people because he was so wise and reasonable. To Arthur, Merlin was more than just and advisor, he was a father-like figure.
Being a big fan of the story of King Arthur i was impressed by this version of the tale. Although the story very much lacks all the side storys that go alongside the story of king, it helps you understand the character Arthur alot better. The reader gets the feeling of knowing Arthur because we are introduced to him while he is a yound child and get to see good character development. After Arthur becomes the king in the story there is just constant conflict from there on out. Whether its conflict concerning Merlin the Wizard or conflict concerning the Knights of the round table the story keeps the reader on the edge of there seat. I recommend this novel to anyone who is intrested in a quick read that will keep you intrested the whole way through.

[David Huang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the character King Arthur is an actual or real person the novel is much fictional. I decided to read this book because I enjoy the fairy tale version of the story. I thought Arthur was a very interesting character because he can be courageous and yet be very emotional and inspirational. The setting of the novel is very dramatic, the story is basically about King Arthur's life with his ups and downs. What I found interesting was at the end Merlin was very calm about Arthur's parting probably because he was a very wise man. What I thought deeply about after reading this book was that the world thousands of years ago was completely different to what we are now, which is unbelievable to think.

[Sean3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I learned from this book was that I didn't know that Merlin"s Grandfather was a king and Merlin's Grandfather had magic powers. Also I didn't know that Lancelot was born in France and that Lancelot had two brothers. I did't know that Lancelot was in love with Arthur's wife Guinevere. I meen if Arthur found out that Lancelot and Guinevere loved each other he would probally kill Lancelot immediately and kill guinevere on a stake and burn here.

[Your Common House Bat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably would have liked this book more if it wasn't written like a 100+ page summary. I've read quite a few King Arthur/Merlin books and this one just didn't really get me as intrigued as other tellings of it.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, but with this book you understand king arthur much better

[Kelsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the beginning of a long love of all things King Arthur. By far one of my favorite tellings.

[Terryjean · Rating 3 out of 5]

good to revisit the stories but so much angst.