The Crystal Cave (Arthurian Saga #1) in J.R.R. Tolkien

Nov 26, 2008 Terence rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arthuriana, historical-fiction

Alas, The Crystal Cave has lost the glamour that it had exercised over my mind since I first read it when I was around 12 or 13. I can remember possessing the Science Fiction Book Club edition, one of the first books I (ahem…mom) bought after joining the club, and I remember being enthralled by the story of Merlin’s early life and the telling of Arthur’s story from a mostly historical, nonfastastical point of view.

And I still enjoyed reading it this time. I recalled many scenes from my first rea Alas, The Crystal Cave has lost the glamour that it had exercised over my mind since I first read it when I was around 12 or 13. I can remember possessing the Science Fiction Book Club edition, one of the first books I (ahem…mom) bought after joining the club, and I remember being enthralled by the story of Merlin’s early life and the telling of Arthur’s story from a mostly historical, nonfastastical point of view.

And I still enjoyed reading it this time. I recalled many scenes from my first reading (which does suggest the impact it had on me as a kid) and I still appreciate Stewart’s version of “what really happened.”

But I’m no longer that 13-year old, and I would likely have given it a reserved, not enthusiastic three stars if I were rating it today.

I rapidly lost interest in the story in the midst of the second book. Upon reflection, I believe it came about because Merlin – even over the course of this first book – rapidly began to lose his humanity and the tale turned to Arthur, whom I found boring at the time. The first part of The Crystal Cave is interesting precisely because we’re watching a little boy trying to come to grips with the absence of his father, his own genius and an unreliable ability to See. By the time Merlin grows up and returns to Britain to prepare the way for Ambrosius’ – his father’s – invasion, he’s become something of a self-righteous fanatic and misogynist.

A second reason the The Crystal Cave has lost its “magic” is that I’m far more knowledgeable about the period than I was at 13. The physical evocation of late-5th century Britain remains believable but the politics and the ethos of the Britons doesn’t ring as true. For example, did the Britons ever consider themselves “Britons”? I recently finished a book (UnRoman Britain: Exposing the Great Myth of Britannia) that argues not only did the Britons never fully assimilate into the Roman Empire, they never forgot the tribal associations of their pre-Roman history.

I’m going to go ahead and reread The Hollow Hills to see if my reactions this time are similar or whether my growth as a reader will have changed my perceptions. If they have, I’ll finally have the incentive to finish the series with The Last Enchantment and The Wicked Day. ...more

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Jun 14, 2017 Jessica (Books: A true story) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: blog, amazon, 4-stars, paperback, book-club, library-2017

The Crystal Cave felt like history more than fiction. I guess that's why it's called a legend. What's real and what isn't? The mixture of real places, possibly real events and wars, ancient religions like the Druids, and completely made up magic make this legend so interesting to read. Since not much is known about the druids, you can make anything up and who knows, it could be true! The map at the beginning of the book is of England with Stonehenge marked on it. The plot of The Crystal Cav The Crystal Cave felt like history more than fiction. I guess that's why it's called a legend. What's real and what isn't? The mixture of real places, possibly real events and wars, ancient religions like the Druids, and completely made up magic make this legend so interesting to read. Since not much is known about the druids, you can make anything up and who knows, it could be true! The map at the beginning of the book is of England with Stonehenge marked on it. The plot of The Crystal Cave ends up with someone buried at Stonehenge. I had no idea that Stonehenge is actually a cemetery until I read this book. And then when I thought there was another cool location I could visit in real life, a fictional place would be thrown in (or maybe a place that just doesn't exist anymore??) Sadly, I could not find a place called Killare Castle in real life.

The magic was very subtle which made it feel more realistic. It almost doesn't even feel like magic since Merlin has no control over it. Is his sight instinct or magic? Arthurian legend has always had that hint of this could have really happened. I found myself looking things up like the mysterious Mithras religion, which I learned is Roman in origin and has some similarities in symbolism to Christianity.

Speaking of symbolism, The Crystal Cave was full of animal symbolism that I didn't get until we discussed them at book club.

The Bear represents King Arthur
The Dove represents Merlin as a boy
The Falcon represents Merlin as a man
The Wolf represents Vortigern and his dirty tactics
The red dragon represents Ambrosius
I haven't read a lot of Arthurian legend and I like that Mary Stewart explained where her version came from at the end of the book.

"Historically speaking, the Historia Regum Brittaniae is appalling, but as a story it is tremendous stuff, and has been a source and inspiration for the great cycle of tales called the Matter of Britain, from Malory's Morte d'Arthur to Tennyson's Idylls of the King, from Parsifal to Camelot."

-Mary Stewart, The Crystal Cave (Author' Note) pg 492

In the Author's Note she explains where location names came from, how her story differs from the other Arthurian legends mentioned above, and why she chose certain character names. This nerd loved reading it.

As much as I liked the story and the rich world building that you expect from fantasy, there were a few things that I didn't like. There is some foreshadowing that doesn't amount to anything. Merlin says that King Gorlan is his real father but it doesn't turn out to be true. It doesn't make sense because all his other premonitions end up being true. Is this a plot hole? Or did I miss something? The rampant and casual sexism was probably accurate for the time but I still found it awful to read. The Crystal Cave has a huge cast of characters that have similar names and complicated relationships that I found hard to keep straight. ...more

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Jan 15, 2014 WhatShouldIRead added it · review of another edition

Shelves: did-not-finish, arthur, 2014

After being on my 'currently reading' list for 3 weeks and not making any progress, I figured it was time to retire this one.

I read to almost half so I hope to pick it back up once I find myself looking for a good Arthur legend story. After coming this far I would hate to just abandon it altogether.

...more

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