by Ellen Phillips & The Editors Time-Life Books
“The prisoners of Annwfyn had reigned in an ear when
humankind seemed more vulnerable and the princes of Fairie wandered freely on
the earth. Arthur was the lord of a new age. The star of human power, he
gathered the realms of Britain into his hands. Even Arthur, however, could not
safely insult the hidden elder world that was not human. The Prince of Annwfn
took vengeance for the loss of their treasure. Their eyes were keen, their
reach long, their weapons many, their patience infinite. They sent their servants
among the conquering mortals, servants who worked in secret ways, who formed
with threads of shadow the cracks that caused the British King’s bright honor
to crumble into dust and ruin to settle on his dominion.”
Volume 15 of The Enchanted World series, The Fall of
Camelot, is a departure for the series. Previously, each book had a specific
theme and all the stories revolved around it, but they could come from any time
and any region in the world. This however is very specific in date and place. The
Fall of Camelot is a retelling of the Matter of Britain - that the lord of King
Arthur from beginning to end, containing all the old characters you know. And
while many of the previous volumes have stories from Arthurian Legend, but I am
happy to say that none are repeated in this book.
This book is a valid interpretation of the legends of
King Arthur. It keeps to the original themes of the Enchanted World Series with
the old ways, and the time of Fairie, losing power before the God of Reason
while still affecting the real world. In a way, King Arthur is the
quintessential pivoting on this axis. For we begin with much sorcery, and
fairies, ogres, giants, raids into the otherworld, but by the end its men
fighting against men, with a son and father killing each other. The return of
Excalibur (or Caliburn as it’s called in this tome) of the Lady of the Lake
represents the end of the era of magic and fairies. Men are now on their own,
for good or ill.
The book keeps a solid pace, essentially telling one
tale, instead of a collection of stories, about the rise and fall of King
Arthur and Camelot. Granted, the author picks and chooses those tales and parts
which fits his interpretation, from a much larger boy of work, but it is almost
impossible to include all of the stories, as many are contradictory, and be
able to maintain a stable narrative. The art, as always, is extraordinary.
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