L***@gmail.com
2006-07-29 15:29:15 UTC
I just read a new novel about Morgan le Fay. <I>The Circle Cast: The
Lost Years of Morgan le Fay</i> is about what happened to Morgan after
Uther killed her father, and before she shows up all powerful and
vengeful in Arthur's court. Though it's literary (by which I mean
really well written), it's partly an adventure story. She's sent to
Ireland for safety, but there's no safety there. There are slave raids,
and Druids, and early Christian martyrs...
Morgan comes through as a fascinating character, not the
way-too-reasonable Morgan of <I>The Mists of Avalon</i>, but as a girl
holding onto her rage because it's the only way to know who she is. The
story is about how her rage fuels her magic and makes her great -- but
when she has a chance at grace, and another chance at love, her rage
forces her into tragic choices.
The author seems to have done a lot of historical research, because the
book has got a good feel for post-Roman Britain circa 470 AD and
pre-Christian Ireland -- the "civilized" British are writing letters to
each other in Latin while the Saxon barbarians are pounding them, and
the Irish are still illiterate warring tribes raiding each other for
slaves.
But the most interesting part of the book, I think, is the story of how
Morgan comes into her own magical talent. I've never read a story of
magical awakening like this one. The author seems to have a fresh sense
of what magic must feel like to someone who has it, slightly
reminiscent of Ursula K. Leguin's <I>Earthsea</i> books, though more
Wiccan.
The book is marked Young Adult, which I guess is fair. It would be a
good read for that smart 14 year old niece of yours. But I'm 43, and I
liked it, too.
You can only get it from Lulu.com -- I'm not sure why publishers
haven't picked it up, except maybe it's too well written for genre
publishers and mainstream publishers won't pick it up because it's
about magic. The link is: http://www.lulu.com/content/125112.
Lost Years of Morgan le Fay</i> is about what happened to Morgan after
Uther killed her father, and before she shows up all powerful and
vengeful in Arthur's court. Though it's literary (by which I mean
really well written), it's partly an adventure story. She's sent to
Ireland for safety, but there's no safety there. There are slave raids,
and Druids, and early Christian martyrs...
Morgan comes through as a fascinating character, not the
way-too-reasonable Morgan of <I>The Mists of Avalon</i>, but as a girl
holding onto her rage because it's the only way to know who she is. The
story is about how her rage fuels her magic and makes her great -- but
when she has a chance at grace, and another chance at love, her rage
forces her into tragic choices.
The author seems to have done a lot of historical research, because the
book has got a good feel for post-Roman Britain circa 470 AD and
pre-Christian Ireland -- the "civilized" British are writing letters to
each other in Latin while the Saxon barbarians are pounding them, and
the Irish are still illiterate warring tribes raiding each other for
slaves.
But the most interesting part of the book, I think, is the story of how
Morgan comes into her own magical talent. I've never read a story of
magical awakening like this one. The author seems to have a fresh sense
of what magic must feel like to someone who has it, slightly
reminiscent of Ursula K. Leguin's <I>Earthsea</i> books, though more
Wiccan.
The book is marked Young Adult, which I guess is fair. It would be a
good read for that smart 14 year old niece of yours. But I'm 43, and I
liked it, too.
You can only get it from Lulu.com -- I'm not sure why publishers
haven't picked it up, except maybe it's too well written for genre
publishers and mainstream publishers won't pick it up because it's
about magic. The link is: http://www.lulu.com/content/125112.