The Book of Merlyn (Once and Future King)

I don't know if we'll ever reach a place in this world where we will be able to intervene in our own acts of self-destruction. But if we do, I hope that this book will have helped us get there, and will be there still.

Wonderful characterizations and stories. It is alla dream you know. And thus, all of Mankind continues to dream on, and on.

The Once and Future King ended, or rather stopped at an awkward point. T.H. White was having difficulties with his passivist and non-violent proclivities and the madness that was WWII. He exiled himself to Ireland to avoid the war and then found that the Irish viewed him as an outsider and peculiar to boot. He found the Irish coarse, ill mannered and violent, which explains many of the charatcters in both books. In the end, Arthur must make a choice and Merlin must help him to make it. The high and low comedy that accompanies this process and the unutterable sorrow that all, all of the characters must endure to bring this about is both the pain and the reward of this read. You don't have to know about White's struggles with his conscience to appreciate these two books, but it does inform the reading and it makes Arthur's and Merln's pain that much more poignant. Prepare to weep for Arthur, Merlin, the Hedgehog and all of mankind.

Everything arrived on time and as advertised

The Book of Merlyn was an incredible book, once again proving the genius of T.H. White. This book is the only sensible conclusion to the Once and Future King and should have been included in the original printing. In The Book of Merlyn, we revisit King Arthur on the night before his final battle with his son, Mordred. Feeling dejected and alone, Arthur's mentor, the lovably eccentric and ingenious Merlyn, returns and whisks the king away to learn two final lessons from the animals he knew as a child. This book is not merely a childish fairytale, but rather an in-depth dissection of human nature in which the human condition is explored in depth and the ever-elusive meaning of life is hinted at. A book for the serious reader or any serious fan of Arthur and Merlyn, The Book of Merlyn is a masterpiece from the mind of one of the greatest writers of the past one hundred years.

This is the 5th book in the series. I read it first, and I like it. It is very philosophical, with not many dialogues, but is an excellent book for fans of King Arthur. I had to read it for a class, and in the class there were some student that had read the series but not this book, and when they read this one, they did not like it. They said the other books in the series were better and this one did not felt part of the story, that it was too much. But the students, like me, that haven't read the book, we loved it! So, if you read the series, I think that you don't need to read this one, but if you want to, go ahead. But, if you are thinking of reading this series, maybe you should start with this one.

I love The Once and Future King. This does have some repeated sections from the book. However, I did still enjoy it and thought it was a good read after The Once and Future King. If you have read the previous book, just read this one. Its only a few hundred pages (if that) and goes by really fast. That way you will also make sure you didn't miss anything.

Well I am a big fan of anything to do with the Arthurian legend...of course I have read "The Once and Future King" and was happy to find this other book by the same author...there are some repeats from the main work mentioned, but they do bear re-reading...especially as with the fore-word to this shorter novel you are given a fuller understanding of T.H.White himself and the incredible reason that he wrote these books...as a commentary on the war like propensities of man-kind...fascinating when read from this point of view..have put this book into my re-read kindle folder.

This is pretty much essential reading for anyone who likes and is really interested in 'The Once and Future King', though as Sylvia Townsend Warner acknowledges it is patchy and doctrinaire in places, with a hectoring tone. You have to make allowances. In 'The Once and Future King' White was, among other things, wrestling with man's apparent obsession with war and self-killing. Arthur is aware of this and tries to find ways of combatting that unattractive inclination, first by harnessing might on the side of right, then by introducing laws to which no-one is exempt, even the king (and, more particularly in the narrative, his queen and closest friend). In the end he fails, or believes he has done so, but still touchingly asks his fourteen-year-old page. Tom Malory, to tell his story after his death. In 'The Book of Merlyn', with the help of the animals we met in 'The Sword and the Stone', Merlin seeks to show Arthur how things are with man, what the nature of man really is. It would be easy to assume from this book that White has become a misogynist, so vigorously does the old magician expose the horror of man's nature and behaviour as opposed to that of the animals ; maybe he has. Yet suddenly, just before the end, comes the kind of meltingly touching compassion which I find characteristic of this author and both unusual and very moving - it was there in the moment when Sir Ector bowed the knee to his foster-son, who will be the young king, in the whole treatment of that ill-made knight Sir Lancelot and in the portayal of poor Gawaine in The Candle in the Wind ; elsewhere too. For me, along with a breath-taking section when Arthur flies with the geese, this redeems 'The Book of Merlyn', but it is not as attractive, as enjoyable or as easy to read as his earlier Arthurian books. For those who are not afficianados of 'The Once and Future King', four stars would be a generous estimate, but for me, four it is. Unfortunately for all of us, Merlyn's thesis - produced here in war-time, of course - is horribly persuasive.

A dull, philosophising but goes nowhere piece at the end of the otherwise excellent OaFK book. Also why sell it separately when it's already incorporated into the book.For me a terribly disappointing end to a gothic masterpiece.

This is a beautiful, heartbreaking conclusion to White’s Arthurian cycle, beautifully illustrated in this edition.

What can i say for lovers of romance and the legend of King Arthur , you just want more. Shame this book is not included in the once and future King (though some of it is) as was originally intended, until the publisher stepped in. Buy it, a must read.

Perfect condition and carefully packed, a pleasure to read