287. The Crystal Cave

Rating:  ☆☆☆

Recommended by:  Scot Reader

Author:   Mary Stewart

Genre:  Fiction, Fantasy, Mythology

494 pages, published 1970

Reading Format:  Book

Summary

The Crystal Cave takes place in fifth century Britain, a country torn by chaos and division after the Roman withdrawal.  The book tells the story of a young Merlin, the illegitimate child of a South Wales princess who will not reveal to the identity of Merlin’s father, and how he discovers that he possesses incredible psychic gifts which he will use to play a dramatic role in the coming of King Arthur.

Quotes 

“The gods only go with you if you put yourself in their path. And that takes courage.”

 

“Thinking and planning is one side of life; doing is another.  A man cannot be doing all the time.”

 

“I think there is only one. Oh, there are gods everywhere, in the hollow hills, in the wind and the sea, in the very grass we walk on and the air we breathe, and in the bloodstained shadows where men like Belasius wait for them. But I believe there must be one who is God Himself, like the great sea, and all the rest of us, small gods and men and all, like rivers, we all come to Him in the end.”

 

“the god does not speak to those who have no time to listen.” 

My Take

While I have an interest in the Arthurian legend, The Crystal Cave was too long and too focused on Merlin for me to give it a recommendation.  My husband Scot read it as a teenager and in his opinion it is the weakest of Mary Stuart’s trilogy on King Arthur.  There were some interesting parts, but I have to say I much preferred The Mists of Avalon and its take on Arthur.