From From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8
"A prolific fantasy writer retells a familiar hero tale with an entirely new twist. Following Thomas Malory's 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur, modern writers, notably T. H. White in The Once and Future King (Putnam, 1958), have described the magnificent sword locked in a great stone and its fateful inscription. As in Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset (Tor, 1987), Yolen sets the story in post-Roman Britain. Arthur is already king, but as the son of usurper Uther Pendragon, he is barely holding together a country divided along ethnic and religious lines. His chief rival is his older half-sister Morgause, the crazed witch queen of Orkney who longs to place her son Gawaine on the throne, so she can be the power behind him. Merlinnus, Arthur's elderly protector, constructs the stone and sword as a dramatic piece of showmanship supported by his own magic to confirm Arthur's right to rule. But a mysterious young page, Gawen, appears at Cadbury, gaining the trust and affection of the mage and the king, and upsetting all expectations, including those of readers. Yolen has clearly immersed herself in Arthurian legends and Celtic lore, but her scholarship rests lightly on this page-turning tale of magic and adventure, betrayal, loyalty, and love. Through smooth, accessible prose, she draws her characters with broad strokes. Those familiar with stories about King Arthur will note points in the plot that hint at a sequel. An entertaining addition to fantasy collections."
-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

This book was nominated for the 2004-2005 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award.

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