MERLIN'S BLADE

The Merlin Spiral Trilogy - Book One by Robert Treskillard

First Day of the Merlin's Blade Blog Tour

Blind Man's Bluff, or A Bard in Training

click image for Amazon link or click link below) Merlin's Blade - available from:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Merlins-Merlin-Spiral-Robert-Treskillard/dp/0310735076/

CBD: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=38856EB&item_code=WW&netp_id=1132381&event=ESRCN&view=details

Author's Web site: http://www.kingarthur.org.uk/
Author's Blog: http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php

I received a review copy of Merlin's Blade by Robert Treskillard from Zondervon
in conjunction with the May CSFF Blog Tour

 

    I wasn't sure what to expect as I began reading Merlin's Blade by Robert Treskillard. Was this the story of a young Merlin or a slightly older Merlin before he met Arthur? Does Merlin already know something of what he will know to counsel Arthur, or does he find a mentor? Was this Merlin anything like the great BBC series by that name? The answer? A little bit of all of these questions.

 

  In the story-arc by Robert Treskillard, Merlin is the son of the village blacksmith. He has the strength and stamina of a young blacksmith, but not the eyes. See, Merlin has poor eyesight. He's not quite blind, but sees his world in colored smudges. He's learned to adapt by relying on his other senses; like sounds and smells. Reading the story, I could relate to his frustration with not seeing his surroundings clearly enough. In a way, Merlin's lack of sight helped him to see clearly what other's didn't, or wouldn't.

I'm not sure if it was intended, but Merlin's lack of sight made me wonder if what he curse a curse existed for a greater purpose. It defined Merlin as a person, and led him down the path he needed to follow.

 

   One of the things that struck me about Merlin's Blade was all the forethought, planning, and eye to detail involved. On his website, and in the book, are two maps of the areas mentioned. In the back of the book is a pronunciation guide. I've read other books containing these, but Mr. Treskillard goes on to explain why he changed the spelling a little to help make the names and places more pronounceable. another nice extra are the images of the 3D Merlin's Blade game under development.

Images of the 3D game under development for Merlin's Blade: http://kingarthur.org.uk/feastinghall/3d-game/ 

 

I really enjoyed Merlin's Blade. The 432 pages, including the pronunciation guide, seemed far too short for a story of this size. As I finished reading, the only negative I found was the long wait for book two; due out this September 24th. If you enjoyed Arthurian tales, Celtic stories, or medieval sword-marking, Merlin's Balde has all three and more!



 

Day 2 Blog: The Story Behind the Story  - Day Two I'll post an interview with the author of Merlin's Blade. Like Merlin, the author faced an interesting journey getting to where he needed to be.

*Participants’ links:

Noah Arsenault Beckie Burnham Keanan Brand Jeff Chapman Laure Covert Pauline Creeden Emma or Audrey Engel April Erwin Victor Gentile Ryan Heart Timothy Hicks Jason Joyner Carol Keen Krystine Kercher Shannon McDermott Meagan @ Blooming with Books Rebecca LuElla Miller Joan Nienhuis Nathan Reimer Chawna Schroeder Kathleen Smith Jojo Sutis Robert Treskillard Steve Trower Phyllis Wheeler Shane Werlinger Nicole White