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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
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Categories: Science fiction Fantasy Mystery Romance Business Classic Sports Young adult Humor Memoirs See all categories... |
Nikolai Tolstoy, a distant relative to Count Leo and latterly a parliamentary representative for the deluded United Kingdom Independence Party, confesses to being hooked on Arthurian legend for as long as he can remember. The twin fruits of his obsession were his novel, The Coming of the King, and this non-fiction work. Tolstoy delves into the traditional sources from Welsh poetry and into the wider British myths and annals of the time to present a multi-faceted Merlin, one who was very much a historical figure as well as one of lore and romance. He portrays him variously as a Druid, a Seer, a Shaman and a Trickster. He links him with many archetypes, but more pertinently he asserts that he very much existed, and pins him down to a specific time and place. Interestingly, the place is neither Wales nor Western England, the two locations most commonly associated with him. Nor is the time that of Arthur, but half a century later. The arguments Tolstoy makes based around the extant texts seemed plausible to me. Not that I have any other frame of reference to compare his conclusions against, beyond, that is, some cursory web searching. Where he lost me a bit though was in his extended epilogue, where he made some startling observations that threw into doubt his objectivity, even his sanity!I should have known he was a crank from his politics!