Some of the books tell the story from the viewpoints of differents characters or are about different characters. Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley tells the story from the point of view of the women. Mary Stewart's The Wicked Day gives us Mordred's story through his eyes.
We have other books where Arthurian elements and charactrers appear in contemporary times. Excalibur by Sanders Anne Laubenthal takes place in Mobile, Alabama with the quest for Excalibur. Arthur and Gawain are reborn in our world to fight for the possession of the Grail in The Forever King by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy. Tim Powers wrote a book, The Drawing of the Dark, which brings humor to a fantasy with Arthurian elements.
One of the most prevalent characters in Arthurian Fantasy is Merlin. The mysterious, powerful magician, prophet and mentor has permeated many books; there is even a miniseries about him titled "Merlin." Merlin's story is told well in the trilogy: The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart. He appears in many other works such as The Comin of the King by Nicolai Tolstoy.
There are many short stories of Arthurian fantasy. Many appear in themed anthologies like Excalibur and Camelot Fantastic. There is a beautiful story in the most recent issue of Realms of Fantasy (Feb. 1999) magazine called "Arthur's Wishes" by Tim Meyers.
For Internet enthusiasts ther are many sites on the Web of interest for further stories or research. One that is very useful and informative is "http://www.legends.dm.net". This site has many links like the Camelot Project. You can find many things of interest here.
Critics say Arthurian fantasy is fading from too many stories and books saturating the bookshelves. Granted there is some terrible stuff in the subgenre, but that is true of anything. As long as the King Arthur story stirs something in us, writers and other artists will continue to give us new insights into this great tale. What Arthurian stories have you read? What do you think of the King Arthur legend? Until next week.
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