THE CAMELOT CHRONICLES: HEROIC ADVENTURES FROM THE AGE OF LEGEND -- Mike Ashley, editor

Camelot Chronicles
Carroll & Graf Publishers -- hc
New York -- ©1992 -- 418pp
ISBN: 0-88184-912-X

A collection of stories in, around, or about King Arthur.

To Camelot -- Theodore Goodridge Roberts
Introduction
Dramatis Personae
"Belle Dame, Sans Merci" - Vera Chapman
"The Winning of a Sword" - Howard Pyle
"The Storming Bone" - Ian McDowell
"The Oath of the Saxon" - Peter Tremayne
"Blueflow" - Don Wilcox
"The Brotherhood of Britain" - Keith Taylor
John, The Knight of the Lion" - Traditional
"Morte D'un Marcheant" - Maxey Brooke
"Sir Lanval" - A.R. Hope Moncrieff
"The True Story of Guenever" - Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
"Sir Borlays and the Dark Knight" - Anthony Armstrong
"Sir Agravaine" - P.G. Wodehouse
"The Romance of Tristan and Iseult" - Hilaire Belloc
"The Coming of the Light" - Phyllis Ann Karr
"Told By Moonlight" - Darrell Schweitzer
"The Quiet Monk" - Jane Yolen
"The Sad Wizard" - John T. Aquino
Appendix: Mountainy Madness - Theodore Goodridge Roberts

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I find that in general, a collection of short stories, based on a theme, will have two or three stories that reach me somehow, with the majority of the stories being mostly forgetable. This collection is no exception.

I've read a fair amount of fiction and non-fiction about the Camelot myths for research on various projects, so when I saw this book for sale on a library book sale table, I knew that I would find it interesting. However, only three of the stories (out of seventeen) ha...more I find that in general, a collection of short stories, based on a theme, will have two or three stories that reach me somehow, with the majority of the stories being mostly forgetable. This collection is no exception.

I've read a fair amount of fiction and non-fiction about the Camelot myths for research on various projects, so when I saw this book for sale on a library book sale table, I knew that I would find it interesting. However, only three of the stories (out of seventeen) have stuck with me since reading it.

The stories I particularly enjoyed are: "Blueflow" by Don Wilcox ... the story of a painter with a bit of a magic touch, thanks to Merlin; "The Romance of Tristan and Iseult" by Hilaire Belloc...an immensely readable, tragic tale; and "The Sad Wizard" by John T. Aquino which had a twist that I was expecting.

With authors such as Jane Yolen, Darrell Schweitzer, Phylliz Ann Karr, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Pyle, and others represented here, I did expect to really like more than just these three. Though I should add that having only mentioned three doesn't mean the others were 'bad' -- they simply weren't as outstanding as the three I mention above.

An interesting collection. Very glad for the three stories that I really enjoyed, but wished more of the stories were of a better quality.

ROARING BOYS: SHAKESPEARE'S RAT PACK -- Judith Cook

Sutton Publishing -- tpb
Gloucestershire -- ©2004 -- 226pp
ISBN: 0750933690

Professional theatre flowered in London during the 1580s. It became a magnet for a series of talented and ambitious young men who became the 'Roaring Boys'.

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This seemed as if it would be an interesting book, but the reality is that it's a bit unfocused. A book about the group of playwrights who were Shakespeare's contemporaries would be fascinating, but this book really only contained one chapter of such. The rest was history of the era and the Elizabethan theatre.

I know there are bios of these individuals out there, but I was definitely looking forward to a combined sort of bio.

I guess I need to keep looking.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN IN MAYHEM IN MANHATTAN -- Len Wein and Marv Wolfman

Pocket Books -- pb
New York -- ©1978 -- 176pp
ISBN: 0-671-82044-3

The Amazing Spider-Man in his first, full-length novel.


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Comfort fiction. A quick, easy read with characters that are incredibly familiar. Nice to have a book written by people who write the comics, rather than those by novelists who happen to read the comics.

As incredible as it may seem, I think I've owned this book since it came out in '78 or '79, but have only just now read it. I might have found it much more interesting and exciting had I read it when I was 18, but hen again, perhaps not.

There's nothing earth-shattering here. No new information or new take on the classic comic book characters. The story itself seems to be straight out of a comic book.

Would I recommend it? No. Would I discourage anyone from reading it? No. Am I glad I read it? Yes, but only because it's been in a box in my room thirty years.