Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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.

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