Book Review: Merlin's Blade (The Merlin Spiral) by Robert Treskillard

This is a great young adult book dealing with Merlin, King Arthur and playing in early Britain. What Robert Treskillard manages is bring the history and times of King Arthur to life in a way that makes it interesting for young readers and create stories that provide important life lessons to the readers.

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In this book, Treskillard describes how Merlin, who by nature is shy, must overcome his shyness when placed in the center of a fight to protect his village as well as the ruling king against outside danger. In addition, Merlin is also half-blind and needs to overcome his physical limitations to protect the girl he loves. A hero with weaknesses and is able to overcome them can provide important lessons to young readers who may face their own doubts about abilities and fitting in. Importantly, this book tells the early years of Merlin and King Arthur, making it very appropriate for younger readers.

Rather than retell some of the story here, let me just recommend the book for young adults and adults, who like to read a new take on this legend. Even tough the legend of King Arthur is well known by most , the book provides an interesting introduction to the legend and is written almost like an action story taking place in early Britain. I should caution readers that the book ends with a cliffhanger and most readers will want to read the next book to determine how the story goes on in Merlin's Shadow. It may be a good idea to buy several books from the series to follow the story in one sitting.

Overall, this book and I presume the series overall, tell in an age-appropriate language the legend of King Arthur and Merlin, whose lives are intertwined through battles and experiences. I always have been a fan of the legend of King Arthur and I found this book to be an entertaining read.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free copy through booksneeze.com in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed in the blog post are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.