Merlin (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert Nye
- First Published: 1978
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—mythological
- Time of Work: The Middle Ages
- Setting: Great Britain
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy, Arthurian romance
- Subjects: Magic or magicians, Mythology or myths, Incest, Antichrist figures, Devils or demons, Middle Ages, Great Britain, Holy Grail or Grail quest
- Locales: Great Britain
The Plot
At the heart of Merlin is a retelling of the familiar story of King Arthur, Merlin the magician, and the knights of the Round Table. Robert Nye is faithful to his sources, but the story is skewed in part by the narrative perspective and in part by the storytelling style, which is erotic, comic, and iconoclastic.
The narrator is Merlin, imprisoned by Nimue in the crystal cave, with the gift to look both forward and backward in time. His story is divided into four parts—black, white, red, and gold—that cover the stages of his life and also represent...
[The entire page is 955 words long]
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