I feel like it would be quite unfair to judge all five books as a whole, even if they are bound this way, but "What, What?""See, some things turn out this way, see? Even classics, see?" What, What?I honestly went through many changes while reading this work, but that may be entirely because I keep seeing how it has changed the world, our perceptions, and especially it's influence on so many of the cultural set pieces we enjoy across a wide, wide canvas.I was thrown, willy-nilly, into a purely Di [...]

The first time I tried this long book, in my twenties, I foundered on the whimsy near the beginning and quit. Steeped in Morte d'Arthur and a later retelling, The Boy's King Arthur by Sidney Lanier, The Boy's King Arthur: Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table I couldn't accept the to-be King Arthur as "Wart" nor White's fanciful account of castle life. A later retry revealed the magic and majesty and human-ness that fill this amazing book, which I've since [...]

There are some books which, when you flip the final page, overwhelm you with emotion. You wish for more, for the universe you've been immersed in to continue and take you along with it. For just one more page of adventure.This was not one of those books.White took one of the most classic, long lived stories and made it boring. This should have been a gripping epic of romance, drama, and sword-fighting! It had knights! Treachery! Magic! Forbidden love! What more could you ask for in story-fodder? [...]

„Arthur, regele Camelotului (T.H. WHITE, The Once and Future King, 1958/The Book of Merlyn, 1977; stilul funcțional: beletristic; curentul literar: fabulism [NOTE, 5]; genul literar: epic; specia literară: ciclu romanesc fantastic; subspecia literară: fantastic histrionic [medieval]). În Anglia medievală (şi anacronică…), tânărul entuziast şi neexperimentat Arthur devine, cu ajutorul învăţăturilor vrăjitorului Merlyn (care trăieşte Timpul invers), eroul civilizator destinat [...]

Some of the most successful works of fantasy have been those that grew beyond their author’s original intentions. The essence of fantasy is world-building, and having created a convincing ‘secondary’ world, even if only as an amusement for children, it is inevitable that a good author will want to widen and deepen that world, and even find herself discovering parts of it that she had not originally considered. This is certainly true of Lord of the Rings, the Gormenghast books, the Earthsea [...]

This summer, my parents and I went on holiday to Cornwall and visited Tintagel Castle, which was supposedly the place where King Arthur was conceived. It’s a popular tourist attraction, surrounded by gift shops where you can buy your kids a toy Excalibur or Merlin’s pointy hat. Since I love to buy books in the place where they are set or were written, I decided to buy a copy of T.H. White’s The Once and Future King (and a beautiful hardcover edition of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca). I kne [...]

The Sword in the Stone 3One of my bookish pet peeves is when the meaning of the title comes clear too late in the book. In this one? 15 pages before the end (out of 232). Of course I saw the movie, so I knew where it was going, but still.I was very surprised to see that some of the more whimsical aspects of the movie were originally present in the book.The Witch in the Wood 2.25So Not that much Arthur, eh?I switched to an audio version because I'm not that into it. I don't know if that was a goo [...]

This might contain mild spoilers if you're not familiar with the story of Arthur, but if you're not I don't think this would be the best book to start out with.Sometimes it is hard to imagine this was written in the 20st century. With all of Merlyn's fourth wall breaking and references. Though at times it is very obviously from another time, since references don't always hold up. Especially when they involve names from that time and not Arthurian legends.Eventhough I took a long time reading thi [...]

I have to say writing a review about this series is a bit difficult. I have been taken through a whole series of thoughts, ideas, emotions, and ideas. From childish to quite deep and complex issues. This series covers so much territory, it makes it quite hard to cover it all.I began this series with Author as a child being taught by Merlin. I was immediately taken mentally, to the Walt Disney cartoon version of this book. As I read it, all that came to mind was the animated Disney movie I rememb [...]

Audio 6/6. This story is delightful & a lot of fun to listen to while jogging. Jan/14: Still listening to this. Just finished Book 3 (the story of Lancelot). Great story. In the audio, its hard to tell when one book ends & another begins. I'm really enjoying how this story is told from so many viewpoints to tell all the sides. Lots of references to Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table.I may need to dust off my copy.I like the attitude/philosophy of [...]

I've been really loving Arthurian legend related stuff recently, so I of course had to pick up this book. It was fantastic. I loved it so very much.This book consists of 5 stories each one following the life of King Arthur and his knights throughout his life. The first two are a lot lighter and humorous, but the last few are a lot heavier and darker, but just as wonderful. These stories were beautifully written. The setting was described so vividly, the characters were fantastic and very real, a [...]

Fantastic story. A traditional yet unique take on Arthurian legends; follows the life of Wart (Arthur) forwards, the life of Merlin backwards, and makes the story personal.The original legends of Arthur were scattered texts, morality tales, and in the worst cases, miscellaneous word droppings sold by unemployable hacks. What TH White does is unite them coherently, making only limited references to the more extraneous tales, and develop a cogent and powerful storyline. White showcases how Arthur [...]

This book is a bit between like and really like for me. It started out great with the Sword in the Stone passed to slightly disturbing in the next book quite interesting in the Ill made knight but after than I sort of went on more because I wanted to finish it than anything elseQuite possibly it was because I simply felt like reading something else by then, but I also think that with each book the story became heavier and more political and personaly I'm not particularly interested in politics s [...]

I recognize that Arthurian Legends are not everyone's cup of tea, so to speak, but really, one should give this a try, forgetting Disney and Broadway and killer bunny rabbits.Consider White's prose, after drawing out the family lines of Arthur:Even if you have to read it twice, like something in a history lesson, this pedigree is a vital part of the tragedy of King Arthur. It is why Sir Thomas Malory called his very long book the Death of King Arthur. Although nine-tenths of the story seems to b [...]

I really do not understand how anybody could have enjoyed this series. It is terrible, the first book is entertaining though after a while the characters grow stale and become increasingly annoying. There are pages and pages of what can only be described as random philosophical mumblings about nothing and anything.This book is almost impossible to actually get into and follow. I have read 30-40 pages of this without actually being able to recall what has happened. To top it off the ending is jus [...]

If you want the "happily ever after" ending you won't get it here. A mix of history, romance, tragedy, fiction, war and wisdom. Arthur is an inspiring character who shows total faith in those he loves. He simply believes in people. This is his greatest triumph and the cause of his ruin. I like this book a lot. (it is also a good musical known as "Camelot")

I defer, on the whole, to Yara in this case - with slightly less enthusiasm, but also significantly less biographical knowledge.

An easy five stars. I have so many thoughts about this book. At some point in the near future I am going to come back and tell you ALL OF THEM.

The Sword in the Stone: 3.5/5 starsI don't know what I was expecting from this, but it wasn't what I got. In a good way. T.H. White's stories of King Arthur and his gaggle of knights are fantasy classics, and I suppose in my head I expected them to be like the others I've read. Not so. White's writing style takes a little getting used to and at times his prose is almost poetic, I really enjoyed it and it was fairly easy to read. The only parts I struggled with were when during dialogue words wer [...]

Король Артур Уайта состоит из 5 повестей, перекликающихся и закольцованных в итоге. Перейдя, наконец, от средневековой литературы к относительно современной, испытываю радость.Размышления вначале о пути Артура заканчиваются размышлениями об итогах правления, о наследии � [...]

Good gosh, that was a slog.I set out so excited by the prospect of this book: Arthurian legend. King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Guenevere, Lancelot, Merlin, Morgana. Bring it on!The first book was thoroughly enjoyable, bringing back strong memories of the Disney adaptation, with fun and quirky stories and an entrancing character in Merlin. However, as the story developed, I found myself a bit adrift in the tales related. Basically none of which were even vaguely familiar to me. Wher [...]

This book at first glance is a simple rewriting of the story of King Arthur adding and elaborating on what already was written by Sir Thomas Mallory. These elaborations at first seem to be just a succession of irrelevant events, but in the end they all converge. I would say that the purpose of writing this book on King Arthur, adding another to already numerous retellings, is political. The book is filled with anachronisms, about references to communism, political parties, etc. The political int [...]

1.5 starsThis was supposed to represent a collection of five books, but the titles didn’t seem to be announced (or I kept missing them) so they all just blurred together. I liked the first book, The Sword in the Stone, and I’d give that one 3 stars because although I liked it the animal stories became a bit repetitive. That covers Arthur’s childhood. I’d recommend stopping after that because the rest just seemed long. Stop after he becomes king, anyway, at whichever book it is. It seems [...]

Hmm, ikke som jeg forventet. Jeg hadde vel sett for meg en bedre skrevet fantasy-serie, men fikk i stedet en halvgrei skrevet serie med utgangspunkt i legenden om Kong Arthur. Det er noe litt uferdig med karakterene og skrivestilen; på en måte mangler det litt logikk i det som skjer. Samtidig prøver White å forklare hvordan tidene var, og hvorfor det som skjer, skjer. Jeg er vel ikke helt overbevist, selv om det var gøy å endelig få lest The Sword in the Stone. Det er mye blablabla i boka [...]

The book was about half treatise of one sort or another, and the Book of Merlin was so boring with it that I barely finished. Besides that, once you got past the part that had been made into the beloved Disney film, it became so depressing you almost didn't want to know what would happen next.The first part of the story was charming. Watching Wart grow up gave a depth to the wonderful old "Sword in the Stone" movie.

A clear classic. The characters are well developed, and the theme's are interesting. The story is at times funny and other times reflective. I could have done without the lists, and think I would find the series more compelling if the posthumously published final novel wasn't published (although I'm conflicted because I really like the story of the geese).

and t h white has made us all part of the legend, part of the meditation, part of the endless struggle.

Writing about classics tends to be a thankless job. Most everything there is to be said has already been said. Nevertheless, I'll give it a shot.The Once and Future King is probably the most important retelling of the tale of Arthur from the 20th century (the next two places being in my mind occupied by Monty Python and the Holy Grail and The Mists of Avalon). It inspired Disney's The Sword in the Stone and that musical with Richard Harris. Its view of Arthur's childhood has more or less become [...]

One of my favourite works of fiction, and one I've delved into a couple times now -- though this collected edition offered me a piece I'd never read before: White's posthumously-published "Book of Merlyn". Apparently his real intended ending for the book.What I say now is likely to at least mildly rankle White's hardcore fans: I preferred the story without it.Don't get me wrong, I love the tale! White has a gift for humanizing the characters through humour, and his love for them all is quite app [...]

It's very hard to rate the collection as a whole - "The Ill-Made Knight" as the longest installment is top-notch, almost flawless aside from its complimentary flaw of drawing such simply human portraits from archetypal characters that its fairy-tale conventions become less credible blights (I'm not talking about magic coexisting with realism as much as the trappings and misunderstandings feeling too foolish for thicker-than-fabled personalities to fall into, even when the classic tale obviously [...]