Aside from the sword-in-the-stone Groundhog Day story, all the tales held my attention. "The End of Summer" is so original and deliciously evil, I wish I had written it. "Touched by Moonlight and Sunshine" is a bittersweet explanation of Merlin’s great powers and disappearances from Camelot. "The Wild Hunt" draws on Celtic elements of the Myrddyn myth, yet strongly reminds me of the search for a reincarnated Dalai Lama. Appropriately, the final tale proclaims King Arthur’s return, but not in any way I had anticipated. This book was everything I thought it would be -- and a wee bit more.
<*> Ariann <*>
Usually, I read cat anthologies, but I’m fond of Arthurian works too. I couldn’t resist this diverse collection of "what if" stories about Merlin. What if no one believed in magic? What if Merlin was a parent? What if Guinevere was a vampire? What if Merlin turned into an alcoholic, while waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting for Arthur’s return? Andre Norton, Diana L. Paxson, Charles de Lint, Esther Friesner and sixteen others work their magic on Merlin.