“The Fall of Camelot” by Time-Life Books (The Enchanted World 15)

"Volume 15 of The Enchanted World series, The Fall of Camelot, is a departure for the series pattern. Previously, each book had a specific theme and all the stories revolved around it, but they could come from any time and any region in the world. This however is very specific in date and place. The Fall of Camelot is a retelling of the Matter of Britain — that the lord of King Arthur from beginning to end, containing all the old characters you know. And while many of the previous volumes have stories from Arthurian Legend, none are repeated in this book.

This book is a valid interpretation of the legends of King Arthur. It keeps to the original themes of The Enchanted World series with the old ways, and the time of Fairie, losing power before the God of Reason while still affecting the real world. In a way, King Arthur is the quintessential pivoting on this axis. For we begin with much sorcery, and fairies, ogres, giants, raids into the otherworld, but by the end its men fighting against men, with a son and father killing each other. The return of Excalibur (or Caliburn as it’s called in this tome) of the Lady of the Lake represents the end of the era of magic and fairies. Men are now on their own, for good or ill.

The book keeps a solid pace, essentially telling one tale, instead of a collection of stories, about the rise and fall of King Arthur and Camelot. Granted, the author picks and chooses those tales and parts which fits his interpretation, from a much larger boy of work, but it is almost impossible to include all of the stories, as many are contradictory, and be able to maintain a stable narrative. The art, as always, is extraordinary."

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