What do You think about At The Crossing Places (2004)?
The second part of the trilogy is not as strong as the first, though it's still good. The issue is not the 'real' story of the olde English lad growing up with foster parents, but rather the King Arthur re-tellings. They have a dutiful feel, as if the author didn't find them as much fun as the sword-in -the-stone part of the story. But then again, who does? All the semi-religious wizardry, anguished purity, and noble self-denial of the Round Table gets a bit tiresome after a while, doesn't it? Nonetheless, the second part of Crossley-Holland's trilogy is still a wonderful read, with the growing awareness and maturation of the hero holding our attention as Arthur gets ready to head off on a crusade.
—Nick
An excellent second part of this series. If you like fiction books about Medieval Europe, the Arthurian legends, or just a good narrative, you should definitely try this series.It blends together the very well-researched history of the 13th/14th centuries, Arthurian legends, and tenderly written dialogue to form a very enjoyable whole. I would say this book felt a lot like the first one, but it had more of the Arthurian stories, and less of Merlin. There is still the question of how much the character of Arthur in the main story will end up paralleling what happens to the Arthur in the stone. At the end of this one, Arthur is about to go on crusade as a squire, so I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series for sure.
—Evan Hays
It's better than the first part and, since it's a children's book, I kind of rated it as I would a few years back, when I was at an age with the protagonist. I dig the "Arthur in the stone" stories, but most of the time it feels like the protagonist is mostly a boring distraction from the story I really want to read. And I must say I really, really don't like (sometimes even hate) 1st person narrative books, especially when it's a child's perspective as dull as this one. Anyway, when it comes to the Medieval period and the Crusades, it's a good intro for children.
—Mari
