Author Cornelia Funke writes in a blurb on the back cover of this book, "The Arthur of this trilogy moves softly into one's heart." And that's just what this set of books did to me; tiptoed into my esteem.Perhaps the last one is the best one. Perhaps, by the last one, the reader realizes that the connection between the Arthurs is no more than it appears to be; one of legend and observer. Perhaps it was because this book took Arthur off the March and into the world of the crusades. But for whatever reason, this book, of the three, resonated most with me. The writing has been lyrical throughout but reached a pinnacle in this installment. In a chapter entitled "Gossip-Wind" Arthur writes a lyric: Nobody's sure what so-and-so really saidBut everyone knows someone who knows,Roundabout it goes, and we all supposeRound and round, round again it goes,And somewhere between word and word and word,Everything worsens as the gossip-wind blows.Nobody's quite sure, though we all know each word,But no one cares and no one counts the costWhen round-about it goes, and we all suppose,And truth and honor and trust lie lost. Arthur learns much in this book that resonates; tolerance, the inherent good and evil that lies in all men, the ability of politics and greed to stand in the way of good deeds. And as he learns, one watches him grow into a young man who itches to lead and protect. To do no harm. A young man whose head-line and heart-line are one. And as this young man rides home to his manor, Catmole, the reader has hope for the future of the people in his employ and under his care.I often talk about wanting to buy and island somewhere, where I can create a utopia. A place where greed is neutered and good works and deeds are paramount. And at the end of this book, the reader feels that Catmole might be such a place. Just as Camelot tried to be.So, in the end, the King Arthur lessons in the stone were just lessons. But they were lessons well-learned and well-told.
"King of the Middle March," by Kevin Crossley-Holland, is the third (and final) book in Crossley-Holland's middle school series about a young man named Arthur. Set in the early 13th century in the UK, Arthur comes of age and works toward his goal of becoming a knight and fighting in the Crusades, then finding who his mother is. Along the way, he experiences the adventures of famed King Arthur by watching them television-like in the magical Seeing Stone that Merlin gave him.It's a decent series over all, although it's fairly violent with fights and beheadings and war and people getting hands cut off as punishment, and murder. There's also rape, though it's not gone into in detail. Most, but not all, of the violence is backloaded into the final book. Crossley-Holland also does a good job of showing a fairly enlightened group of lords who don't quite buy into the anti-semitism and anti-Islam feeling of the era without making them seem overly modern. There's shades of grey, in other words, and we as readers experience young Arthur's attempts to make sense of them.I didn't think the final book was as good as the first two, sadly. I never quite got into it and didn't find it as engaging as the others. I would also have liked a more definite ending. Perhaps Crossley-Holland will write more.
What do You think about King Of The Middle March (2006)?
This whole series is a good read. Blending 13th century life of Arthur de Caldicot with the life of King Arthur and his Knights was quite nice. Great perspective of the misguided beliefs leading to the Crusades and also how that same desire for war and wealth lead to infighting among Christians. The ending was not what I wanted but I wasnt surprised. There wasnt really any climax it just told about his days straight through his experience. (It is written in journal style). However, with a little digging I found that the 4th book in this series is Crossing to Paradise which tells the story of Arthur's friend Gatty and her pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There is a question as to whether these two will be a match. The question was left unanswered in "King of Middle March" so I'm hoping it will be answered in Crossing to Paradise. Crossing to Paradise is also known as "Gatty's Tale."
—Chad
Meh. I feel very tricked by the lack of real connection between Manor Arthur and King Arthur. As I said of the first two books, the detail and research is good, and the voice of the narrator works well.But it just feels so slight and all the more so for the truth about the connection between the two Arthurs. It's braver that way, in a way, I know: the story where someone starts to act out the life of a historical/mythological character in their own life and turns out to be a descendant/reincarnation of them has been done. But still. Gah.
—Nikki
I thought this book was ok it was not, in my option, nearly as good as the others books in the trilogy. There is a lot of violence, it is also much sadder than the other books. I think the author Kevin Crossley-Holland males his characters very believable and real. I did only rate this 3 stars and I do have 3 good reasons why I did...1. It wasn't a very good read to finish off the trilogy 2. It was quite sad and confusing sometimes3. The story line was about the crusade and the story line kinda changed and went up and down
—Lozwin24
