Molly Cochran’s third Arthurian novel is both exciting and exasperating – exciting in the passages set in modern-day North America, exasperating when the action shifts to Dark Age or prehistoric Britain. In the descriptions of the young reincarnated Arthur living in the American Midwest, and the characters he encounters and the situations which develop, Cochran has that sure touch that comes from following the advice that all debutant writers are given: write about what you know. Within the thriller genre that she utilises, these episodes work well, with reasonably complex characterisation and hugely enjoyable edge of the seat action.Cochran’s Dark Age Britain is not one that I even vaguely recognise, however. The characters have anachronistic late medieval names taken from Malory, Orkney [sic] seems to have become a land-locked forest kingdom instead of the island archipelago it is, knights speak like actors in early 20th-century British talkies (“I say,” is their usual preamble) and, most preposterously of all, Arthur’s people are referred to as the English, who then fight against the Anglo-Saxon invaders, the real-life ancestors of the English! This is such a clumsy mash-up from different literary sources. In addition, feminist fantasy takes on the Matter of Britain (which is what The Third Magic in part is) don't need to justify themselves but I feel Cochran’s mixing of genres in this novel -- thriller, historical fiction and feminist fantasy -- is both unsuccessful and mistaken.Despite these strictures, this novel by the end repays persistence, and the final resolutions are unexpected and lyrical. Possibly worth a second look, The Third Magic is a book to borrow rather than to buy and keep; but on the basis of this exemplar I shan’t be in any hurry to explore the previous titles in this sequence (the first two co-written with Warren Murphy), however magical they may claim to be.http://wp.me/s2oNj1-3rdmagic
The Knights of the Round Table on Harleys at Sturgis? What could be better?OK. So something could be better. It wasn't bad, just not as good as The Forever King. It got a bit weird when Arthur started taking on Messiah-like powers, and to be quite frank I think the book struggled a bit with identifying a central character. A lot of stories going on at once.One thing I've quite enjoyed about this whole series of books is the history segues--the story behind the story told in real-time, rather than as narrative flashback. All interesting takes on the characters and on the Arthur legends.
What do You think about The Third Magic (2004)?
This is the final book in the series. It gets really convuted and confusing towards the end. I really liked the idea of the whole series, not wholly satisfied with how it wrapped up. Your mileage may vary.
—Chade66
A horrible end to a promising series. The Forever King trilogy had a lot of things going for it, mainly the first book,the second was atleast readable. However this book all but kills the entire series. This has to go down in history as the LEAST satisfying ending ever to a book, let alone a trilogy. The story was non-sensical and it spent way too much time going back in time to whatever this Third Magic thing is.When reading this, I actually stopped part way through and checked Wikipedia to see what happened. I thought maybe the author got sick part way through and couldn't finish it or something. It seemed more like an unfinished draft or second tier fan fiction.The story is filled with inconsistencies and inane story telling. The only reason I finished the book was to complete the series. If you're starting the series, I would suggest you stop at the second book and write your own ending. It will seriously be more satisfying than this.
—Doug
I didn't realize there were three in this series. I read the first and enjoyed it so much when I saw the Third I couldn't wait to read it, literally. I may still read the second book even though I know what happens. I was a little less enamored with Hal and Arthur but it was still a very good book. The knights are funny without being clowns. The bad guy was bad and complicated but his back story was a little far fetched. Also wanted more with Ginny/Gwen (name??) and Arthur. Really wanted more there. I recommend to any King Arthur fan.
—Tomi
