The Once and Future King (Penguin Galaxy)

Penguin Random House has a history of publishing some of the best and most timeless books in the business. These classics include not only the likes of Homer and Shakespeare, but modern classics like E. Nesbit and William Golding. Recently, they released Penguin Galaxy Series, which includes six iconic works of science fiction and fantasy. The titles are as follows - 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dune, Neuromancer, The Left Hand of Darkness, Stranger in a Strange Land, and my personal favorite The Once and Future King.

For those of you who don't know, The Once and Future King is T. H. White's telling of the legend of King Arthur. The first part of the book, The Sword and the Stone, is where Disney drew his inspiration for the animated classic of the same name. Even though, I personally think Walt butchered the story. The Penguin Galaxy edition of this book is a meaty hardcover, over 700 pages in length. Like the other books in the Penguin Galaxy Series, it begins with an introduction by Neil Gaiman. In this introduction, he begins by talking about reading five of the six books in this series around his twelfth birthday. He then defines the term science fiction. He then goes on to describe his personal encounters with each book. When he initially read The Sword and the Stone, he found it to be a delightful children's story, but when White re-wrote it and incorporated it into The Once and Future King, the charming story had become a bit darker and focused on human nature and government. If you are a fan of Gaiman and his work, like my wife, you will find the introduction to be an interesting look in the mind of an author. If you're like me any only casually know him, you could take it or leave it.

As for the book itself, if you have read it before, this is the story you know and love in the hardcover edition it deserves. If you don't know the story, I'll give you a brief synopsis. The Sword and the Stone involves Wart is raised by Sir Ector, tutored by Merlin, pulls the sword from the stone, and becomes King Arthur. The Queen of Air and Darkness involves Queen Morgause and King Lot opposing King Arthur. Arthur defeats him (with Merlin's help), and Morgause seduces Arthur (who is actually her brother) and gives birth to Mordred. The Ill-Made Knight finally introduces us to Lancelot and Guinevere. Arthur's life and kingdom is slipping out of control, and the knights are sent on the quest for the Holy Grail. The Candle in the Wind is when Arthur and everyone else is old and grey. Lots of killing goes on. Arthur must confront the secret truth he already knows about Lancelot and Guinevere. Mordred wants the throne, and the kingdom falls apart. Before he dies, he tells his story to a page so that hopefully the ideals can live on, and we are told the legend that Arthur will return at some point in the future, which is where we get the title for this book.

I really love this story and could read it once a year if I had time. If you are a fan of Arthurian legend at all, you need this book in your collection. It will not only expand your horizons, it will make you look at some characters in a whole new light, particularly Sir Kay. "He was not at all an unpleasant person really, but clever, quick, proud, passionate and ambitious. He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned it."

This book was provided to me for free by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Penguin Classics)

I pulled up a local middle school's summer reading list recently to see what kids today are "required" to read and found myself disturbed that I didn't recognize many of the books on the list. and even more disturbed that the reading levels of most of the books were well under the grade level of the reader. On a list of approximately twenty books for 6th graders, four were at or above a 6th grade level with most  in the 4th grade range. To make matters worse, less than a handful are what I would consider classics or quality literature. Good books have been slowly disappearing from our schools more and more. Parents and teachers are satisfied to let children read rubbish like Captain Underpants, under the illusion that any reading is good reading. I say it's time to fight back and have your children read the classics! Penguin Classics is an excellent publisher of quality and affordable translations. Today, I am reviewing one of their titles in the series Legends from the Ancient North.

Legends from the Ancient North is a series of five books from Norse literature that are said to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien. The five titles are Beowulf; The Elder Edda; The Saga of the Volsungs; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and The Wanderer. Today, I will be reviewing Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I chose this title of the five to review first, because I read this in college and I didn't particularly agree with the slant my professor put on the translation. Therefore, I wanted to read it again and give it a shot again. This edition begins with an introduction by the translator Bernard O'Donoghue. In it he gives background on how the text was accidentally discovered and preserved, other texts that were found with it, and the difficult job of maintaining the beauty of a text when you translate it. He then goes on to explain the character of Sir Gawain, the plot of the poem, and the genre of medieval romance literature.

The translation is very accessible and thus a straightforward read. In fact, I'd say it reads a bit more like prose than poetry. The purist will not appreciate that, because in it you lose some of the beauty and alliteration of the original. However, I appreciated it as it is the perfect introduction to a difficult text. At the end of the text are pages of notes explaining difficult passages and an appendix with some of the original text to whet the reader's appetite. It was clear from reading this work why it inspired Tolkien, and knowing that Tolkien translated this work makes me want to read his translation now. If you are a fan of Tolkien, than I believe you need to read this work and the other four books in the Legends from the Ancient North series, because I am a firm believer that if you want to understand an author, you should read what he or she read.

This book was provided to me for free by Penguin Classics in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!

The Once and Future King (Naxos Audiobooks)

We all have those books from our youth that we re-visit and reread every few years. For some, it's The Lord of the Rings. For my wife, it's Harry Potter and A Wrinkle in Time. For me, it's The Once and Future King by T.H. White. Unfortunately, with work, commutes, childrearing, errands, chores, the need for sleep, etc. who really has time to sit down and read a 600+ page book anymore? Here's a better question, how do we encourage our children to read these wonderful books and series, when we barely have time to read them ourselves? One of mine, and many people's, favorite solutions to this problem is AUDIOBOOKS! You have to be very careful when selecting your audiobooks, because they can be abridged or unabridged. Imagine the horror of buying an audiobook of your favorite book only to find half of it missing because it's abridged. Another thing to look out for is the narrator. Preview the audiobook, if at all possible, before buying it. If you hate the voice for a few minutes, imagine how crazy you'll feel after hearing it for 8+ hours. Maybe it'll grow on you. Usually, it just grates on you!

So what are my opinions about The Once and Future King, both the story and the audiobook presentation? Let's start with the story! Most of us know the basics of King Arthur, either because of Disney or popular culture. There have been movies, television shows, and even musicals about his mythology. Some people enjoy Arthurian legend in the form of poetry, like Tennyson, which are beautiful, but I prefer reading about King Arthur in prose. That is why The Once and Future King is my favorite work of Arthurian legend. The book originally had four parts:

• The Sword in the Stone
• The Queen of Air and Darkness (also known as The Witch in the Wood)
• The Ill-Made Knight
• The Candle in the Wind

A fifth part called, "The Book of Merlyn" was written in 1941 and published separately, but it was printed in later editions. "The Sword in the Stone" is the story that everyone knows in large thanks to Disney. It details a young Arthur, known as Wart, his upbringing, his tutelage under Merlyn. Merlyn prepares Wart for being a good king by turning him into different animals and teaching him a lesson that will help him in his later role as king. Of course, the Wart has no idea that he will be king eventually. Even though, Arthur and Merlyn are the main focus of, I like T.H. White's treatment of Kay. Disney portrays him as a bit of a villain, but it's not as bad in the book. He is described as such: "He was not at all an unpleasant person really, but clever, quick, proud, passionate and ambitious. He was one of those people who would be neither a follower nor a leader, but only an aspiring heart, impatient in the failing body which imprisoned him."

"The Witch in the Wood" introduces us to Morgause, Arthur's half-sister. She seduces Arthur and gives birth to Mordred, the son who will eventually be the downfall of King Arthur. The Round Table is also introduced into the series. "The Ill-Made Knight" brings in two key characters in Arthurian mythology - Lancelot and Guinevere. King Arthur meets Lancelot at an early age, and tells him about his want to end the world of the mentality, "might is right." Lancelot trains for three years and eventually becomes the greatest knight in King Arthur's court. Lancelot leads a troubled life. He unfortunately falls in love with Guinevere, but can't be with her as she is wed to King Arthur. He is tricked into sleeping with a woman named Elaine, and she bears a son named Galahad. Eventually, Lancelot and Guinevere give into their lust and have an affair.

"The Candle in the Wind" is where the story builds and reaches a bitter end. The glory of Camelot is under threat by Mordred and Agravaine. Mordred hates King Arthur and Agravaine hates Lancelot, so they come up with a plan to destroy them, by revealing the secret of Lancelot and Guinevere. There is very little happiness and joy in the part. "The Book of Merlyn" chronicles Merlyn's final lessons to Arthur before his death. After learning these lessons, Arthur wants a truce with Mordred, and it looks promising, but a solider on Mordred's side draws his sword to kill a snake. This sign is misinterpreted as treason, and battle ensues with Arthur and Mordred killing each other. After Arthur's death, Guinevere joins a convent and Lancelot becomes a hermit.

Hearing this book read to me by Neville Jason was a great treat! He has a very regal voice, which is the kind of voice you'd expect when reading Arthurian mythology. He also does different character voices, something not every audiobook reader does. The voices have a great tone to them and make the characters really come alive. You can listen to a sample by following this link. After listening to this book, I don't think I'll ever be able to read it with my own two eyes again. He literally transformed the book and took me to this mythological time and place. I want to research other audiobooks he did and buy them just because he reads them.

So what age should you let your children start reading these works? Only you know your child best, but your child can read/listen to "The Sword and the Stone" in elementary school. There is a little bit of swearing in the beginning by Sir Ector, so be warned of that. Boys will also like this more than girls, because of knights and jousting, but your girls might like it too. Luckily, you can purchase it separately from the other four parts by clicking here. The other four books have adult themes and would probably best be saved until high school. If they read it earlier, the concepts of incest, adultery, and sexual promiscuity will probably go over their heads. Whatever your child reads though, you should read with them so that you can answer questions that might arise. Some parents might dislike this book altogether because of black magic. However, it would be a shame to discount this entire book because of that and some adult themes. Just be a good parent. Give it to them at an appropriate age. Be there to answer any questions they have, and let them know what is morally right and what is morally wrong in the book.

This audiobook was provided to me for free by Naxos Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review. You can pick up a copy of this audiobook directly from their site in digital format, from Amazon in CD format, or Audible.