The third book of the Crystal Cave trilogy, The Last Enchantment, swings along pretty fast. I believe it is the shortest of the trilogy. The reason for that, I guess, is that by this point in the Arthurian legend, we’ve about wrapped Merlin. He can get a round of applause from the crew, then jet home while the rest of the cast are getting on with filming the last two acts. Most of the doings of King Arthur and his Knights occur after Merlin was sealed away inside a living tomb by Nimue. So the endless tournaments, fights with giants, quests (including for the Grail), Guinevere’s infidelity, Mordred, and the final tragedy all occur later.
This trilogy is, however, Merlin’s story, not Arthur’s. And Stewart handles it well. She adverts to the Grail Quest. And she commences the Lancelot (here, Bedwyr) and Guinevere romance. The manner in which she handled that was fine, though I’d say I prefer the more nuanced approach John Steinbeck took in The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Still, as I say, it was fine, though I personally don’t much care for the idea of Arthur as a knowingly sympathetic cuckold.
Where Stewart really comes through is the matter of Nimue. Though the “surprise” can’t truly be such for those familiar with the legend, it works well. And I like that this narrative treats Merlin with respect and not as a foolish old man easily played by a young, calculating lady. The location of his supposed final resting place was established in the first book and runs smoothly through the trilogy. Stewart’s take on that aspect of the myth is satisfying rather than tragic. She does something that seldom occurs in fiction: she provides her character with an ending of contentment, a sort of “job well done” fulfillment without lingering regrets. That was nice.
One thing I wanted to note, for what it is worth. The character named “Morgian” in the previous book loses the “i” in the third, becoming thus on the nose “Morgan,” as in “le Fay.” That’s fine. I just wonder why. Did Stewart deliberately change the name without comment, or was that a purposeful (or perhaps inadvertent) act by an editor?
So, did the re-read hold up? Yes, entirely. Now I suppose I should get ahold of The Wicked Day and The Prince and The Pilgrim for initial reads.
If you are in the mood for a trilogy, how about Falchion’s Company?