Given the nature of telling a well-known story through the eyes of a character with foreknowledge, it is unsurprising that The Hollow Hills is generally lacking in suspense. We readers — even more than the narrator, Merlin — know the broad brush strokes of what is going to happen. The fun comes from the variations, from Stewart’s refashioning Geoffrey of Monmouth’s improbable legend into a plausible narrative. And, as with Book I, The Crystal Cave, much of the enjoyment comes from the Easter Egg hunt. Reading closely for Stewart’s laying of eggs to be hatched later on — whether in the current book or the next — adds a layer of entertainment for those of us who have consumed innumerable takes on the Matter of Britain.
The Hollow Hills covers the period from Arthur’s birth to his ascension to the throne. Given that there is little in the way of mythical material concerning this time of Arthur’s life, Stewart — like T.H. White before her — has nearly a blank canvass on which to create. Much of this she spends creating a career and educational path for Merlin, following him to Asia Minor. There is good color here and I enjoyed it. Once Merlin returns to Britain, events speed up and we get Stewart’s take on the whole sword-in-the-stone business. It’s good stuff.
An aside: I wonder if some of Merlin’s prognostication and references to the rise and eventual fall of the island kingdom is a veiled reference to the then relatively recent loss of empire. Or am I reading into the book something that wasn’t written? Subtext can be an illusive — or even absent — thing.
The obligatory self-promotion follows: Please buy one of my books. Thank you.
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