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Celtika: Book I Of The Merlin Codex: Book 1 of the Merlin Codex (Gollancz S.F.)
 
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Celtika: Book I Of The Merlin Codex: Book 1 of the Merlin Codex (Gollancz S.F.) (Paperback)

by Robert Holdstock (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Frequently Bought Together

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Price For All Three: £19.17

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Product details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Gollancz (11 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0575079738
  • ISBN-13: 978-0575079731
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 250,976 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #11 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > H > Holdstock, Robert

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

On the evidence of this ambitious beginning to a new series, Robert Holdstock is attempting to underpin virtually everything he has written since the British Science Fiction Award-winning Mythago Wood, simultaneously weaving together the roots of all Western mythology.

Holdstock's Merlin is near immortal, and as the story opens has already walked the world for millennia, an alienated narrator; an archetype it is difficult to empathise with. Occasionally he does show human warmth:

I looked at her face, so beautiful despite the greed of Time, her hair still like polished copper; into her eyes, so lovely, so clever; her breath like summer fruit; our fingers intertwined briefly. A beauty that had not faded; lost in time; almost untouchable.
Long before Arthur, Merlin has become deeply involved with Jason, The Argonauts and the legendary cycle of betrayal and bloodshed between Jason and Medea. Spinning this saga into a surreal epic across centuries, Holdstock adds the quest of the young Celtic King Urtha to avenge his wife and children, and the epic march to the Oracle of Delphi of the greatest army the world has ever seen.

Written with all Holdstock's usual skill, Celtika is a strange, convoluted, intricately plotted book. Weaving so much mythology and history into one fabric results in a distant quality akin to Tolkien's The Silmarillion, producing fantasy of particular subtlety and intelligence. While knowledge of the author's previous books is not required, those who have read them will find extra resonance in exploring these austerely magical adventures from the archetype's point-of-view. --Gary S. Dalkin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.



Product Description

Merlin is almost young, and immortal, one of those born to walk the paths of the world, a man with charm carved into his bones, and enchantment running through his body thicker than blood . . . And this is a time of heroes, centuries before King Arthur is born, men and women who, though not gods themselves, are something more than mere mortals. For decades, Jason has been immured in his ship Argo in a lake in the far north, alive, but not, still traumatised by the murder of his sons by his enchantress wife Medea . . . until Merlin sees through the veil of enchantment and realises the boys were never killed; it was all a trick. Through the mists-shrouded isle of Alba to Greek Land, Merlin leads Jason and his Argonauts, some old, some new, on a quest to find the boys, journey filled with heroism and heartbreak, truth and treachery.
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Celtika: Book I Of The Merlin Codex: Book 1 of the Merlin Codex (Gollancz S.F.)
54% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best, 5 Dec 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Celtika: Book one of the Merlin Codex (Hardcover)
But still pretty good. I think if you have not read "Mythago Wood", "Lavondyss" or even "The Hallowing", you are going to be lost and probably find the characters, dry and unsympathetic.

That being said, the descriptions of the Screaming Lake are possibly some of his finest writing.

My one complaint is that there are rather too many characters in here, many with very similar looking names and I do keep forgetting who is who.

Even though the story is nominally a quest ( as so much bad fantasy is e.g. anything by Eddings ), this is saved by superb writing.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, 10 April 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Celtika: Book one of the Merlin Codex (Hardcover)
I am probably Robert Holdstock's #1 American fan. I started reading his books many years ago, begining with "Mythago Wood" and "Lavondyss". I fell in love with his mystical wildwood, and this book was not a disappointment. I do think that those who have not read Mythago Wood and Lavondyss (or any of Holdstock's other books) may be a bit lost. However, it's really worth it to track down those books in order to properly enjoy the "Merlin Codex". I loved it, and I can't wait for the sequel.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Dark original mythic fantasy by one of our best writers., 12 Jan 2001
By Breakfast (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Celtika: Book one of the Merlin Codex (Hardcover)
Robert Holdstock's Mythago Wood series have proved themselves reliably excellent and here he extends that world back to a dark Celtic europe where the powers that visitors to Ryhope Wood encounter in the 20th century are everywhere.

Although this is told from Merlin's point of view this is not another straightforward Arthurian retelling- the Holdstock universe is far too diverse for that. Cleverly entertwining many strands of european mythology with a mixture of sharp imagination and deep research this is less immediate than Mythago Wood or Lavondyss but it finds its way into the back of your mind and won't let go. My only criticism is that it is perhaps a little slow to start with, but it is the first book of a series. With Celtika as a starting point it could turn out to be a very good series indeed.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Great cover - shame about the book!
Possibly one of the blandest fantasy novels I have come across in recent years. Although no doubt systematically and thoroughly researched, the characters, of which there are... Read more
Published on 27 April 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars A disappointment in style and content.
Formulaic and cold, this is a book full of characters you couldn't care less about. It is emotionally empty. A sad effort after the wonderful Mythago series.
Published on 31 Jan 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Wonderful Visit To The Wildwood
Holdstock returns to his Mythago Wildwood.Having forgone the mundain human journey,he now moves on a level and introduces more familiar myth fiqures. Read more
Published on 18 Jan 2001

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