King Arthur

Although the story of King Arthur may have originated from a real person, the story over the years has taken a life of its own. We all know the story. Boy meets up with crazy old man, pulls magic sword out of rock and becomes King of all England. Goes off to find Holy Grail while his wife cheats on him with his best knight. Gets mortally wounded by his illegitimate son. Is taken off to a magical land where he will sleep until “England needs him again.”

The Sword in the Stone by TH White

This original story tells how Arthur, or Wart as he was known at this time, meets up with the wizard Merlin. It tells of his early education and the pulling of the sword from the stone that proves that Wart is in truth King Arthur. This is actually my favorite part of the legend and I enjoyed reading the inspiration for one of my favorite Disney Movies.

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

This Disney film was the first adaptation of the Arthurian legend I ever saw. It tells the story told by TH White about the boy Wart and the wizard Merlin. One thing I liked in the book over the movie is that in the movie Kai is a bit of a jerk where he’s nicer in the book.

The Squire’s Tale by Gerald Morris

The first of the Squire’s Tales, a different take on the Arthur stories. This one tells the story of Terrance, squire to Sir Gawain. Terrance is an orphan, told by his master to accompany Sir Gawain as his squire. Since Terrance was not expecting to go anywhere, he doesn’t know what he’s doing, but proves invaluable on the quest to find the loathly lady that interrupted Arthur’s wedding feast, especially when a plot is discovered against the king.

Merlin (1998)

This story concentrates mostly on the wizard Merlin. It shows how he was born of magic when Queen Mab cast a spell on his mother. Mab wants him to help her reestablish magic in the world, but when Mab kills Merlin’s mother, this causes Merlin to rebel and actively encourage people that will oppose her. Arthur comes in the latter part of the story and is essential to the plot, but not the only one.

The Lost Years of Merlin by TA Barron

Another idea of the origins of Merlin, this is the first of TA Barron’s books. These stories take place years before the wizard ever meets Arthur explaining how Merlin was born in Faerie. The source of his magic is his Faerie blood. When Merlin travels back to this place of his birth he learns a lot about his heritage and who he really is.

Merlin (2008-2013)

In this version, Merlin is actually the same age as Arthur. He is a boy of extraordinary magical talents, but hides them due to Uther Pendragon outlawing all magic. He has been told that his destiny is to help Arthur to establish Albion and the episodes consist him trying to aid Arthur in his endeavors without revealing his magic. Over time Arthur comes to appreciate him and rely on him in times of emergency.

The Third Magic by Welwyn Wilton Katz

A creative version of the Arthurian legend, it tells the story of Morgan, the descendent of Morgan LeFay. She is pulled out of Earth to the mysterious world of Nym where the First and Second Magics have been fighting for centuries. She meets Ardu another like her, called by the Third Magic. What will become of these strange warriors?

Avalon High (2010)

In this strange version of the Arthurian legend, Allie Pennington starts attending Avalon High only to discover that her classmates, and perhaps she herself, are reincarnations of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Will she allow the legend to play out as before, or will she change the destinies of all involved to provide everyone with a better future?

Avalon High by Meg Cabot

The book on which the Disney Channel Original Movie is based. Disney stayed pretty close to its source material with the small change on who Allie is in the legend. I will tell you no more, just in case you want to read it! In both versions the great reveal is what makes the story worth reading/watching.

Epic (2013)

In the movie Epic, teenager MK moves in with her dad who is obsessed with finding the Leafmen he is convinced live in the forest. When the evil  Mandrake kills the queen of these tiny fairy like creatures, a magic spell shrinks MK to the size of the Leafmen so that she can help save the forest from Mandrake and his minions. The movie is a fun sized movie about learning what is really important in life in a fantastical setting.

Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Is there such a category as urban high fantasy? If so I think Written in Red fits in that category. (If not, I am creating it now J). It’s modern day, we have cars and phones and such, but the world our characters inhabit is not our world (Bishop spells America with a “k” to illustrate this). Our main character is Meg, a blood prophet, who has run away from her handlers and into the courtyard. The Courtyard is populated by the creatures of the night that we hear about. Werewolves, vampires and the like. But these Wolves and Vampires are not your cuddly monsters. They are not even pretending to be human and will eat you if you tick them off. I think this is what I loved most about the book. I hate it when characters whine about their fate, but these characters are not human, were never human, and don’t care what the humans think about them. Their interactions with Meg are beautiful and it is a charming look at how several different species can live together. An enjoyable read!

Princess Abigail and the Wonderful Hat

Princess Abigail and the Wonderful Hat was one of my favorite stories growing up. In it the King likes to wear hats instead of crowns. When he promises the hand of his daughter Abigail to whoever can make the most wonderful of hats, Abigail is left with two choices, the creepy little prince or the giant lizard. The giant lizard however is really a prince under an evil spell so everyone lives happily ever after!

Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe

Bunnicula is a vampire rabbit that sucks the juice out of vegetables. When he is adopted by the Monroes, their cat, Chester, convinced of this vampire nature attempts to kill Bunnicula in order to save his family. Their dog, Harold is our narrator. He is unconvinced that Bunnicula is a vampire and tries to talk Chester out of his madness. The books are fun and light for the youngest readers. There are several other books in the series as well. 

Forever Knight (1992-1996)

Nicholas Knight is an 800 year old vampire that is quite frankly sick of the lifestyle. During the course of the show he seeks a “cure” for his condition and works as a cop on the night shift of the Toronto Police Department seeking redemption. The mysteries are fun and interesting along with Nick’s constant battle with his vampire nature. I can forgive his whining a little because he is 800 years old and just sick of life. Some of his older flashbacks show that for many years he embraced his immortality and it’s only in the past 100 years that he has gotten tired of it. One of the running gags in the first season is his work partner, Don’s, insistence that Nick doesn’t know what it’s like to live with an addiction (Don is trying to quit smoking). Whenever Don says that, the look on Nick’s face tells the truth. He has been living with an addiction, for 800 years! There’s other times when you meet his ex, the vampire that introduced Nick to Lacroix, the vampire that “turned” Nick. They still get on well, and Nick will often go to her bar to talk to her. If you like mysteries and vampires I strongly suggest this show.  

Twilight

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Twilight is your typical teenage paranormal romance. Angsty teenagers, one being a vampire that never really grew up because he “died” so young, and one a mortal. The whole let me get into your room and watch you while you sleep is a little stalker behavior, but girls have always been drawn to that brooding, dangerous hero. Just look at Heathcliff and Mr. Rochester. The book follows the life of Bella Swann who has moved to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. Unbeknownst to her, a family of vampires also lives in the area. She falls in love with the mysterious Edward and the story moves from there. One benefit is that Forks has since become a tourist destination, when no one even knew the place existed before hand. The book is mindless and you get exactly what you expect from it.

Twilight (2008)

The movie follows the book pretty closely. I do not think Kristen Stewart is that great of an actress, but she played this part well. The wooden brooding female is exactly what the part required. Robert Pattison looked like he was constipated the entire time, but I think that was just him trying too hard to mimic an American accent. Hey England is also foggy and rainy. Couldn’t you have spent some time there as well? You get what you pay for in this movie, and if you liked the book you will probably like the movie too.