The Last Enchantment

By: Mary Stewart

Narrated by: Derek Perkins

Arthur Pendragon is king! Crowned and recognized as High King, Arthur is unchallenged on the battlefield, and he melds the country together in a time of promise, as Merlin works in the shadows. But sinister powers plot to destroy Camelot, and when the witch-queen Morgause - Arthur's own half-sister - ensnares him in an incestuous liaison, a fatal web of love, betrayal, and bloody vengeance is woven.

©1979 Mary Stewart (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Enchanting!

This is my favorite of the trilogy. I am so happy that the books by Mary Stewart have gained new attention and have been updated to unabridged books for purchase on audible. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!! The narration is especially good on this one and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's a long one, but I savored the story. Merlin is one of my all time favorite characters and knowing what I knew about the legend, I found it bitter sweet. Mary Stewart is one of my favorite authors. This was so well done. I highly recommend it! Lots of passion, magic, and suspense. No one today in my opinion writes like Mary Stewart when it comes to the setting and descriptions. An excellent read!

Bonus excellence!

I am on the third or fourth reading of Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy so know of the quality of word, description and historical weaving but I also truly enjoyed the reading by Derek Perkins, I could listen to him read my grocery list.

Awesome trilogy!

I love the level of detailed description. And of course the magic mingled with history.

An extraordinary trilogy

If you are a fan of Arthur Guinevere and Marilyn this is a must read. Mary Stuart takes history and turns it into credible fiction this is a must read as well as the mists of Avalon

The Merlin trilogy should be on everyone’s bookshelf

I have loved these books for decades, now, and grew up reading them, thinking about them and dreaming about them.

Mary Stewart’s turn of phrase is marvelous. She says that “music built Stonehenge.” What a series of thoughts that inspires! One imagines that men working hard, lifting heavy stones, might be heartened and distracted by the sound of music cheering them on. Perhaps they moved to its rhythm, putting their strength into a push forward all at the same time. And the stones themselves are arranged “in a dance.” They reflect the seasonal and celestial movements back and forth.

So that one phrase alone has stayed with me all these years. There are many others.

Now, when one reads a book, one imagines how the characters sound, hearing them in one’s own way. Merlin has always been a favorite of mine.

I was reluctant to trust “his voice” to a narrator. But this narrator neither overplays nor underplays the character. I think he is pretty much pitch-perfect. A very happy discovery.

A moving and tender slice of Merlin’s life

I had been dreading Merlin’s burial in the cave, but it was handled in a fascinating and believable way here. Even the “betrayal” wasn’t painful to witness. The book had so much sweetness in it, so much acceptance of a life well-lived and reflected upon in one’s declining years, especially when one has “returned from the dead,” that it seemed to have an almost universal message. I like to think that, no matter what happens in the final chapter, the images of Arthur and Merlin calling out to each other their touching versions of “see you soon” at the end of this book will always remain in our memories.

Excellent!

Mary Stewart brought to life the story of Merlin and King Arthur with the three books of the “Merlin Trilogy”, this being the third one. I loved the entire trilogy and recommend it to anyone!

Enchanting, but bittersweet.

The best telling of the life of Merlin out there. A beautiful tale of an enchanter who was all too human.

An Elegantly Told Tale

Mary Stewart's "Last Enchantment" is an elegantly and compassionately told tale, and the writing superb. Highly recommended.

Merlin's story continues

I don't know if this book could stand alone, but for those who have read (or listened to the unabridged audiobook versions) the previous books in this series, The Crystal Cave and the Hollow Hills, this is a perfect rendering of the third part of Mary Stewart's "Merlin Trilogy". I know that she later added "The Wicked Day", but I have never found that book as satisfying as the first three. If you know the previous books in the series you don't really need me to tell you about this, you know what to expect. If you don't, rush out and start reading or listening to The Crystal Cave at once!

Great story telling, history that makes you feel as if you were there, characters that you care about and identify with, magic so organic to the story that it feels natural, one of the best interpretations of the story of King Arthur and Merlin and their backgrounds that I have ever read. And Derek Perkins reads the tales with sensitivity, feeling and an easy to listen to grace that adds charm and meaning to the experience.

Highly recommended. BUT NEVER waste your time and money on the abridged versions.

And please, Audible, provide us with more unabridged Mary Stewart audibooks, especially her earlier works, like Madam Will You Talk, The Moon Spinners, Touch Not the Cat, and more!