Merlin
core novel 1988 Pendragon Cycle
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.11 (11,491 ratings, collected 2026-08-30) |
| Page count | 484 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780310205067 |
| Internal chronology | 2 |
Synopsis
Narrated by Myrddin, later known as Merlin, this second book of the Pendragon Cycle depicts his unusual dual upbringing among both druids and Christian priests following the events of the first book, and the mystical training that shapes his early life. His path takes a difficult turn when he is captured by the Hill Folk and later briefly holds kingship over Dyfed, experiences that test him alongside a doomed romance with Princess Ganieda that sends him into a period of madness as a wild man in the wilderness. Recovering his sanity and searching for his true purpose, Myrddin helps the brothers Aurelius and Uther rise to power in Britain. His role in supporting their ascent to the High Kingship ultimately leads toward the birth of Arthur, whose story the following books will follow.
Where it sits
- Universe: Pendragon Cycle
- Series: Pendragon Cycle core; position 2 of 5 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Stephen R. Lawhead
Notes
- From the series record (Pendragon Cycle): A large-scale Arthurian retelling spanning Atlantean prehistory through the fall of Camelot, published across five novels 1987-1997.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series Pendragon Cycle: position 2 of 5: previous Taliesin (1987) · next Arthur (1989)
- Internal chronology, within Pendragon Cycle: position 2 of 7: previous Taliesin (1987) · next Arthur (1989)
Sources
- Wikipedia: The Pendragon Cycle
- Stephen Lawhead official site: The Pendragon Cycle
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendragon_Cycle
← Pendragon Cycle dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.