The Broken Kings
core novel 2007 The Merlin Codex
Record
| First published | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.86 (242 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 368 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765311092 |
Synopsis
The Broken Kings, published by Robert Holdstock in 2007, concludes the Merlin Codex trilogy. Merlin's story is shown spanning millennia, defined by his long, unresolved involvement with the enchantress Medea and his more recent, complicating passion for the Finnish sorceress Niiv. Having spent ages wandering in self-centered detachment from the consequences of his own actions, Merlin is finally forced to accept responsibility for choices he has avoided, a reckoning that causes him to begin aging again after millennia effectively outside of time. The ship Argo, portrayed throughout the trilogy as a sentient being with secrets of her own that she confides only to Merlin, carries the story back toward Minoan Crete and its alternate reflections, and toward the Unborn, spectral figures including a future King Arthur who has not yet been born, tying the ancient story to Arthurian legend still centuries away.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Merlin Codex
- Series: The Merlin Codex core; position 3 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Robert Holdstock
Notes
- From the series record (The Merlin Codex): Complete trilogy; all 3 novels Core Canon.
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 The Merlin Codex: position 3 of 3: previous The Iron Grail (2002)
Sources
- Robert Holdstock's own official site, The Merlin Codex
- https://robertholdstock.com/articles/about-the-broken-kings/
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