The Iron Grail
core novel 2002 The Merlin Codex
Record
| First published | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.75 (427 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 336 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765307262 |
Synopsis
The Iron Grail, published by Robert Holdstock in 2002, continues the Merlin Codex trilogy after Celtika. Jason, reunited with the truth about his sons in the first book, now sets out in earnest to find them, aware that Medea hid them from him rather than killing them as he had long believed. His search assembles a new company of Argonauts to crew the ship Argo once more, and draws in Merlin himself, whose growing involvement with Jason's quest pulls the enchanter deeper into mortal affairs than his long, detached existence has previously allowed. As the search for Jason's hidden sons unfolds across unfamiliar lands, old loyalties and older magic complicate what might otherwise be a straightforward reunion, setting the stage for the deeper mythic currents running beneath the trilogy.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Merlin Codex
- Series: The Merlin Codex core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Robert Holdstock
Awards (verified)
- Czech Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Award (Best Novel), 2002: won; A minor, non-English-language-market award; confirmed via the author's own official awards page.
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 2 of 3: previous Celtika (2001) · next The Broken Kings (2007)
Sources
← The Merlin Codex dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.