The Once and Future King by Terence Hanbury White Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Once and Future King
Book Review: A must-read classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is how the Arthurian legend began, folks. There are many aspects of this book that I absolutely love. First, the humor is brilliant, with several scenes that had me laughing so hard I had to put the book down just to be able to continue reading. When Disney made this into a movie, they did not need to add any humor. The book is great for teenagers but is still entertaining reading for adults. The light humorous feel is complemented perfectly by the painful tragedy of the main characters. The characters are developed so well that you have a genuine understanding and sympathy for Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. Additionally, for medieval buffs like me, the detailed accounts of medieval customs are absolutely fascinating. For example, White describes for 3 pages about the intricacies of jousting, including an account of how armor designs evolved so jousters would not have any seems in the armor in which a lance could be placed. The final thing that I love about this book is the morals it teaches. If you get into the King Arthur legend, this is a must read!Book Review: Not Exactly Thrilling....
Summary: 3 Stars
This book isn't exactly the thrilling, action-packed Arthur story I expected upon purchasing it.
Of course, it tells the tale of Arthur - from his preteen years until his death. Along this basic plot T. H. White has woven the story of King Pellinore and his Questing Beast, the story of several knights as they hunt for the Holy Grail, and the romance of Lancelot and Guenever.
Now, this plot promises a story of adventure and intrigue, but, ultimately, it fails to deliver. While reading, you constantly find yourself wishing the author would get on with the story. Many parts of this book seem to be T. H. White's views on the world, rather than anything related to King Arthur or any of his knights.
One example of this: the first part of the book (called "The Sword in the Stone") involves Arthur's lessons with Merlin before he becomes king. This sounds interesting, but is really just page after page of Merlin turning Arthur into one animal after another. T. H. White is able to weave his own insights and opinions on the world into Arthur's lessons, but the long, tedious lesson descriptions are ultimately pointless plotwise.
T. H. White's observations and views on our own world are very insightful, and he presents them very convincingly, but this book comes off as a lecture on the issues faced by mankind instead of a tale of King Arthur.
The book gets much more interesting near the end, but, the ending was rather abrupt. Arthur dies while engaged in a war (I won't say against whom), but T. H. White simply describes Arthur's death and stops writing. Who won the war? What happened to Lancelot and Guenever? Who inherited Arthur's kingdom? All these questions are left unanswered at the end of the novel. In this sense, The Once and Future King seems incomplete.
In conclusion, though the writing style of The Once and Future King was very good, the book lost some momentum with a stop-and-go plot and an incomplete-feeling ending.
3-stars and just okay....
Book Review: More Than a Fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
The Once and Future King is a literary wonder! T. H. White takes us on a smooth & graceful ride of a wonderous and fulfilling adventure.
Through a medieval time, he keeps us entranced with the stories starting with "Wart" and Kay then guiding us to the infamous King Arthur, Queen Guenever, Sir Lancelot, and Galahad (Lancelot's son). Of course, there are many other coloured characters that keeps our mind's eye straining to see and crave more.
More than a fantasy, Mr. White goes into perfect detail of time & place of old England along with twisting & winding of mountain paths, beasts of mystery, and sharpened adjectives which brings the landscapes alive.
I would recommend this novel to anyone over the age of 13, as there are graphic scenes that may upset those of a younger age. T. H. White is an accomplished writer of many works whom I intend to read more of.
Book Review: My all time favorite
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the greatest book sever written, in my opinion. I read in tenth grade and will never forget it.Book Review: Very slow moving book
Summary: 2 Stars
The book is kind of good, but it moves very very slowly ... there are periods when you feel like its not getting anywhere .. the literature is of course very good, but a ver slow book