New!
articles • book quests • news • library
reviews • podcast • gifts • archives
Crew manifest Faith statement FAQs
All author resources Lorehaven Guild Subscribe for free

A Crown of Chains
Reviews, Jan 27, 2023

The Magician’s Nephew Taught Me Christ’s Compassion in the Midst of Grief
Elijah David in Articles, Jan 26, 2023

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, Jan 25, 2023

Library

Find fantastical Christian novels

fantasy · sci-fi · and beyond
middle grade · young adult · grown-ups
All novels Search Add a novel
Silver Bounty, Victoria McCombs
A Sword for the Immerland King, F. W. Faller
Calor, J. J. Fisher
Once Upon A Ren Faire, A. C. Castillo
Exile, Loren G. Warnemuende
Aberration, Cathy McCrumb
The Truth Beyond the Lies, Kathleen Bird
Frost, Winter's Lonely Guardian, E. E. Rawls
Dream of Kings, Sharon Hinck
The Change, Bradley Caffee
Quest of Fire: Desperation, Brett Armstrong
Wishtress, Nadine Brandes
Flight, Kristen Young
The Deliverer, Jason William Karpf
Podcast

Get the Fantastical Truth podcast

Podcast sponsors | Subscribe links
Archives Feedback

146. How Did Animators Adapt The Wingfeather Saga For Streaming TV? | with Keith Lango
Fantastical Truth, Jan 24, 2023

145. How Did Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’ Shape Christian Fantasy? | with Rebecca K. Reynolds
Fantastical Truth, Jan 17, 2023

144. Which Top Six Fantasy Franchises Gave Fans Grief in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 10, 2023

143. Which Top Ten Lorehaven Stories Proved Most Popular in 2022?
Fantastical Truth, Jan 6, 2023

142. What Christmas Gift ‘Tools, Not Toys’ Helped You Grow As a Person?
Fantastical Truth, Dec 20, 2022

141. Ten Years After ‘An Unexpected Journey,’ Must We Really Hate The Hobbit Films? | with Rilian of NarniaWeb
Fantastical Truth, Dec 13, 2022

Quests

Join our monthly digital book quests.

Lorehaven Guild Faith statement FAQs

Rose Petals and Snowflakes
Book Quests, January 2023

Prince Caspian
Book Quests, January 2023

Dream of Kings
Book Quests, December 2022

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Book Quests, November 2022

Reviews

Find fantastical Christian reviews

All reviews Request review

A Crown of Chains
“A Crown of Chains creatively retells a biblical tale to explore themes of providence, racism, faith, and fidelity.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 27, 2023

Lander’s Legacy
“Lander’s Legacy stacks modern thrills and complex characters on a foundation of biblical what-ifs.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 20, 2023

Prince Caspian
“Pacing starts slow but creature lore grows in C. S. Lewis’s sequel, introducing practical tyrants and talking-beast politics into a Narnian resistance.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“New and returning readers of all ages would do well to seek deeper magic within C. S. Lewis’s faithful classic.”
—Lorehaven on Jan 13, 2023

Gifts

Find new gifts for Christian fans

Archives

The original SpecFaith: est. 2006

Speculative Faith | archives

Lorehaven issues (2018–2020)

Order back issues online!
About
Library
Reviews
Podcast
Gifts
Guild
Archives
SpecFaith
Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Subscribe free to Lorehaven
/ / Guest Reviews

‘Merlin’s Blade’ Offers A New Take on The Merlin Legend

Debut author Robert Treskillard takes the story of Merlin’s youth away from the traditional Merlin story, but in a fantastic new direction.
Jeff Chapman · Jun 14, 2013 · No comments

cover_merlinsbladeWriters and poets have been building on the King Arthur legends for close to a thousand years.1 We can add a new name to that list: Robert Treskillard. Merlin’s Blade is book one in The Merlin Spiral series and Treskillard’s debut novel. At the center of this story is the young Merlin; a stone with dark, supernatural powers; and a conflict between Christianity and paganism.

Treskillard takes the story of Merlin’s youth in a new direction from the traditional Merlin story. Treskillard’s Merlin is not the spawn of an incubus but the only son of two mortals: Owain and Gwevian, both of whom are the children of chieftains. Merlin’s early life is fraught with hardship and sorrow. His mother drowns. Years later, wolves severely scar Merlin’s face and eyes when he attempts to defend his half-sister from them. Although he can see colors and shapes, Merlin is for all practical purposes blind. His father, who once fought as a warrior but is now reticent about his earlier adventures, works as the village blacksmith, making nails and horseshoes and occasionally forging a sword.

Merlin has become a devout Christian despite his father’s indifference and his step-mother’s antipathy to the relatively new faith. His step-mother’s father is a leader among the druids. Merlin is infatuated with the Magister’s daughter Natalenya. The girl has treated him kindly at chapel but Merlin is so shy in her presence that he can barely talk. He has little hope of being anything other than an admirer.

Merlin’s world turns upside down with the arrival of his step-mother’s father Mórganthu, who has wrestled a queer stone from the depths of a nearby lake. Mórganthu is gathering druids from across Britain at the old standing stones circle. He plans to use the power of the stone and its connection to Belernos—a Celtic god of the underworld—to launch an uprising against the Christian faith in Britain and reestablish the power of the druids. The stone glows blue, explodes with blue flames at times, and has the power to kill. It works on people’s weaknesses, particularly lusts for gold and power, and draws them to its worship and service.

But the stone fails to bewitch Merlin, who can hardly see it. For once his blindness is an advantage, but Merlin is also having visions that take him to another world where his sight is clear and he sometimes sees the past and other times battles with spiritual forces. To add to the turmoil that the druids stir up, the High King Uther is making a visit to gather support for the war against the Saxons. Revenge and intrigue bring the confrontation between Uther and Mórganthu to a head. The future of Britain hangs in the balance.

Treskillard tells a compelling story from various points of view and manages to hold all of his material together. Although he deviates from the standard Arthur/Merlin story, he brings in enough elements from the tradition to keep us grounded in the old mythology. Readers familiar with the Arthur/Merlin legends will recognize Uther, Vortigern, Igerna, Gorlas, the Lady of the Lake, and others. Treskillard also tells us a new story regarding the sword in the stone and works the red and white dragons into his tale.

Reading Merlin’s Blade is like stepping into a familiar roller coaster at an amusement park that takes a whole new set of twists and turns. I can’t wait to see new twists Treskillard has in store for us in book two, Merlin’s Shadow.

  1. Originally published May 27, 2013 at JeffChapmanWriter.Blogspot.com. ↩
Lorehaven may use referral links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Jeff Chapman
Jeff Chapman writes software by day and speculative fiction when he should be sleeping. Tales of Woe and Wonder, available in the Amazon Kindle store, collects nine of his fantasy stories. He lives with his wife, children, and cat in a house with more books than bookshelf space. You can find him musing about words and fiction at his blog or follow him at Twitter, his Amazon author page, or Goodreads

What do you think? Cancel reply

Lorehaven magazine, spring 2020

Wear the wonder:
Get exclusive shirts and beyond

Listen to Lorehaven’s podcast

Authors and publishers:
Reach new fans with Lorehaven

Lorehaven helps Christian fans explore fantastical stories for Christ’s glory: fantasy, science fiction, and beyond. Articles, the library, reviews, podcasts, gifts, and the Lorehaven Guild community help fans discern and enjoy the best Christian-made fantastical stories, applying their meanings to the real world Jesus Christ calls us to serve. Subscribe free to get any updates you choose and to access the Lorehaven Guild.
Website · Facebook · Instagram · Twitter