by Susan Cooper
Published 1965
This is the first in a series of Arthurian tales set in modern (well, modern at the time of writing) times. In this book, we meet the Drew children and, more importantly, their Great-Uncle Merry. In this book, the children set off on a quest to find the Holy Grail, fighting the powers of darkness along the way.
It is a good book. The pacing is excellent, the story is gripping, and the characters likable (or unlikable, as the case may be). However, for me, there are two kinds of fantasy tales. The first simply avoid the mention of religion completely (Harry Potter, actually, is an excellent example of this). The second express disdain and scorn for religious beliefs has just another (and inferior) fantasy. Unfortunately, Cooper’s stories fall into the latter category. While it is not as blatant in this first book, I have read the rest of the series in the past, and the concept that, basically, King Arthur is the savior of the world, and Jesus merely an echoing myth of King Arthur, is disturbing.
So while this book is, itself, a 3/5, I would not personally recommend the rest of the series.
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