In the Author's Note preceding the main text, Green states that his goal for retelling the Arthur legend is to weave separate stories from several ancient authors into a flowing narrative. In so doing, he includes "all the best-known adventures . . . of the most famous knights of the Round Table." That's the strength of this version- it's a good introduction to the myriad of knights and adventures revolving around the Arthur legend. Sadly, that's about the only benefit here. The intended audience is children, and for that reason the prose is fast-flowing, but it lacks suspense, is tremendously repetitive, and is (sadly) of little interest. Written in 1953, today's children (and adults) will have a slight bit of difficulty following some of the terminology and wording. The aforementioned value as an introduction/comprehensive overview is the only thing saving this from a failing grade. If you're interested in Arthur, I'd pick up T.H. White's Once and Future King or Cornwell's trilogy well before this one.
Rating: C-
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