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The Crystal Cave
- Arthurian Saga, Book 1
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
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The Crystal Cave
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Publisher's Summary
The spellbinding story of Merlin's rise to power.
This is what happened. I saw it, and it is a true tale.
So begins the story of Merlin, born the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess in fifth-century Britain, a world ravaged by war. Small and neglected, with his mother unwilling to reveal his father's identity, Merlin must disguise his intelligence - and hide his occasional ability to know things before they happen - in order to keep himself safe.
One beautiful afternoon, while exploring the countryside near his home, Merlin stumbles across a cave filled with books and papers and hiding a room lined with crystals. It is the home of Galapas, who becomes Merlin's tutor and friend, and who teaches Merlin to understand the world around him...and to harness the power of the crystal cave to see the future.
Merlin will rise to power and enter history - and legend - as advisor to King Arthur. But all stories must begin somewhere. And this is his.
The Crystal Cave is the first of Mary Stewart's brilliant Arthurian Saga, telling the story of King Arthur from the perspective of the extraordinary, mysterious Merlin.
What the critics say
"Vivid, enthralling, absolutely first-class." (Daily Mail)
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What listeners say about The Crystal Cave
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Julie Duncan
- 2020-10-08
What a wonderful book
This is such a wonderful and special book and I have been reading this since I was a child I think all children that enjoy fantasy and legends of King Arthur and Merlin would enjoy this book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Blond Moment
- 2019-02-20
Reading A Saga
I read this saga when I was in my early 20s. I could barely put it down. I am once again enjoying it and probably understanding better. 🙂😊
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anne in London
- 2023-07-15
The Crystal Cave is a must read for those who follow the legend of Merlin and King Arthur
I’ve read the Crystal Cave many times over the years, and Mary Stewart’s writing is always mesmerizing. I’ve read her suspense novels, such as “Madam, Will You Talk”, and her style does not date, but her best storytelling is in her Arthurian Cycle.
The Crystal Cave tells the tale of Myrddin Emrys, who is later known as Merlin, the bastard grandchild of the King of Wales. This is set well before the coming of Arthur, while Ambrosius is still in exile in Less Brittan. I’m not doing this any justice, but suffice it to say that this covers Merlin’s early years from 6 to 22 and follows his training as an engineer, medical expert, herbalist, bard, and finally, as the King’s Prophet.
My latest foray into Mary Stewart’s world has been via an audiobook narrated by Derek Perkins. This is a brilliant narration, and he captures the note of this novel as recounted by an old man. His pacing is pitch perfect, and he voices the young Merlin and the people he encounters in such a way that there is no confusion, male, female, young, old.
I highly recommend this, and yes, I followed up with the next book in the series, The Hollow Hills.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- catherine beecraft
- 2022-01-29
Love tales of Merlin
The narration is perfect. Very clear with excellent rhythm and great variations for character delineation
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Canadianfreespirit
- 2019-11-03
THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN THIS IS THE NEXT TWO
I love this-It's my all-time favourite trilogy. The story of Merlin takes the reader back in time, thanks to Mary Stewart's incredible storytelling ability. With her words she makes all the characters and locations immediate, not lost in the distant past.
I really don't care for the narrator.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Korydwen
- 2019-03-08
Finally here
I am truly happy my favourite book has finally been re-read since the early cassette edition. It is great to have one in good quality audio. Overall, I enjoyed the whole book, and shall continue with the two following volumes, even though I know it nearly by heart through rereading and relistening. However, though the performance is very good, I cannot give it 5 stars, for the unfulfilled expectations, I suppose. I was so much hoping for a younger, a more charismatic maybe, voice to interprete Merlin's complex personality. And this is a very qualitative audiobook, but not that it is outstanding really. The voice sounds mature, a bit monotonous, not very good at doing feminine voices or children's. But that is only my subjective opinion, and I'm very conscious that the fact that I have been the series' fan for many many years is probably not the best sauce for judging new interpretations.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Matt Mole
- 2021-03-27
One of the best Arthurian retellingd
Don’t think that this is just for children. This series is one of the best retelling of the Arthurian myth. The key difference being that it is told from Merlin’s point of view.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S Que
- 2019-02-17
Finally available in Canada
So happy to finally be able to listen to this flawlessly performed masterpiece. Magical. If you haven't read this before you are in for a real treat. if you are already a fan you will be very pleased with this quality of the narration.
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