Title: Merlin’s Harp
Author: Anne Eliot Crompton
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Provided by Publisher
Parental Warning: Sexuality, Battle Violence

“We walked the sky, halfway to the Flowering Moon.  Far below us, two statue-quiet figures faced once another on a high earth rampart.  Below them on one side stretched earth, Goddess-lovely, clothed in silver night; on the other side Human bodies walked, made love, fought, ate or slept; Human spirits hovered like shining bees over clover, some in the flowers and some slightly above. A very few stood with us in the sky, like distant stars.  The nearest of these I thought might be Merlin.”

Summary:
Nivienne is of the Fey, living her life across two worlds.  The first, her home, filled with fairy and mystical creatures provides her happiness and a degree of solitude she longingly hopes to embrace for the remainder of her life.  The second, the land of humans, where pain and sacrifice took hold of the people whom she loved most.

A prodigy of Merlin, Nivienne travels with him between her beloved Avalon to the land of King Arthur in order to assist in various intrigues to keep the Peace.  Having lost the only child she’d ever born, endured her brother’s departure from their home, and losing the only man she could see herself connected to she felt no true allegiance to love.  Until one day in the throws of palace intrigue she finds her heart suddenly beating again; she finds that in keeping the Peace she could find happiness. Now she sets out to help save not only Arthur’s land but her own as well.

Opinion:
Touted as a new and different interpretation of Arthurian legend I thought perhaps this book would be a good bridge into fantasy for a reader somewhat interested in exploring the genre.  Unfortunately it fell short in that regard.  It was such a tough read that it did more to turn me off the genre than on.

The flowery and excessive prose made it, at times, difficult to follow.  I never really got a clear picture of what either land looked like.  Apple Valley (ie: Avalon) was slightly more vivid than Arthur’s kingdom but all things considered the characters hopped so quickly between different settings it was tough to grasp on to any sense of place or time.  Speaking of which, I had no idea if we were in the present or the past or seeing some sort of Fey vision of the future.

Not having read much in this genre or much in the way of Arthurian literature some of the intricacies were lost on me.  However, I will say I found some of the characterizations and relationships developed to have quite a bit of potential.  I would really have enjoyed seeing more of Lugh and the Fey girl he’d left behind.  I actually found that element of the story (while extremely short lived) quite compelling.  Heck I would have chucked the whole Arthurian aspect to just focus on that part of the story entirely.

In the end, what I take away from having read this book is that this type of fantasy isn’t for me.  Perhaps lovers of the genre will read it and find it’s strengths, I would certainly enjoy hearing a different perspective.

[This review is part of a blog tour arranged by Sourcebooks Fire where you can view a list of the participating blogs]