The Last Enchantment Author:Mary Stewart Merlin, whom men call "enchanter," is the narrator of this magnificent and haunting novel of Dark Age Britain, which begins with Arthur now King by right, having darwn the sword Caliburn from the stone. He instantly plunges into fierce warfare against the Saxon enemy, fighting to achieve the "small miracle" of unity and independence that Britain... more » alone attained among the dependencies of a crumbling Roman Empire. But Merlin's story focuses on a different kind of warfare against more subtle and dangerous enemies. Of these the chief if Morgause, rose-gold witch and half-sister to Arthur, whom she once snared incestuously to her bed, an act resulting in the birth of a son, Mordred, who will be the most dangerous of all. In fact, the book begins with the desperate and bloody attempt to find and murder this child. It fails, and one by one Merlin's other prophecies are realized: the passion and grief of Arthur's marriages; his betrayal by friends and kinfolk; Merlin's overpowering but short-lived love. The account of Merlin's own enchanting is not, however, a tragic one. In the dark ebb-tide of his gift he finds that he is not totally deserted by the god who bestowed it. Struggling for resignation, he finds a fullfillment that even he had never dreamed of. His power and bright vision will be there at the King's service as long as Arthur lives, and, as he believes, long after.« less