CompleteMartialArts.com - I Am Mordred : A Tale from Camelot
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List Price: $16.99
Our Price: $13.02
Your Save: $ 3.97 ( 23% )
Availability: N/A
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 184
Publication Date: 1998-04-13
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Editorial Reviews:
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What will a person give to forsake his destiny? From his very incarnation, Mordred has been a pawn in Camelot's history. Foretold by Merlin that he will grow up to kill his father, the beloved King Arthur, young Mordred struggles with his fate, loathing the great king who tried to kill him as a baby, yet journeying to Camelot where he learns to serve and idolize the legendary leader. Torn between feelings of love and hate, Mordred yearns to make peace with Arthur, who still refuses to acknowledge him. But Mordred is determined to have peace at any price--even if it costs him his soul. In I Am Mordred, one of the most fascinating and misunderstood heroes of Arthurian lore comes to life in an epic fantasy for Camelot fans. Nancy Springer lives in Dallastown, PA.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Comment: WOW! I am a huge Arthurian legend fan and know a good deal about it. This is my favorite book!
However, I would not recommend this book for anyone who is into the whole 'King Arthur's so great' and/or 'Mordred was born evil.' No one was born evil, and if your father tried to kill you because HE screwed up, you'd be ticked off, too!
I am a fantasy writer myself, and I found this book absolutely amazing! Springer showed that Mordred was NOT born evil, and that he tried to fight his fate. I like to think that if Mordred had lived, he would of been like this.
The whole book is amazing- and the end is so sad! I'm not a sentimental person and I cried (in school I was reading, so that was just great :-)
People, you need 2 read this book!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Jacob Henderson's Review
Comment: I Am Mordred is a fascinating and exciting book. It begins with a young boy, about nine years old. He lives with his adopted family who found him in a small boat at sea. He lives his life happily until Lady Nyneve comes and takes him to his true mother, Queen Moragause. On the way to his mother and step-father's castle however, he learns who his real father is and, what his fate is. Foretold by the magician Merlin, it was said that Mordred will kill his father in battle. Not only is it a heinous crime to kill but Mordred's father is none other than King Arthur. The book continues to show how Mordred tries many times to save himself from the scornful eyes of the entire country and also save his father from this fate. Mordred gets very little help on his journey. He only has Lady Nyneve, his faithful dog Gull, his brothers Gawain and Garret, and lastly the king himself. However, they all help him at some point. For instance, Nyneve helps him escape from Morgan Le Fay's castle, Gawain and Garret train Mordred to be a knight, and Gull helps him to face his fears and accompanies him through out his journey. Lastly King Arthur helps him to relieve the pain of his life.
The book is full of revenge, such as Gawain and Garret killing their father's murderer. The book also has several points of betrayal, an example being Mordred's aunt. Morgan Le Fay trapping him in her castle.
Mordred is the main character in the story. He only wants people to not judge him and to be able to settle down and live his life peacefully. Nyneve wants almost the exact same thing only with one crucial change; instead of people not judging her, she wants to be an equal to the men of the court. Gawain and Garret just want to serve King Arthur and King Arthur wants to please everyone. By putting all of these characters together, Nancy Springer has achieved a high place on my respected authors list.
Historically, the book itself is only semi-accurate. It shows fighting with swords as illustrated on page 83 "Gawain swung his sword". It shows what the main form of transportation at the time was horses as shown on page 78 "Pellinore sent his charger into the courtyard". It shows many of the beliefs that were common at the time such as the king being able to heal the sick. But it introduces magic at a very early point. By magic, I don't mean pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but more like shooting lightning out of your hand and killing someone. Fairly early on in the book, Mordred learns to scry. Scrying is a form of magic in which you can see what other people are doing and where they are. Later on in the book someone turns in to a bird then disappears. Someone also has their soul stolen.
I feel that this book is aimed at more sophisticated readers who are prepared for anything. The book requires some endurance to read because often there is lots of boredom followed by lots of excitement in a repeated pattern. The book can also be very emotional, especially during the final chapters. Also the book gets quite violent, so young readers beware.
I truly enjoyed reading "I Am Mordred" and I think that you will too.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I am Mordred
Comment: Interesting to have a story of just Mordred and why he became what he became...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not Free SF Reader
Comment: Nancy Springer's novel presents Mordred in a more sympathetic light,
delving into why he is who he is, and did what he did. In a similar
manner to Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave, it starts with him as a
teenager, after having survived a purge meant to kill him as a baby.
A bit of a geeky boy, he returns to Camelot to try and come to an
understanding with his father, and a reverse Lex Luthor/Superman type
of problem continues to get in the way.
Very well done.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gripping, Unfortunately
Comment: It had seemed like a good book when I had started reading it, but, no, it wasn't, and for a lot of different reasons. The first (and probably the most annoying) is the way the author sets this character up: in a good story, you'd want to make your audience sad when they die. When Mordred died, I was very happy. When Arthur lived, I was disappointed. When Mordred didn't die, I wondered what the point of the story was. To make everyone hate Mordred? Um, that's already happened, Miss Springer. The second, is its details, which were not only boring, but pointless. The third, is that I couldn't stop reading it. Really, I wanted to rush this over to the nearest recycling center, but the book won't relieve you of its awfulness. If ever you concider this book, DON'T READ IT! I'd never read a bad book until I read I AM MORDRED.
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