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Review: The Once and Future King

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

I give this book a 4.

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Everyone knows the story of King Arthur, or at least, some part of it. I thought about trying to read Mallory and decided to pass. Then I thought of the cute Disney film, The Sword in the Stone, and learned that much of it came from the first “book” in this story. Truth be told, I was always curious about this book, but never took the time to read it, so at last I had an opportunity to listen to the audio book and took it.

For the most part, I adore this book. This is everything the story of King Arthur should be, a combination of realism and fantasy, innocence and guilt, and as always an underlined lesson to be learned. I don’t know if this is supposed to be a children’s book, but I guess it could be, as long as an adult is around to do a lot of explaining. If you can get a teen to sit down and read (or listen to) a book of this length, I think they will enjoy it.

I must say there are a few long passages that seem to drag the story along, over describing or explaining things, but I’ve been guilty of that myself. I would have to say that my least favorite part of the book was the whole love triangle. It seemed really silly to me, but most love triangles are, so that wasn’t a big deal and it is actually part of the original mythology. There were also some very drawn out political discussions that I could have done without, but if you’re a fan of politics in general, you’ll be quite pleased. My favorite part was, of course, Arthur’s youth.

It’s a shame that it took me so long to getting around to this story. It’s clear how this story has inspired others of its kind and I’m glad that to have finally experienced it.

This review has been posted to GoodReads. If you’d like to obtain a copy of this book, try this link.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Guest Posts

If Brains Were Dynamite by Alec Hawkes

image from Amazon.com

Book Title: If Brains Were Dynamite

Author Name: Alec Hawkes

Publisher: Independent

Reading Level: adult

Genre: satire

Content Rating: PG

Available Formats: ebook, paperback

Number of pages
: 116

Purchase links: Consumer Review by C.W. LovattAmazon UK | Amazon U.S.

Book Blurb from Amazon.com

The follow up to ‘Common Sense Would Be Good’. Expanding on the same theme, the author mocks the crooks and idiots who continue to make a mess of running government while lining their own pockets. Very funny.

Author Bio from Amazon.com

image from Amazon.com

My name is Alec Hawkes, an English chap with a rather good sense of humour. I am in my early 50’s, and have had no formal training whatsoever in how to write. That is, of course, since my school days. However, I love to read and I love to write. My writing style is all mine. My day job is a night job, for I am part of a nearly extinct species, the dear old milkman, unique – I do believe – to Britain. Please correct me if I am wrong. I have a deep affection for comedy, irony, satire, and anything that raises a chuckle or deep belly laugh, or even merely an eyebrow. My own books – two so far, with more to come – are satirical swipes at the political and banking systems in Britain. I am told that many a chuckle and raised eyebrow come from reading my books. My third, which I am working on now, will have a more international feel as I have a ‘pop’ at many more politicians. All in fun, of course, though with a serious underlying message for the buggers to TELL THE TRUTH!

To learn a bit more about Alec Hawkes, check out his special Facebook Interview here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords