The Poisoned Chalice – Simon Forward
*Warning – may contain spoilers*
Author: Simon
Forward
Publisher: Bantam
Books
First published: 2009
Cover: Hardcover,
signed by Bradley James and Angel Coulby
Pages: 194
Blurb: The sorceress Nimueh is weaving a spell with
powerful dark magic and her target is Merlin! Prince Arthur tries to help, but
it seems he may be walking into a trap…
History of my copy: I got all the BBC
Merlin books for Christmas a few years back and I’m slowly making my way
through them all. They only cost me around £2.80 each. However, unknown to me
(and probably the seller), my copy of this book has been signed by the actor
and actress that plays Arthur and Gwen! It wasn’t until I opened it that I
noticed! Not a bad bargain, if I do say so myself.
As for Merlin the TV show, I hated it when it first appeared
on our screens back in 2008. I’ve always been a fan of Arthurian legend, and
the show was so far off from the original myths that it just irked me. However,
a few years ago, I tried again and became hooked! I binged the show and fell so
in love with it. Since then, I have been a huge fan.
Plot: As you can probably tell, this
book is a retelling of series 1 episode 4 of the BBC TV show Merlin. We, as the
reader, follow Merlin and Arthur as King Bayard and the Mercians come to visit
Camelot to sign a peace treaty. However, unknown to all, evil sorceress Nimueh
is disguised as a serving girl and succeeds in poisoning Merlin. Arthur goes on
a quest to find the antidote yet nearly dies in the process. However, as is
their destiny, both Merlin and Arthur live to see another day.
Although
held back by the fact the book is limited to the story of the TV episode with
the same name, and thus the ending is known, I really enjoy the extra
information, especially on the thoughts and feelings of the characters that the
books provide.
Setting: Descriptions of settings really
leave something to be desired in this book. Luckily, just like the majority of
readers of this book, I have seen the episode countless times so I could
heavily rely on that to picture what was going on. Without having watched the
TV episode, I feel as if this book really wouldn’t do much for someone.
Characters: Possibly my favourite aspect
of these books, besides being able to delve into the world of Camelot in a
different way, is the development of characters! TV shows are rather limited to
being able to display the deep, inner thoughts of characters, especially as too
many monologues just look silly. These books allow the fans to truly get a
sense of Arthur’s loyalty to Merlin, Gwen’s friendship, Gaius’ father-ness and
just how cruel Uther can truly be. Character development is, without a doubt, a
highlight of both the books and TV show and it’s really interesting to see how
the cocky Prince Arthur becomes the King he is destined to be.
And, let’s not forget that this
story had the wonderful line “That’s disgusting. You should be ashamed of
yourself – you’re old enough to be her grandfather!” aimed at Gaius and Gwen.
That is followed by Gwen kissing Merlin – how sweet! As the series developed, I
really did miss the cute, innocent moments of the young adults from series 1.
To read or not to
read: Read. Although The Poisoned Chalice was one of my least
favourite series 1 episodes, I really enjoyed this book. I think that the
episode lacked the bond between Arthur and Merlin that the book displays
wonderfully. New and old fans alike will love this retelling.
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