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Bestselling author Jane Yolen does not retell the tale of King Arthur in this imaginative novel for young readers so much as re-invent it. There are familiar characters such as Arthur, Gawaine, and Merlin (here called Merlinnus), and elements from the traditional story, including the famed sword in the stone. But The Sword of the Rightful King treats these as ingredients to cook up an entirely new... More

Bestselling author Jane Yolen does not retell the tale of King Arthur in this imaginative novel for young readers so much as re-invent it. There are familiar characters such as Arthur, Gawaine, and Merlin (here called Merlinnus), and elements from the traditional story, including the famed sword in the stone. But The Sword of the Rightful King treats these as ingredients to cook up an entirely new story. In Yolen's version, Arthur is a young king. He wears the crown but sits perhaps a bit uneasily upon the throne. It has been reported to the king that there are some who will betray or even kill him in order to rise to power. To assure the subjects, the magician Merlinnus places a sword in a stone and announces that whosoever pulls it out, will be the rightful ruler of England. The fact that someone else pulls the sword out of the stone first is just one of numerous intriguing twists. Yolen manages to update the legend and make it fresh for a modern younger audience without resorting to gimmickry and incongruous references (no one says "dude", Lancelot does not ride a skateboard). Instead, she recasts the characters as real people: flawed, troubled, and altogether human. And while they still exist in long-ago England, the people we meet and the situations they find themselves in are accessible to readers of any age. (All ages) --John Moe

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