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A review by ghostlydreamer
The Book of Mordred by Vivian Vande Velde
3.0
Ah, yes. The Book of Mordred. I still have this book, and I'm actually surprised by that. I thought for sure I'd have gotten rid of it by now. Not because it was bad; it wasn't bad by any means. But it wasn't impressive either. It was very middle of the road. And that was VERY disappointing, especially in hindsight. So why, then, did it still get three stars? Because I think I forced myself to like it more. Told myself it was much better than it was. And why the hell did I do that? Because I was 18 and had just finished watching the BBC show Merlin during my senior year of high school, which I was OBSESSED with. So naturally, when I found this book, I was excited as hell to read it. Arthurian legend? Hell yes! Arthurian legend at a bargain price, found in the clearance section of my local Hastings just before they announced their bankruptcy and EVERYTHING went on clearance? Even better. You have no idea how excited I was. I didn't even sit on the book, I was that excited to read it (and I'm the queen of hoarding books and not reading them for god knows how long).
And then I read it. And it wasn't bad. But it wasn't great. And I was hoping to see a lot more Morgana (she's my favorite and always will be). And I was disappointed to see it wasn't all like the show. And the pacing was off? It just read really slowly, and I couldn't wait to just...be done with it. I was impatient! And that was the last thing I wanted to be with a book like this. I read it VERY quickly, but that's partly because I was already in the habit of reading anywhere between 6 and 8 hours a day that that was a given even if I hated the book. That didn't change the fact that it was a SLOG, and I had to force myself to keep going. Again, not because it was bad, but it just wasn't enough to keep me interested for several hours of reading at one time.
In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have forced myself to keep reading it. That sounds pretty bad. And I wasn't FULLY in the habit of DNFing books at the time, so I guess it's no surprise I kept going. That, in combination with the fact that I was obsessed with Merlin prior and refused to let myself be disappointed by the first book I'd ever found that talked about Arthurian legend. But it fell several inches too short, and I'm probably still holding onto it only because it's got a nice cover and it's got memories attached to it...that really have nothing to do with it at all. Oh well. I suppose it could have been worse, right? Or maybe I was setting myself up with unrealistic expectations, and that's why I didn't love it like I hoped. Who knows.
And then I read it. And it wasn't bad. But it wasn't great. And I was hoping to see a lot more Morgana (she's my favorite and always will be). And I was disappointed to see it wasn't all like the show. And the pacing was off? It just read really slowly, and I couldn't wait to just...be done with it. I was impatient! And that was the last thing I wanted to be with a book like this. I read it VERY quickly, but that's partly because I was already in the habit of reading anywhere between 6 and 8 hours a day that that was a given even if I hated the book. That didn't change the fact that it was a SLOG, and I had to force myself to keep going. Again, not because it was bad, but it just wasn't enough to keep me interested for several hours of reading at one time.
In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have forced myself to keep reading it. That sounds pretty bad. And I wasn't FULLY in the habit of DNFing books at the time, so I guess it's no surprise I kept going. That, in combination with the fact that I was obsessed with Merlin prior and refused to let myself be disappointed by the first book I'd ever found that talked about Arthurian legend. But it fell several inches too short, and I'm probably still holding onto it only because it's got a nice cover and it's got memories attached to it...that really have nothing to do with it at all. Oh well. I suppose it could have been worse, right? Or maybe I was setting myself up with unrealistic expectations, and that's why I didn't love it like I hoped. Who knows.