Dry and bland. I appreciate the themes the author tried to incorporate, like preconceptions and fate. But it seemed like she bent and twisted the original Arthurian mythology to try to make those themes work, ultimately making everything seem unnatural and forced. ( )

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. ( )

It is a well put together work about what many think is a minor character, but is actually one of utmost importance. The tale of Mordred needs to be shared more, and Nancy Springer does a very good job. ( )

Originally posted at FanLit.
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/reviews/i-am-mordred/

3.5 stars


Almost all the modern stories derived from Arthurian legends focus on King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, and Merlin. Why does Mordred, the man who eventually brings down the whole shebang, get such short shrift? Thereƒ??s plenty of source material, most notably Geoffrey of Monmouthƒ??s Historia Regum Britanniae and Thomas Maloryƒ??s Le Morte dƒ??Arthur. Maybe itƒ??s that Mordred isnƒ??t very romantic. Or maybe we just donƒ??t like reading about people who are hard to root for.

In her novel I Am Mordred, Nancy Springer flips the legend, brings the traitorous Mordred to tragic life, and makes him easy to sympathize with. When we meet Mordred heƒ??s a happy child being raised in a loving home by hard-working fisherfolk. His life changes when heƒ??s discovered and taken away. Now he lives with a cold mother, a heavy burden (Merlin has publicly prophesied that Mordred will kill King Arthur) and a huge helping of guilt (King Arthur killed all the babies in the realm when he found out about Mordredƒ??s birth).

But Mordred doesnƒ??t want to kill anybody. Heƒ??s a sensitive child who just wants to be loved and accepted by his scheming mother and the kind father who refuses to acknowledge him as son. Can Mordred find love? Can he defy his fate, or is he destined to fulfill it?

I Am Mordred is a short sad novel with a sympathetic anti-hero. Nancy Springerƒ??s prose is pretty and she brings a little piece of Arthurian Legend to life as Mordred gives his candid impressions of Arthur, Morgause, Morgan Le Fay, and others. In addition Springer explores such subjects as the nature of family, love, loneliness, original sin, self-determinism, fate and free will, honor, shame and guilt, and the function of the soul.

I Am Mordred is marketed to children aged 10 and up. As far as childrenƒ??s literature goes, the tale is rather somber and dark, dealing with incest, adultery, murder, and death, but itƒ??s tastefully done and none of it is graphic or glorifying. Nancy Springer succeeds in illustrating the lesson that we should always try to look at events from other peopleƒ??s perspectives. I wouldnƒ??t hesitate to recommend I Am Mordred to children, but keep in mind that itƒ??s dark and sad. Springer doesnƒ??t change the legendary ending.

I listened to Steven Crossley narrate Recorded Bookƒ??s version of I Am Mordred. I enjoyed this production. ( )

As I am Morgan Le Fey told the early story of Morgan and some of her early experiences which formed her into the woman we know from the Arthurian Tales, this does the same for Mordred. Mordred was fated to kill his father, King Arthur. His mother was Morgan, Arthur's sister and different versions of the stories have her knowing he was her brother when they slept together and other have them both ignorant. Mordred is found by a middle aged couple who are unable to have children of their own when he washes up on the shore by their hut one night. Arthur had put all the babies born on a certain date in a boat and set it adrift in an effort to kill his illegitimate son and curtail the prophecy.

Mordred grows up not knowing who he really is until he is on the cusp of puberty. Nimue comes for him and takes him to live with his aunt Morgause and he still doesn't know the truth of his birth. Morgan keeps trying to contact him, but he is afraid and doesn't take to her at all. When he finally does learn the truth of his birth and who hhis parents are all he wants is his father to acknowledge him and make him proud. He feels like he is living under a curse and tries to do everything he can to dispel it and not live up to what is prophesised for him.

The novel though short is filled with mystery and magic. Nimue is a character I always loved despite what she does to Merlin (I always thought he was a bit too much of a know-it-all and it was good for him to be taken down by a woman!) and I love her expanded role in the story and the way the dog and falcon fit the tale. It examines whether our lives are predestined and ruled by fate or if we can change them with free will. Pretty timeless questions and I liked how Springer dealt with them. ( )