The Third Magic

In this interpretation of the Arthurian legend, fifteen-year-old Morgan Lefevre is mistaken for one of her ancestors while visiting England, summoned to the alien world of Nwm, and caught between the opposing cruelties of the two Magics.

Grade 7-9-- An advanced course in Welsh history would help readers of this book. Arddu and Rigan are twins in the world of Nwm. Rigan is a Sister of the Circle "missioned" to Earth, but Arddu does not share any part of her First Magic. Morgan is a 20th-Century Canadian teenager on vacation in Tintagel. The enemies of the Circle, the Line, summon Rigan back to Nwm, but bring Morgan by mistake. Although separated in time by 15 centuries, the two girls look enough alike to be twins. Arddu takes Morgan in hand, trying to get her sent back to Earth, and readers primarily follow the two in their quest to be free of the magic of both the Circle and the Line. There is a sub-plot: Rigan, on her mission, is a servant to M'rlendd, coincidentally the fifth most powerful Linesman on a mission of his own. The two forces struggle to control his pupil, Arthur. So, when Arddu and Morgan come to Earth, they come having found the Grail and Excaliber on Nwm. Consequently, Morgan becomes Morgan Le Fay (replacing Rigan and her First Magic) and Arddu becomes Arthur (replacing the Arthur influenced by M'rlendd's Second Magic), and they step into history as a Third Magic, "the link that bends the line." This is all dispatched tidily. However, the depth and breadth of ideas which have become historically attached to Arthurian legend (and which Katz acknowledges in the text) are only diminished when plot of this kind is imposed on them. The symbols in this particular story have lives of their own, and Katz' plotting simply cannot contain them in anything like a linear way. The characters of Morgan and Arddu are generally well drawn, but others are mere sketches. And, while there are some deft moments, Katz' insistent use of capitalization and High Fantasy Rhetoric only serves to blur what is an already hazy focus. The simple fact is that she has too much stuff for one book: too many ideas and too much story. --Christina L. Olson, Beverly Hills Public Library
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Katz ( Witchery Hill ) here reworks Arthurian legend into fantasy. Morgan Lefevre, 15-year-old daughter of a Canadian television show host, travels with her parents to the ruins of King Arthur's castle at Tintagel in England. While exploring the castle, she is mistaken for one of her ancestors, Morgan LeFay (only sister of King Arthur), and abruptly bidden from her life in the 20th century to the kingdom of Nwm, where the magical forces of the Circle and Line have long been locked in conflict. Bewildered by this alien world and her disorienting time travel, Morgan befriends Arddu, a boy later revealed to be King Arthur. Together, he and Morgan defend themselves against the feuding of Circle and Line (Earth also becomes embroiled in the battle) and eventually arrive at a better understanding of their roles in the Arthurian scheme. This complicated adventure story emphasizes plot and setting (each, at times, contrived and laboriously elaborate) over character development, transforming the events of legend with the addition of new material. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.