I Am Mordred

December 24, 2001
In what PW
called a "suspenseful debut novel," a pack of deer face the realization of an ancient prophecy—and a struggle between good and evil builds to the very end. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) I AM MORDRED: A Tale from Camelot Nancy Springer. Penguin Putnam/Firebird, $5.99 ISBN 0-698-11841-3. In a starred review, PW
wrote, "Springer reworks Arthuriana to craft an original tale resonant with archetypal themes of love, loss, betrayal and reconciliation." Ages 12-up.

May 1, 1998
Gr 5-8-Told in the first person, this is an involving and moving story. Mordred, the bad seed, the son of King Arthur and his sister, spends his youth learning who he is and then trying to deal with the prophecy made by Merlin that he will kill his father. Springer portrays Mordred as a troubled child who is plagued by his feelings of love and hate for Arthur. As a teenager, he seeks Camelot and tries to earn his father's recognition and acceptance, but eventually flees in a turmoil of emotion. The sorceress Nyneve tries to help him to fight his fate. She cannot protect him from Merlin, however, who forces Mordred to look at a vision of the future. Distraught, Mordred begs Arthur to hold in safe keeping his very soul. Unfortunately, Merlin steals it and ensures an unhappy ending. By focusing on Mordred's dilemma of being caught in a situation not of his own making, Springer portrays the tension in Mordred between wanting to do good and the fear that he cannot fight his fate. A thoughtful youngster, he is particularly distressed by the beheadings and acts of vengeance around him. Although many of the characters have magical abilities, they are portrayed as real human beings. This dichotomy increases the tension: good and evil are seen in terms both human and magical; Mordred is able to chose to be one or the other but his choices can also be thwarted by magic. A complex, necessarily slow-moving novel that will reward serious readers.-Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library

Starred review from April 15, 1998
Gr. 7^-12. Springer humanizes Arthurian archvillain Mordred in a thoroughly captivating and poignant tale. Here, Mordred is the bastard son of King Arthur and his sister Morgause, and a moving prologue pictures a melancholy but determined Arthur, at the behest of Merlin, placing aboard an unmanned coracle 40 naked male babies born of the nobility on May Day and then pushing the boat from shore. One baby, Mordred, the one fated to slay his father, survives and is reared by a simple fisherman and his wife. The boy's happy childhood ends when he is fetched by the sorceress Nyneve, who takes him to be educated as a noble by King Lothe and his wife, Queen Morgause. Narrated by Mordred, the story takes us into his private fears, doubts, and agonies as he tries to sort through his love-hate feelings for his father. At 15, Mordred comes to Camelot and meets his father, who refuses--for the well-being of the realm--to acknowledge his son. Desperate to negate his destiny as Arthur's killer, Mordred embarks on a long and dangerous quest, which ends when he seeks out Merlin, who has been imprisoned by Nyneve, and inadvertently, out of a kind heart, sets the wizard free. Mordred's inexorable path to fulfilling his destiny is played out against a rich tapestry of Arthurian lore and spirited characterizations. Connect this to T. A. Barron's dynamic, still-in-progress Merlin saga--so far, "The Lost Years of Merlin" (1996) and "The Seven Songs of Merlin" (1997)--which gives Merlin the same kind of stimulating treatment that this gives Mordred. ((Reviewed April 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)