Mordred: Bastard Son (Mordred Trilogy)

Book Description

"Inspired."- Booklist

"Refreshingly original."- Publishers Weekly

A monk becomes enthralled by the story prisoner Mordred has to tell, one of ambition, power, and betrayal. Here, Mordred emerges as a sympathetic and romantic hero, tortured by his love for the knight he cannot possess.

Customer Reviews:

Mordred's Side of the Story.......2007-05-21

The legend of King Arthur is retold from the point of view of Mordred, who is abstaining from sex until he masters sorcery.

The Retelling of a Legend.......2007-04-25

Clegg, Douglas. "Mordred, Bastard Son", Alyson, 2006.

The Retelling of a Legend

Amos Lassen and Literary Pride

I have always found the legend of King Arthur to be fascinating stuff and I try to read everything about it that I can. Douglas Clegg presents some new ideas in "Mordred, [..]". The book is not only very interesting but looks at the legend in a new way and the Arthurian stories have always been a pleasure to read. The idea of looking at Mordred as something more than a villain and as gay shows a whole new way of looking AT Arthurian England and Clegg really does the story justice.
The plot is filled with running narratives which ramble for pages and then suddenly stop and many pages are spent on Mordred's chastity. Nevertheless, the book is interesting. Clegg's revival of Mordred by beginning with the story of his mother, Morgan le Fay who is fleeing Arthur who wants to kill her before the baby is born. It had been foretold that Morgan's baby would bring the downfall of Arthur's kingdom. Yet Mordred is born and spends his life struggling against his homoerotic desires. He loves his friend Lukat who cannot return that love. Merlin the Magician is Mordred's teacher and he demands that Mordred not have sex until he has mastered the art of sorcery. The core of the story is Mordred's agony in postponing sex so that he can learn. We do get to the point when Mordred finally does have gay sex and it is a very good and sexy passage.
Throughout the book we renew acquaintances with characters that we have met in other books about Camelot and we meet some new characters as well. And finally the book begins to pick up speed.
As Mordred learned of the elements, the forest and magic, he becomes attracted to his best friend and tells him that they are men who love other men. As a teenager, Mordred was consumed with adolescent primal sexual urges but he realizes that knowledge is more important and represses his desires. What he did not know, once he gave in to his carnal desire, was that the man he lusted after was to become his betrayer. He is deceived into believing that he can live as a gay man and remain unaffected by the outside world. He is constantly betrayed and as he reaches manhood, he must deal with his own crimes of passion and his yearning to be at peace in the world.
Clegg gives us a compelling story which is to be part of a trilogy. His reinvention of the sexuality of Mordred is a novel twist. He is now not a betrayer but a seductive and passionate hero living in a world that has no law and is violent and superstitious. Mordred remains bound to the ancient rites of midsummer but he must do what he has been predestined to do.
We read as Mordred changes from a young prince who realizes that he must pay a debt to live to an adult who tries to find a place in the world. As gay we are often enchanted with classical myths and we enjoy reading about gay heroes finding their place in the course of history. Clegg has managed to center Mordred as a hero who enjoys same-sex love and it is hard now to imagine the Arthurian legend being told any other way. We can find similarities in our own lives in the Mordred story as Clegg brings to vibrant life the legend--he did not rewrite the story, he just told it from a different point of view and it is exciting. "Mordred" does not let us forget that life as we know it is a mystery that we are not always able to understand. Love and the loss of love is part of all of our lives whether we are gayer straight just as we all wonder why we are here. Clegg uses these themes powerfully with both sorrow and humor. The only problem with the book is that two more are to follow and I have to wait to read them. Clegg wrapped me in his story from the first sentence and now I am all wrapped up waiting for the next two volumes.

Boring.......2007-02-13

As a fan of Arthurian stories and a gay man I was looking forward to this retelling of the legend of Mordred, Arthur, etc. While Clegg gives us some interesting ideas, I was never really captured by the story. At the end I was left feeling rather ho hum about the story, and not at all interested in seeing where book 2 and 3 would take the story.

Intriguing, but Flawed.......2007-01-26

The concept - the reinvention (rediscovery?) of Mordred as something more than a villain and as a gay man - has a lot of potential. In execution, this potential was tapped, but not quite enough.

The plot is difficult to follow at times, with rambling narratives that veer off and rejoin and veer off again. A comparatively large amount of time is spent wallowing in Mordred's chastity - too much, I think, because I started rolling my eyes at his Raging Hormones well before the wallowing climaxed, as it were. The sentence structure also sometimes goes galloping off with its bit between its teeth, winding on with such convoluted or rambling phrasing that more than one sentence requires rereading to grasp its meaning. Typographical errors and lingering mark-up - although not a huge problem - are also just enough of a presence to occasionally throw me from my reading.

That being said, it was still an interesting book and I'm glad I read it. I look forward to how Mordred will continue to develop as a character within the constraints of Arthurian legend and how the audience for his narrative will evolve with him. Still, I will wish that my local library would carry the future volumes, as I don't know that I'd want to pay for them.

Bizarre.......2006-11-06

This book is for a speciality audience, those that want to explore their nightmares becoming real.

Book Description

As the summer of 1322 brings sun to the Devonshire countryside, it seems that the small village of Sticklepath is destined to remain in darkness. An afternoon of innocent adventure becomes one of gruesome terror when two playmates uncover the body of a young girl up on the moors. The body is that of ten-year-old Aline, who had gone missing six years earlier. When Sir Baldwin Furnshill and his friend Simon Puttock are called to the scene to investigate, they soon discover that Aline is not the only young girl to have been found dead in recent years. It seems that the villagers have been concealing not only a serial killer, but a possible case of cannibalism. Or, if the rumors are to be believed, a vampire.

Customer Reviews:

Death on The Moors.......2006-08-22

Michael Jecks gave up a career in the computer industry when he began writing the internationally successful Templar series. Well all I can say is the Computer Industries loss is the reader's gain. He has now written about a score of the Knights Templar mystery books featuring Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock and there are more to follow. Michael's books are full of intrigue and mystery and they are particularly well researched. Mr. Jecks lives in the area he writes about and I am sure this must assist him a great deal with his background research.

1322, a beautiful summer's day and two children playing on the moors find the body of a young girl. The body has lain there a long time and eventually it is established that it is the remains of Aline, the daughter of Swetricus. She went missing six years ago when she was only 10-years-old.

Sir Baldwin de Furnshill, Keeper of the King's Peace and his close associate and friend the Bailiff Simon Puttock are called to investigate, and to their surprise they discover that Aline is not the only girl to have been found dead in recent years. It would seem that the villagers have been concealing other things apart from someone who has no compunction about killing.

A Decent Read.......2002-07-11

I enjoyed this book primarily because it successfully recreates a segment of life during the Middle Ages -- an extremely interesting historical period that is much misunderstood and maligned. There are problems, however. For one thing, the book is too long and padded. Moreover, it does not even remotely approach a top-flight mystery. No, I couldn't figure out who did it (the use of deductive reasoning is pointless here, for there are really no clues with which to work). But I did know who didn't do it. Unlike Agatha Christie, for example, Michael Jecks doesn't know how to reveal the inner thoughts of his characters without revealing their innocence! This, of course, is a major weakness for any mystery writer.

The bottom line? This is an enjoyable read, as long as one doesn't expect too much from it.

Average customer rating:
4 Titles By Jecks - The Last Templar - Belladonna At Belstone - Sticklepath Strangler - The Tolls of Death
Michael Jecks
Manufacturer: various
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000O7E1VI

Product Description

4 massmarket paperback Titles By Jecks - The Last Templar - Belladonna At Belstone - Sticklepath Strangler - The Tolls of Death

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Elric Saga Part II The Vanishing Tower; The Bane of the Black Sword; Stormbringer.

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The Elric Saga Part II The Vanishing Tower; The Bane of the Black Sword; Stormbringer.
Michael Moorcock
Manufacturer: Doubleday Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1568650418

Box Set of Six Science Fictiion Classics From the Master of Heroic Fantasy - Elric of Melnibone, the Sailor on the Seas of Fate, the Weird of the White Wolf, the Vanishing Tower, the Bane of the Black Sword, Stormbringer (The Elric Series)

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Box Set of Six Science Fictiion Classics From the Master of Heroic Fantasy - Elric of Melnibone, the Sailor on the Seas of Fate, the Weird of the White Wolf, the Vanishing Tower, the Bane of the Black Sword, Stormbringer (The Elric Series)

Manufacturer: DAW Books, INC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0451908333

Dark Tower - Wheel of Time - Sword of Truth - Pern - Riftwar Saga - Discworld - Tales of Alvin Maker - Majipoor - Earthsea - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn - Song of Ice and Fire

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Legends Vol 2

Dark Tower - Wheel of Time - Sword of Truth - Pern - Riftwar Saga - Discworld - Tales of Alvin Maker - Majipoor - Earthsea - Memory, Sorrow and Thorn - Song of Ice and Fire
Robert ( Author & Editor ) - King, Stephen - Jordon, Robert - Goodkind, Terry - Mccaffrey, Anne - Fiest, Raymond E. - Pratchett, Terry, Card, Orson Scott - Le Guin, Ursula K. - Williams, TAD - Martin, George R.r. Silverberg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000WB55DO

Product Description

Book Contents: [The Dark Tower: The Little Sisters by Stephen King] [Discworld: The Sea and Little Fishes by Terry Pratchett] [The Sword of Truth: Debt of Bones by Terry Goodkind] [Tales of Alvin Maker by Orson Scott Card] [Majipoor: The Seventh Shrine by Robert Silverberg] [Earthsea: Dragonfly by Ursula K. Le Guin] [Memory, Sorrow and Thorn: The Burning Man by Tad Williams] [A Song of Ice and Fire: The Hedge Knight by George R.R. Martin] [Pern: Runner of Pern by Anne McCaffrey] [The Riftwar Saga: The Wood Boy by Raymond E. Feist] [The Wheel of Time: New Spring by Robert Jordan].

Customer Reviews:

Legends Vol 2.......2007-09-28

I'm guessing this is Legends Volume 2. Great book. Fun shorts. I ended up reading most of the series that the shorts came from.

Average customer rating:

Deathtrek (Tower sword and sorcery)
Jeffrey M Wallmann
Manufacturer: Tower Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006Y93US

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The Elric Saga: Part II: The Vanishing Tower: The Bane of the Black Sword: Stormbringer
Michael Moorcock
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

European Swords and Daggers in the Tower of London

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European Swords and Daggers in the Tower of London
Dept.of Environment
Manufacturer: Stationery Office Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Sculpture | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0116705728

FLASHING SWORDS (5) Five: Demons and Daggers: Tower of Ice; A Thief in Korianth; Parting Gifts; A Dealing with Demons; The Dry Season

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FLASHING SWORDS (5) Five: Demons and Daggers: Tower of Ice; A Thief in Korianth; Parting Gifts; A Dealing with Demons; The Dry Season
Lin (editor) (Roger Zelazny; C. J. Cherryh; Diane Duane; Craig Shaw Gardner; Tanith Lee) Carter
Manufacturer: Nelson Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HIRFC6

The Forbidden Circle (The Spell Sword The Forbidden Tower)

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The Forbidden Circle (The Spell Sword The Forbidden Tower)

Manufacturer: Daw Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0739464264

Sword & Sorcery Maze of Zayene Tower Chaos

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Sword & Sorcery Maze of Zayene Tower Chaos
Robert J Kuntz
Manufacturer: Necromancer Games, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RI4LOQ

Product Description

"Tower Chaos is the third part in the four-part Maze of Zayene series. It details a King's tower wherein the adventurers must tread to accomplish their daring deed." A fantasy roleplaying adventure for 4 to t6 player characters from 9th to 12th level. Used in accordance with the Open Game and D20 Trademark Licenses.

Book Description

Reflecting on the connection between the rise in chronic immune disorders and toxic environmental and lifestyle patterns, herbalist and acupuncturist Jason Elias and collaborator Katherine Ketcham looked to the 5,000-year-old The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine to seek clues for restoring the balance of body and mind.

In Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity, Elias and Ketcham show how to use the preventive strategies and gentle, supportive remedies of traditional Chinese medicine to heal contemporary chronic illnesses and bolster immunity. The book teaches readers how to identify which element--Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water--most directly influences them and how to correct imbalances that can lead to particular physical, emotional, and spiritual disorders with step-by-step instruction for using stress-reduction techniques, diet and exercise, herbs, and acupressure.

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