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The Hollow Hills: Book Two of the Arthurian Saga

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This book, from the beginning was a bit scary. I say scary in the fact that it is a very thick book. I did not let that stop me, and a beautiful story unfolded before me. It is true that this story has a slow beginning, but if you hang in there you won't want to put the book down. The setting, the characters, the whole meat of this book is will draw you the reader so into the book that you will find it hard to put the book down. I personally love fantasy books. If you don't, after this one maybe you'll reconsider. Basically we get to watch how merlin handles the task of raising the soon to be king Arthur. There are many tasks and obstacles that merlin and his apprentice must overcome. It comes to an action-packed conclusion that you should not miss. Take my word for it and read thisa book. Like I said, it starts off slow but it will go 90mph as soon as you reach the second part of the book.

This was one of the best books I have EVER read. Not only did this book tell the story of Merlin in a belivable way but it also told the story of his childhood and most Arthurian books don't do that. If you were forced to read this book I'm sorry but I don't understand why you wouldn't like this book. If you didn't like it you obviously need to read it again.

The story of the Authurian legends are twisted with the creativity of Mary Stewart's imagination to create this enchanting telling of Merlin and his very own Aurthur. Stewart creates a fictional character named Ralph that the childhood of today's day and age can relate to. You follow Merlin's conquest through his trouble's and his trimphs until the very end of the book. It is suspenseful until the end, but doesn't give up then. It keeps you reading until the very last word. The only dislike that I have come to with this book is the fact that it is slow to get in to, but aren't the best understood books tht way? You must have a basis for what you are reading even if you haven't read the rest of the saga. (The first book) as I hadn't when I sat down to enjoy this well told story.

Mary Stewart's view of Arthur and, in particular Merlin, is as refreshing and as engrossing as anything I've read. These books are really top notch. I liked this one even better than the first (The Crystal Cave}. I can hardly wait to read the other two now. For anyone who is as enthralled with the Arthurain legend as I am, I highly recommend that they read this series. It's the best I've read so far.

This books was awesome! It seemed so true, so real, so wonderful. it was as if i was actually there. i loved the book and anyone who thought it was boring has problems, for this book was the best. i am a big merlin and arthur fan and would reccommend this book to any such fan. some people think it was too long, but i only wish it was longer...the characters are so real and everything, everything is just... its right on the edge, between reality and fantasy.. its the best! If anyone else enjoyed this book and/or the characters merlin or arthur my aol instant messenger screen name is SmileyShmi

I loved Mary's "The Crystal Cave." Maybe I am too stupid to understand the art of words in this book. Maybe I'm not. Either way, I could not finish "The Hollow Hills." Chapter 1 was strait out boring. I dragged myself through it, presevering. It'll get better, I told myself. Boy was I wrong. I survived chapters 2, 3, 4 etc. No, I won't take you step-by-step through all of them. When Merlin got back to his cave, things became so incredibly boring I could not bear to go on. Besides that, this book would focus more on the *Arthur* myth, and Arthur is, to me, the most boring character in Arthurian legend (tragic, isn't it?). Give me Morgan le Fay or Gawain over him any day. Now, for a book on this subject, "The Hollow Hills" is superb. But for a sequel to the breathtaking "Crystal Cave"... Middling. Average. Also... Understand that I've been able to pull through the boring moments in "Mists" and the wordiest historical novels one would ever lay eyes on.

Oh well. At least what I read of "The Hollow Hills" was better than "King and Raven".

i admit there was a few good parts to the book but most of the book was boring. too detailed and in the first 150 pages...nothing happens!!!! she took forever to set up the story and its too annoyingly detailed. dont read it if you can!!

I started this book with the expectation that it would be equal to it's mediocre prequel. I soon found, however, that Mary Stewart's book "The Hollow Hills" far outdoes "The Crystal Cave". Though both books follow the legend of Arthur fairly well "The Hollow Hills" has more action and the ending is much more satisfying. "The Hollow Hills" continues right from where "The Crystal Cave" leaves off. The main character is the powerful and wise sorcerer, Merlin. The book follows his struggle raising the young Arthur and helping Arthur rise to the position of High King of all Britain. All throughout this there are spies and bounty hunters hired to kill Arthur before he reaches the age he can claim the crown. This book shows a unique view on the Arthurian legends. Instead of following a knight of the round table or the king himself, as in many of the books about King Arthur, it follows a character who appears in most every legend about the infamous King. This book gives Merlin's perspective on all of the events that made King Arthur's life into legend. The book follows Arthurian legend well. Of course, there can be no story that perfectly follows the legend because there are thousands and thousands of legends pertaining to King Arthur. Even though they cannot be all represented in a single interpretation, "The Hollow Hills" follows as many of them as possible without contradicting itself. I does, however, go against some of the more well known legends such as the origin of Excalibur. Mary Stewart is an incredible writer. She describes everything very well without becoming annoyingly detailed. The world that she creates for this book is beautifully sculpted with her masterfully chosen words. All of her characters come alive when reading the book. Unfortunately, the beautiful setting which Mary Stewart uses for this book is not a very realistic representation of Medieval ages. The threat of starvation and disease that ran rampant in those times isn't very well represented. Though the book starts off a little bit slow, after it catches the reader up with the events from the first book, "The Crystal Cave", it quickly speeds up. Mary Stewart uses suspense to keep her readers interested. The suspense also makes the book hard to put down, which is a good attribute for a book. I picked up this book and read through all 436 pages in less than a week. There are simply no good places to put the book down at. The ending leaves the reader satisfied but still wanting to read more. Mary Stewart leaves it so that there can be a sequel but can be read as an individual book and still be appreciated for its full value. The reader looses very little by not reading the other books but still gains very much by reading the others. "The Hollow Hills" is an excellent book about a very interesting time in history. It's a fast paced book and is full of action and suspense. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who has the slightest interest in King Arthur. I can't wait to read the other two books in the series.

This is a story of Merlin, but was he a magician or just an extremely smart person who saw the simple logic in EVERYTHING. It's up to you to decide.

This book, part of an Artherian trilogy centered around Merlin, is a detailed description of the raising of young Arthur and Merlin's prime. Don't read this book if you don't like slow, pleasurable reading, because it is definately not for everyone. I am sad that people have insulted this series because of being forced to read it. I hope it will not discourage others from exploring the magic that Mary Stuart made when she wrote these books. Enjoy!