| Celtika (Holdstock, Robert. Merlin Codex, Bk. 1,) |  | Author: Robert Holdstock
Publisher: Tor Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 1052807
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st Tor hardcover ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 076422736X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780764227363
ASIN: B000VY9EZ2
Publication Date: March 1, 2003
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Product Description
Centuries before he meets Arthur, Merlin wanders the earth, eternally young, a traveler on the path of magic and learning. During his journeys he encounters Jason and joins his search for the Golden Fleece. It is a decision that will cost him dear...
Hundreds of years later, Merlin hears of a screaming ship in a northern lake and divines that it is the Argo...that Jason still screams out for his sons, stolen by the enchantress Medea and thought dead. But death is not the end, and Merlin's trek to the north leads to the revival of both man and ship, and a new quest, with new companions-to find Jason's sons.
Roving from the frozen north to the blighted island that will become Arthur's realm, from the deep forests of ancient Britain to the sun-washed shores of ancient Greece, Merlin's journey is an epic tale of mystery and enchantment. Celtika begins a retelling of the Arthurian legend unlike any other.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
A well-woven tale of Celtic and Greek myths & heroes April 7, 2008
Familial estrangement, one of Holdstock's favorite themes, takes center stage in Celtika. Celtika is mythic fiction that is epic in scope, including space and time. It revives a 700 year-old struggle between Jason (from Jason & the Argonauts) and Medea, the mother of all trickery. The events in Celtika take place throughout Europe, starting in Scandinavia and moving from there to England, the heart of central Europe and to the Mediterranean coasts of Greece.
Holdstock effectively includes Celtic and Classical (Greek) cultures and myths. Heroic deeds of mythic proportions are intermixed with subtle scenes involving concealed motives, magic and ever-changing personal emotions. This book is like a mystery, unraveling secrets slowly while continuing to reveal new mysteries. The book contains a good bit of action, but fighting and battle are a natural part of telling the story, not the purpose of the story.
At first read, it appears Holdstock may have bitten off more than he can chew by introducing many characters from different cultures and moving them in a variety of directions (physical and mental.) I am optimistic that these threads will be picked up the following books of the trilogy. Unlike some of Holdstock's previous works, he wraps up enough clues at the end of Celtika to offer the reader some catharsis while still keeping the reader curious about what will happen next.
I recommend reading or brushing up on Jason and the Argonauts and Arthurian legends involving the wizard Merlin prior to reading Celtika.
One thing I particularly like about this book is that it is told in first person from the narrative viewpoint of Merlin who, like the reader, should know his Greek mythology.
Overall this book falls solidly between average and excellent - I give it four stars.
 Once again, for the guys, Jason! May 11, 2006
A pretty good book, even considering the "Mythago Wood" ideas, re-re-reiterated all over again (and yeah, I do know the grammar stinks; it's intentional). Annoying, though, that in a book called "Celtika" there's this main plot about Jason's search for his missing (formerly believed dead) sons, kidnapped by Medea and hidden in the "future" of the Argonauts' tale. Merlin/Antiokus manages to resurrect Jason and rebuild the Argo, then they gather a new lot of Argonauts and set sail. The most interesting figure was that of Urtha, Arthur's ancestor, repeating the life-death cycle of the Pendragon, or more likely initiating it.
The book was a nightmare of wild fantasy, Niiv the nymph (Nimue?) - a crazed shaman girl, the goddess Mielikki (who?!) standing in for Hera, the Celtic hordes going to conquer all continental Greece, and Merlin finding (after only a few centuries) that Medea was his childhood sweetheart. Hmm.
The blend was good, but the story failed to appeal to me. I personally consider that among all Greek heroes Jason was the complete anthithesis of one - and to read about him (again!!!! after his appearence in one of the books in the Mythago cycle) was pretty boring...
Beautiful cover art for this edition, though!!
Much is hidden in ambitious kick-off to series December 13, 2005
Robert Holdstock's "Celtika" may be the most ambitious "short" fantasy novel I've ever read. The fantasy genre, perhaps inspired by Tolkien's epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, seems to be chock full of massive tomes (such as George R. R. Martin's magnificent "Song of Ice and Fire" saga). Relatively brief at around 350 pages, "Celtika" nevertheless packs enough ideas, possibilities, themes, subplots, and mysteries to justify a larger effort. While many of these elements will likely be explored further in the later novels of this planned series, "Celtika" nevertheless leaves the reader a bit discombobulated at times.
"Celtika," not surprising for the first book in the "Merlin Codex," spins a yarn about Merlin the magician of King Arthur fame. But Holdstock takes a very unusual turn in this novel, setting "Celtika" a couple of generations before King Arthur is born. Indeed, Merlin's strongest relationship with a mere mortal is his bond with Jason, the Greek hero of the Argo and the Golden Fleece. Surprisingly, Jason's relationship with Medea and his sons forms the backbone of "Celtika."
Jason dies a broken, blind, old man in the opening passages of this novel. Merlin, whose non-human heritage allows him to ignore the passage of time other than through the exercise of his magical powers, revives Jason 700 years later from his resting place at the bottom of a lake in Northern Europe. Merlin shocks Jason first by telling him that 700 years have passed, but also that Jason's beloved sons are alive -- his witch-wife Medea hid them from Jason rather than murdering them as everyone who has studied Greek drama has believed. Soon, Jason has assembled a new cast of Argonauts to track down his sons.
This incredibly original wedding of classic Greek tales with the Arthurian legend contains many subtle literary allusions to other tales. Holdstock is content to let most of these references lie near-hidden in his brief text, and Holdstock generally uses dialogue to advance the story rather than long explanatory descriptions of places, thoughts and characters. It's a rare book that I would like to have been longer (brevity being the soul of wit and all that), but I often felt like I was missing something as Holdstock's economical prose swept me along.
Somehow Jason and the neo-Argonauts get swept up into a Celtic invasion of Greece (this is a generation after Alexander the Great swept East, so Greece is ripe for the picking). A much-hyped clash between Greeks and Celts at Thermopylae doesn't really satisfy, and there's a confusing "climax" as Jason gets reunited with figures both beloved and hated from his dark past.
Perhaps three stars isn't a fair review of "Celtika," as I am definitely going to check out volume two, "The Iron Grail." Yet, I am more intrigued with seeing whether "Iron Grail" can deliver on the unfulfilled promise of "Celtika" rather than through any great warmth for this story.
 Celtika and Iron Grail September 14, 2005
Any fan of mythology will love this book. Brilliantly blends ancient Greek heroes with Arthurian Heroes and a Celtic backdrop. Fast moving story with larger than life characters. I wouldnt spoil the story for anyone but this is a must for any fantasy reader. The only fly in the ointment was Mr Holdstock's chronological displacement of Greek mythological events. The Argonauts came first and then the Trojan War because one of the argonauts was Peleus, Achilles father. In fact it was Peleus' wedding that leads indirectly to the Trojan war. When Eris was not invited to the festivities she cast a gold apple to the guests which was to be given to the fairest. That apple became the prize that Paris later awarded to Aphrodite in exchange for Helen of Sparta. That being said it in no way spoiled the story any more than the changes made to the recent movie Troy. I am eagerly awaiting the third book.
Good read February 8, 2004
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Just finished Celtika by Robert Holdstock....a excellent read with a new twist on the story of Merlin and Jason (from Golden Fleece fame). If you're a stickler for keeping true to the old myths you may not like it, if however you like seeing tales told from a different perspective go for it. Takes you to a magical world 700 yrs after Jason's famous quest. Great cast of characters.
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