Excalibur

Gr 8 Up—A dramatic retelling of King Arthur's life, death, and beyond. With centuries of divergent, often contradictory, story lines to pull from, Lee was able to pick and choose those aspects of Arthurian legend that would best suit his vision. The final product emphasizes the magical elements of the tale, placing Arthur within a grand scheme of warring fairy factions. The artwork is certainly up to the task of recounting these events. In particular, the artist's use of color does a fantastic job of creating different moods. The work isn't perfect, however. The dialogue is written in a faux archaic style that lapses occasionally into anachronism; whatever your take on Arthur's historicity, it's doubtful that Lancelot would reply to a question with a Keanu Reeves-esque "Totally." The many characters and plotlines are often crammed together, giving short shrift to some elements. Still, this is a solid work, and one that will attract new readers to a classic story.—Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Library, Ontario, Canada