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(More customer reviews)I picked this up as a follow-on from the author's previous works involving Arthur in British myth and his identity as a real historical figure. As thought-provoking as these ideas were, I was initially very sceptical as to the possibility of a similarly convincing identification of Merlin. Happily my first thoughts proved unfounded. Despite reading more like a Dan Brown novel than an academic discourse, the threads of a variety of sources are skilfully blended together to form a coherent argument as to Merlin's historical identity. The picture of a Britain descending into a post-Roman, invasion-plagued land, held briefly in check by the two figures that have become known as Arthur and Merlin, is both vivid and revealing. The notion that Merlin also voyaged to the New World seems ridiculous. However, the author demonstrates that there is a sequence of locations in the rather fanciful and elaborate Dark Age saga, 'The Voyage of Mael Duin's Boat', that is linked to the Merlin legend (however incongruously) that appears to describe a route to the north-eastern United States via Iceland (the route later taken by the Vikings). Although the term proof can never be ascribed to this idea, it does have an air of plausibility. The final theme explored in the book is on safer ground. Assuming that the real historical identities of Arthur and Merlin discovered by the author are true (as seems likely given the mounting evidence compiled in both this and the earlier work - and the lack of evidence for any other theory), then family trees for the ruling House of Windsor in the UK clearly demonstrate a link between the heir to the Heir Apparent to the throne (that would be Prince William then via the late Diana Spencer) and both Arthur and Merlin. Certain to provoke many academics, this work could be easily dismissed as just another alternative history work. However, what cannot be easily dismissed are the arguments put forward by the author and the evidence he uses to back them up. Did I also mention that it's a real page-turner too?
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The first book to present the true identity of the mythic figure Merlin' Uncovers historical evidence that the legend of Merlin was based on the life of a real man' Reveals that Avalon, Merlin's final resting place, was an island in the United StatesThe legendary figure Merlin is known throughout the world as the wizard of Camelot who was counselor to King Arthur and helped that monarch create the Round Table. Through the course of a 20-year investigation Graham Phillips has uncovered evidence that this famous story was based on the life of an actual historical figure: the son of a Roman consul who became the last of the Romans to rule Britain in the fifth century A.D. Furthermore, the evidence reveals that he died and was buried in what is now the United States.According to legend, Merlin ended his life on the mystical island of Avalon. A 1500-year-old saga tells how Merlin left Britain on a boat bound for a mysterious island to the west. The places described in Merlin's voyage, Phillips argues, would only have been seen by someone who had journeyed to the New World. For example, the island where boiling fountains bubble from the ground could be the geysers of Iceland, and the island with rivers of ice, the glaciers of Greenland.During his research Phillips discovered that a site believed to be Merlin's grave was found by the first British settlers in North America: a secret location said to have been preserved in the works of William Shakespeare and the coded writings of the Freemasons. Phillips follows a trail of historical clues that leads ultimately to a mysterious New England tomb. Here a final encrypted message not only reveals the whereabouts of Merlin's grave but contains evidence that Merlin's descendants still survive and, through a merger with the Spencer family of Princess Diana, may once again ascend the British throne.
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