Waking Merlin

While potholing with her Dad, Katrina feels the ground beneath her give way. One moment she’s hanging from the roof of a cave and the next, she’s face to face with a strange old man with flowing white hair. He, it turns out, is Merlin the wizard. Convinced that Katrina’s intrusion into his life somehow heralds an impending threat to Albion, he sets about discovering what the danger might be. His intuition is right – there’s a meteor hurtling towards them, large enough to annihilate the country. What follows is a race against time to avert disaster, a feat that involves the participation of heroes from the past and personalities from the present.

The intrusion of the past onto the present provides comic situations and allows the author to poke fun at present-day characters and mores. The story is well paced and written with verve and humour, with friendly, black and white illustrations adding to its charm. A further bonus is that the story just might intrigue young readers to find out more about the Arthurian legends.