This was a really good introduction to a new trilogy. The author's take on King Arthur and Excalibur were different then others that I have read. I enjoyed ready the simple terms and the easy flow of the book. I was able to read and escape into another world. I liked that the author included modern day technology, and it made me wonder how much different the original Arthur would be if written in today's world. The hidden video game message brought me back to my younger days of hidden 1-ups in Mario Brothers! I am giving this book a 5/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own. ( )

Kids who like video games will like this, but it leaves a lot to be desired for other readers. The writing is utilitarian. It's about a boy who gets a secret message just for him via his video game which tells him he's going to be meeting Merlin soon. When he does meet Merlin he learns that he is actually King Arthur and that Merlin is the wizard who served Arthur. Merlin has been locked in a tower (which also serves as a game store) for centuries and he wants Artie to help him get out. Artie's sister Kay and others are also part of Arthur's Round Table. First in a series. ( )

Artie Kingfisher is a tall, gangly kid who loves video games and the father and sister who adopted him. His sister, Kay, is an even better gamer than he is. Sent one day by his father to find a game controller for his sister, Artie goes into a comic book store/video game shop run by a strange little man. The man is covered in tattoes nobody else can see.

Of course they cannot. Because the strange little man is Merlin and Artie is King Arthur II. He is supposedly not a clone but was fashioned from DNA from Arthur's parents (the distinction is rather subtle). Artie quickly pops over to Otherworld, which exists not just in his video game but also is a real place, to rescue a sword from a stone for his sister, whom he knights as Sir Kay, and Excalibur for himself.

The siblings begin to find a circle of odd characters around them as knights of a new round table, including the fabled Tom Thumb. In Johnson-Shelton's mythology, he was an original Round Table knight. His steed is a rabbit with fierce teeth, one of two references to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Their goal is to sever the hand of the distant descendent of Nimue, who imprisoned Merlin in the legends, so the hand can be the key that unlocks Merlin's prison in the Invisible Tower that lies under the comic book store in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The story consists of several set-pieces, mainly battles, in which not much is settled, little moves the story forward and there is much violence. The set-pieces also are in an odd order. Kay's mother disappeared when the children were little. She, of course, was kidnapped and has been in Otherworld. She appears midway through the story and disappears again. For many other writers of YA and children's literature, this would have made for a huge climax. Here, it's just another interlude before more fighting.

The story was written to appeal to gamers and the level of violence will hardly be unfamiliar for teens who play Call of Duty and other war games. But the rest of the story skews younger than YA lit. It was created for an intermediate grade audience. There also is a subplot about clean energy existing in Otherworld that could be used in this world, and the idea that Morgaine is determined to keep the worlds from connecting, something that apparently will cause the destruction of both.

At the end Merlin has been freed and is enjoying Otherworld for the first time in about 1,500 years, but learns Excaliber has three goals, including that to kill him. So the last sentence is that he needs to see Artie, still the uncrowned king, soon.

There is a sense that the book, and apparent subsequent series, were created to be product rather than stories to be enjoyed, that the writer had to set down in words. The author's name doesn't even appear on the ARC cover. Nils Johnson-Shelton's first published effort was as ghost writer for a tell-all by an undercover agent who supposedly infiltrated the Hell's Angels, and which was dubiously received. He also thanks the discredited James Frey in the acknowledgements. ( )

Amazing story. I've always been a fan of Arthurian legends.
This is a wonderful book to share with an 8-12 yr old. Both boys
and girls may love this story.
The characters are fun to read about,
Artie (Arthur) is a somewhat weak, simplistic character and is a
perfect foil to his more independent sister Kay. The relationship they
share with Dad Kynder was close and warm.

This is a light hearted story appropriate for young Middle Graders.
The adventurous storyline will hold their attention. I think the
ending, or lack of ending, may be troublesome but afterall, this is the first
book in a series ( )