Steel Magic: The Magic Books #1

This is the tipe of book that will fire the imagination of younger readers and have them clammering for smething else to read.

Steel Magic (1965) -- AKA Gray Magic -- is the first fantasy novel in the Magic series for older children. It is based loosely on the legends of King Arthur and Roland. It involves a magic gate to Avalon and quests to find three lost tokens of power. The Lowery children -- Greg, Eric, and Sara -- are staying at Tern Manor with their Uncle Mac while their father and mother are in Japan. Sara wins a picnic basket at the Firemen's Strawberry Festival and the children decide to put it to use. The next day they pack a picnic lunch and search for a lost lake. After winding and crawling through the underbrush, they find the lake and, on as island in the middle of it, they also discover a miniature castle. Although the doorway has been blocked with masonry, they are able to gain entrance by chipping away the mortar. Once within the castle, they are surrounded by a gray mist and, eventually, they find themselves somewhere else. After a brief exploration, they determine that they could not be on the island and are far from any place familiar. Opening the picnic backet, they start to eat while discussing the strange events, whereupon an unexpected guest shows up for lunch. The young man introduces himself as Huon of the Horn, the Warden of the West. He also tells them of the Warden of the East, Arthur. He informs them that they are in Avalon and tells them of the three lost objects: Excalibur, his Horn, and the ring of Merlin Ambrosius. Since they have been admitted through the Gate of the Fox, he explains, they must be in Avalon for a purpose. When questioned about his knife, he states that it is dwarf silver because the natives of Avalon cannot handle iron without harm. Huon takes them to Caer Siddi, where they meet Merlin. There they discover that evil has moved deep within Avalon and that the situation is very bad. Moreover, they are told that events in Avalon are mirrored in their own world. Merlin asks them to use their power of iron to retrieve the lost tokens and, when they agree, conducts them to a magic mirror, where they each take a stainless steel implement from the picnic basket and pass through to separate locales. This novel is a story of courage and perseverence, with each child facing and overcoming their special fears. It has brave people and magical animals, both good and evil, including a very wise fox. Recommended for all Norton fans and any child who loves animals, magic, and brave heros and heroines. -Arthur W. Jordin

Eric, Greg and Sara's dramatic entrance into the Avalon is somehow more romantic and believable than C.S. Lewis's wardrobe, yet it is of the same genre of literature. Huon of the Horn and his winged horses draw Eric, Greg and Sara in further, and the reader with them! Steel Magic would be classified as an "intermediate" novel, which is between easy reader and young adult. The three children rely on books that Eric and Greg have read for some of their insight into the strange world of Avalon, which incites in Sara the desire to read the tales of King Arthur and Merlin. Avalon has a cherished place in literature; your 3rd through 6th grader will find Steel Magic an enchanting introduction to this world!

I first read this book in 1974 as a young child. It is about three young children who come to this Arthurian world and meet Merlin. They are sent on (yep you guessed it!) separate quests to battle monsters, etc... This is a book I highly reccomend because it excites the mind as to the many ways of solving problems, no matter what age you are! If you can find this book you will agree that it is a must-read! I just wish I had kept the copy I had as a child!