The Circle Cast - The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fay

Reviewed by Laurie Rezanoff

I am a huge fan of all things King Arthur, Camelot and magic. I remember clutching my special sticker book full of the images of the Knights from the Round Table, Guinevere, Sir Lancelot et al wherever I walked at the age of 5.

In only a few instances have books (Marion Zimmerman), TV (Merlin) or movies (such as "Excalibur") dealt with Morgana or Morgan Le Fay, the half-sister to Arthur. How she became a sorceress, and where she lived before entering Arthur's life have either been overlooked or barely explained. Until now. I thoroughly enjoyed Alex Epstein's look into her life, in Ireland and how that exile helped her to become the driven and powerful woman she was later known to be.

I look at this book as the prequel to the King Arthur myth and legend. Alex has done a superb job of enlightening the reader to the real history of the times, without losing the storytelling aspect. I felt totally drawn in and transported to 480 A.D. Ireland, to the land itself, while learning the true spelling/pronunciations of the name places prior to eventual Saxon changes.

I truly believe there is natural energy within Mother Earth and the four elements that Druids and other such sensitive people were able to connect with, harness and hopefully use for the good of all. I also believe there were (and still are) people in the world who used such energies for their own corrupt power and control over life circumstances beyond their control. Morgan Le Fay became one of these people, and she continued to choose revenge no matter how good her life became in Ireland.

Born in the US and now living in Montreal, Quebec, Alex has captured the raw energy of the land, the people of that time in history, and the mythical person who we know as Morgan Le Fay. Her encounters with power-hungry figures influenced her decisions and ensured her survival to become the Sorceress of legend. Her thirst for revenge against the man who killed her father and changed her life forever was never quenched, yet it certainly was later transferred onto Arthur.

Enjoy this adventurous journey into the Unknown, part of the Quest that would later be, the legend of Camelot, magic, Morgan Le Fay and King Arthur.