What an adventure! Percy Jackson fans take a look, you will notice some familiar techniques. Merlin's dreams are filled with riddles and messages from the spirit world as his waking hours are filled with unexpected challenges and confrontations. Truly, Arthur, Merlin, and Natalenya are battling both. I rejoiced in the uncompromising messages of truth from the angels and prophets that spawn him on to complete his quest despite his fears, doubts, and weaknesses. I couldn't put in down and neither could my son.

Merlins Nightmare concludes the Merlins Spiral Trilogy, but we know it is not the end of the story. This is King Arthur we are talking about here.

Its been several months or so since Ive visited the previous books in the series, so I loved the opening recap where books one and two were summarized by the characters and their contributions to the story thus far. Especially since there are a lot of characters.

To get a proper feel for Merlins Nightmare, it would be beneficial to review my previous thoughts on Merlins Blade and Merlins Shadow. Both books, I was blown away. Book three? Not so much. It was a great read, enjoyed it immensely, but it didnt deliver like the first two books. At least for me. And I think it had something to do with the characters.

In the first two books, we are anchored to Merlins point of view. Yes, we cut in and out from all the other characters, but the book began and ended with Merlin. Book three ended with King Arthur. Makes sense as the ending leads to the next series, The Pendragon Spiral. But I didnt connect like I did with Merlin. I was apprehensive about the characters, being that its been about sixteen years since book two. Thats a lot of growing up to do apart from us, so we didnt grow with the characters. That said, I didnt feel a disconnect from Merlin, just more distant since the focus now shifted from Merlin to King Arthur as it should.

This novels pace is fast and the story switched back and forth between Merlins and Arthurs thread, Natalenya, the kids, and the hidden villages thread, and Morganas. Lots of stuff happening, decisions being made and their consequences being unleashed upon them all.

I loved the supernatural aspects such as the Natalenyas cut skirt connection, the mysterious visions, and the twist involving the sword and stone. And the creepy werewolves. Andyeahdont want to give too much away. :-)

I highly recommend this series, but start with book one! Im picky and eclectic when it comes to what I read, but I think it is safe to say that I would read anything by Robert Treskillard.

*In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Robert Treskillard in his new book Merlins Nightmare Book Three in The Merlin Spiral series published by Blink gives us another adventure with Merlin.

From the back cover: Haunted by the past, chased by the present.

Arthur is now eighteen, and Merlin, tired of hiding and running from his enemies, wants nothing more than to spend his days with his family and train Arthur for his rightful place as king. But when Arthur goes missing, a desperate Merlin must abandon all other quests to find him before a shadowy pursuer catches Arthur first.

Having everything to fight for, and almost nothing to fight with, Merlin and Arthur must rally Britains warriors against three overwhelming enemies: Saxenow hordes in the south, Picti raiders in the north, and a chilling new enemy that has arisen in the west.

At the same time, Mrgana brings Merlins deepest fear to life and sets a horde of werewolves loose to destroy Britain. But when the secret purpose of this nightmare is finally revealed, will Merlin and Arthur find a way to survivewithout unleashing an even greater evil?

Just say the two words, Merlin and Arthur and, immediately, you know you are in for a good time reading the story. Mr. Treskillard continues the story of Merlin and Arthur and brings them an adventure they are unprepared for. The enemy is gathering on three sides and Britain is severely challenged. It has been eighteen years and Merlin and Arthur are leading somewhat normal lives, almost like a normal family. However this is not to be. Arthur runs away hoping to join in the fight without telling Merlin leaving Merlin to drop everything to find him before the bad guys do. This is exciting stuff. There are multiple epic battles not only on the battlefield but in Merlins mind. The duo are pushed to the brink of doom more than once and just barely escape to continue the fight. Merlins Nightmare is an epic battle between good and evil. Mr. Treskillard has done an incredible job of bringing his characters to life and we root for them to win against overwhelming forces. Merlins Nightmare is a wonderful, interesting story with power and depth that will keep you flipping pages. While The Merlin Spiral series ends now it will pick up again in Mr. Treskillards next series, The Pendragon Spiral of which I am so looking forward to.

Disclosure of Material Connection: In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Merlin's Nightmare is the PERFECT way to close out the "Merlin Spiral" series by new author Robert Treskillard. Merlin's Nightmare picks up roughly 18 years after Merlin's Shadow finishes and takes readers on an epic coming-of-age journey for Arthur. We also find Merlin deciding whether he will face his fears or let them overcome him, and possibly even the whole of Britain.

The Epilogue is the absolute perfect ending to the "Merlin Spiral". There's closure to the Merlin story line that was started in Merlin's Blade and there's intrigue into the upcoming "Pendragon Spiral" series. I, for one, will definitely be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new series! It's not often that an author of a series will keep me coming back for more but Robert Treskillard has this writing thing down. Epic battles, great story and character development, just enough humor to keep things real. I LOVE it!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Merlin's Nightmare by Robert Treskillard was magical and I am the last person to want to ever read historical books but I absolutely enjoyed this one. How can you not want to read about Merlin and Arthur's adventures and this one had lots of twists and turns that make for the best kind of book to get lost in any day of the week. Even though this is part of a series it is still just as great on its own without having to read any of the other novels in the series. I thoroughly believe that Arthur and Merlin are the perfect duo and all the extraordinary and powerful chemistry that these two men share will forever be worth the read be them for all readers to enjoy. I also enjoyed that while reading this novel I felt as though I was traveling with these men during a time that I wish I could have been able to experience. I was given a review copy and all opinions are my own.