During my childhood days, I was much fascinated by the tales of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and still am! However it was not the chivalrous Arthur or the noble Lancelot that stirred my imagination. My favourite Arthurian figure is Merlin. Merlin the archetypal wise man with his flowing white beard and swishing long robes who according to legend lived in a tree. In fact I believe that the wizards in medieval fairy tales all sprung from Merlin. The only difference being that they had more showy attire - long pointed hats and bright coloured robes decorated with shiny stars and crescent shaped moons. Said to be the greatest wizard the world has ever known, the origins of Merlin has been shrouded in mystery, much like the man himself! There have been many accounts of how Merlin came to be and how his story ended. Thus I was more than thrilled when I chanced upon The Mammoth Book Of Merlin at the Fantasy Section of BOOK XCESS sometime ago. The anthology edited by Mi...