Set In Stone (Disney Twisted Tales) by Mari Mancusi

Book Review May 14, 2023

My review

4/5 stars

The Sword In The Stone was never a film that regularly made it on to my watchlist as a child, but I've enjoyed so many others of the Disney Twisted Tales that I had no reason to believe that this one would be any different - I was right.

Madam Mim has always been a bit of a "cartoon villain" (excuse the pun) with a camp humour, and this book did an excellent job of maintaining that characterisation while also giving her a depth that garnered her some sympathy. She provided humour and frustration in equal measure, and was the main propeller for the plot.

The author also blended together the movie plot and the myth of Arthur wonderfully. The characters felt familiar, but it was also interesting to see Arthur and Guinevere's origin story told from a totally different perspective. The creativity involved in giving them a realistic teenage introduction was inspired.

I also enjoyed how Arthur's character was given a chance to shine outside of Merlin's shadow. So often when you come across a story about King Arthur, the focus is predominantly on Merlin's involvement, so it felt pleasantly different to see a version where Merlin was a sidenote for most of the book.

Book blurb

What if Arthur wasn't meant to be king?

Having pulled the sword from the stone, scrawny Arthur has gone from washing dishes to sitting on the throne at Camelot Castle. What he doesn't know is that the scheming witch, Madam Mim, used her magic to help Arthur free the sword, believing the boy would be easy to control once he was made king.

When Arthur proves more capable than she imagined, Mim sends her foster daughter, Guinevere, to put Arthur back in his right place washing dishes.

But Arthur and Guinevere discover Mim's manipulations and forge an unlikely friendship. As they search for a way to outwit Mim and unite the kingdom, they realise that no one's fate is set in stone.