Telegraph.co.uk - Jun 26, 2008
Here Lies Arthur, by Philip Reeve, is a dark re-telling of the Arthurian legend and a far cry from Camelot.
Some of his characters bear more than a passing resemblance to modern-day political figures.
Merlin (here named Myrddin) is not a magician but a hard nosed, Alastair Campbell type who recognises that the Celts needs a strong leader and sets out to create a myth around Arthur, a "war-mongering, self-interested thug".
One of Merlin's PR stunts is the Lady of the Lake, who turns out to be a young servant girl made to hold her breath under the water with a sword in her hand.
The Carnegie Medal - or "the Booker of the playground", as it is sometimes known - is awarded annually for or an outstanding work of fiction for young people, and is judged by the nation's librarians.
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