The Telling Pool (ISBN 0810957582)

The Telling Pool:
The story is well told. But the reviews and jacket information tell only part of the story. Parents need to know for their children that this book has not only themes of adventure but also very strong themes of spirituality. Jesus is portrayed not only as a myth but also as simply a man who married Mary Magdelene and had children. Wiccan is protrayed as the most powerful faith - that of the God and Goddess. And it is ultimately the Wiccan beliefs that help Rhodri the main character. The story is well told and certainly the author is free to express whatever he wants in terms of beliefs but for parents there does need to be information regarding the spiritual themes in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not they wish their young children to read this book/

From the publisher:
The Telling Pool does overtly examine questions of belief and spirituality, especially in the context of a religious crusade, but it neither states that Christ was an ordinary man nor that Wiccan is the only way, only that that is what some believe. Since it is dealing with beliefs, but in a story that allows for the existence of magic, it necessarily posits the idea of a magical force, and one profoundly rooted in nature. That is the association of Merlin with nature magic in Arthurian legend, which is a legend cycle that has both pagan and Christian roots. But in essence it is about real relationships and a boy's journey to adulthood, which allows him to test many of the religious and cultural assumptions that divided his society then, and the real people within it, and which have such dangerous echoes today. If parents think that this is dangerous for children, then there is a worrying moral censorship at work that the author profoundly disputes.

It was Okay.:
I highly agree with the reviewer S. Watkins. I am fifteen years old and I'm quite the fan of Clement-Davie's other writings (The Sight and Fire Bringer are two of my favorite reads), but this one just didn't cut it for me. It was well written, as others have said, but I just couldn't /feel/ for the story half the time, and the ending, I felt, was rather cliche and a bit sappy. Those points aside, I too noticed the strong feelings against Christianity in this book. Now, I'm not a Christian, nor am I of any other religion (though I'm fond of Shamanism), but the fact that every Christian character in the book save for the main character and perhaps his close friends and mother makes a complete idiot of himself...leaves a bit to be desired. While reading I felt a bit akward, wondering what would be going through the mind of a deeply religious person that might pick up this novel.. All of that aside, it was an entertaining read. Not the best and not the worst.

Good book from a great author!:
The Telling Pool was a very good book. Of the books David Clement Davies has written, it isn't my favorite, but that is most certainly NOT saying that I didn't enjoy it very much. It is a wonderful blend of medieval fantasy, coming of age, and romance. As you can see, by what the other reviews say, there is a small religious aspect in the story. However, I think other reviewers may have been overreacting a little bit over the matter. David Clement Davies neither puts down one religion or states anything about one being better than another. He simply writes about them, and tells how a person of that religion would think or what they beleive. He doesn't even go into depth about any of them. Speaking of the religions, as far as I can tell, was essential to the story,(Because the war in the story was a religious crusade.) but was certainly not the main point of it. The story overall is a medieval fantasy. Here is a summary of the plot: Rhodri, a 12 year old boy lives with his mother and his father, who is a master falconer. (One who trains and keeps falcons as pets.) During a fair he meets an old fortune teller who reads the tarot cards for him and tells him of a great destiny he is to have. Shortly afterwards, his father is called upon to go to war to fight for the return of the Holy lands. After his father leaves, Rhodri meets a blind hermit who is the guardian of a magical pool that can show Rhodri what he most wishes to see. Through the pool, he discovers his destiny, and eventually, upon the return of his distraught father, he embarks on a wonderful journey to make things right again. David Clement Davies, has written a great book (yet again) with great voice, wonderful character developement, and he has even managed to make an original story out of what could have easily not been original. I would highly reccomend this, as well as his other works, The Sight, and Firebringer! Enjoy!

Gets better as you read, definitly not as exciting as other works.:
Ok. This book, briefly described, is about a boy who lives with his mother and father (religious family). The boy soon finds a hermit who shows him the telling pool. The Pool shows him images of war among other things. The boy then has to go out on a quest to fufill his destiny that he see's inside The Telling Pool yet does not know that it was his destiny. My problems with this book is this. The Beggining drags on way too long. It really only talks about the boy's life, honestly why would we care about that. Also the book talks a lot about war in a medieval kind of way. It talks about it a lot and I find it rather umm boring. Of course later on in the book you'll get more accustomed to it. When the boy is at the telling pool for example, it gets somewhat more interesting from there on. Gets even better on the last 7 chapters (out of 18). But still I have seen much more exciting books. This gets a 3, it pales in comparison to Firebringer which is why I got this book because of how good Firebringer was. Not highly recommended. Artemis Fowl, The Guardians Of Time Trilogy, The Sight, and Firebringer are highly recommended books.