Kosmos by Adrian Laing

 Welcome to Day 2 of the blog tour for Adrian Laing's novel Kosmos (Flame Tree Press)

I really liked the premise of this one;

An old man is found sleeping on Hampstead Heath by two dog patrolers. They try to wake him by prodding him with his staff. In the ensuing kerfuffle one of them is injured and later dies. The old man is arrested and sent for trial. Right from the off the old man insists he is Merlin, awoken from a long sleep. His defence at court is 'rookie' barrister George Winsome and this is as much his story as it is Merlin's.

The actual trial takes up a lot of the book and, if I'm being honest gets a little wearing after a while. The trial is farcical, and also slightly ridiculous but it all leads nicely into the final third of the novel where Merlin's identity becomes clear, as does the 'life path' for George and his partner Heather.

As a big fan of Arthurian legend I was really looking forward to this and, although I found the trial section a bit trying at times (but judge for yourself, don't take my word for it) the final pay off was worth the perseverance.

 Thank you, as always, to Anne Cater for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour and supplying me with a copy of the book. Of you get the chance please take a look at the other review blogs on this tour.