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The Telling Pool
David Clement-Davies's novel transports teen readers back to the days of Richard the Lionheart's medieval crusade. Young Rhodri Falcon and his Crusader father become entangled not only in a war of religious zealotry but also in the schemes of a seductive sorceress who literally steals men's hearts. The author of Fire Bringer and The Sight weaves an Arthurian fantasy in which heroes can be undone by both swords and evil magic. A fascinating departure for a master of fantasy.
360 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2005
About the author
David Clement-Davies
20 books879 followersDavid was born in 1964 and went to Westminster School and Edinburgh University. There, Clement-Davies read History and English Literature, specializing in the Italian Renaissance, and Russian Literature and Society. For many years, he dreamed of one day becoming an actor taking a drama course and working in theater. However, he was also interested in writing and soon became a freelance travel journalist.
Clement-Davies lived in a little mountain home in Andalusia region of Spain to write The Sight, has traveled the world and now also lives in London. He has also written a musical, two adult novels, and a play, set in the present and the 17th century, called Startled Anatomies, alongside his children’s books. His online publishing website is phoeniarkpress.com and from there he is trying to create a grass roots publisher.
Clement-Davies lived in a little mountain home in Andalusia region of Spain to write The Sight, has traveled the world and now also lives in London. He has also written a musical, two adult novels, and a play, set in the present and the 17th century, called Startled Anatomies, alongside his children’s books. His online publishing website is phoeniarkpress.com and from there he is trying to create a grass roots publisher.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews
January 11, 2015
Hmm. My reaction to this book puzzles me. On the one hand, I kept reading it, quite anxious to find out how it ended, while at the same time thinking "oh, good grief, must the author crowd into his book every possible myth and legend?". I mean, here we are, happily going along in well past Authurian times, but lo! there are the whispers and rumors and strangenesses and pendants and fortune tellers and shifting and wow! the archetypes are all here, and lo! is that the Grail?, and gee, isn't this...interesting?
The characters don't have much depth. And yet...I did keep reading. Still very puzzled as to why.
The characters don't have much depth. And yet...I did keep reading. Still very puzzled as to why.
December 31, 2017
In many ways I would have seen this as a children's book, but it had an attempted rape in it... That seems like something children ought only to read about after they have read many positive things about sex. In general gender in the book was stereotypical and problematic.
The book almost touched on a lot of big ideas, but stopped short of white critiquing the crusades, war, racism or toxic masculinity- it nudged toward these critiques but seemed to lose its nerve and at the end Rhodri seems to come to some conclusion (that we are meant to see as evidence that he has become a "man") that Lionheart's overenthusiastic pursual of war is excusable on the grounds that "He now knew it took much to be a king."
Other problematic ideas are- Owen's domestic violence is not because of PTSD from the war, nor is it in any way his own fault but it because a bad, sexy enchantress took his heart out of him (she is staying young and beautiful fakely of course)
-The hierarchical world-view is OK once Rhodri is manly enough to know how to swear fealty to William and his main rival is demoted to "only a groom".
-Weird stuff around heterosexuality being inevitable but with it women existing for men as preparers of food etc.
Anyway around and about all the stuff I didn't like was cool stuff like Melinor the hunting birds, some very vivid scenes of the crusades (seen through the magical pool) and the lovely way that Rhodri decided to go against the antisemitism of his society and befriend Rebecca. There was some discussion of values that I couldn't completely disagree with, despite the context I objected to. At the end of the day I am generally interested to know more about Arthurian legends, and even though this didn't add a lot to my understanding of it, I do enjoy people's attempts to work with that legend.
The book almost touched on a lot of big ideas, but stopped short of white critiquing the crusades, war, racism or toxic masculinity- it nudged toward these critiques but seemed to lose its nerve and at the end Rhodri seems to come to some conclusion (that we are meant to see as evidence that he has become a "man") that Lionheart's overenthusiastic pursual of war is excusable on the grounds that "He now knew it took much to be a king."
Other problematic ideas are- Owen's domestic violence is not because of PTSD from the war, nor is it in any way his own fault but it because a bad, sexy enchantress took his heart out of him (she is staying young and beautiful fakely of course)
-The hierarchical world-view is OK once Rhodri is manly enough to know how to swear fealty to William and his main rival is demoted to "only a groom".
-Weird stuff around heterosexuality being inevitable but with it women existing for men as preparers of food etc.
Anyway around and about all the stuff I didn't like was cool stuff like Melinor the hunting birds, some very vivid scenes of the crusades (seen through the magical pool) and the lovely way that Rhodri decided to go against the antisemitism of his society and befriend Rebecca. There was some discussion of values that I couldn't completely disagree with, despite the context I objected to. At the end of the day I am generally interested to know more about Arthurian legends, and even though this didn't add a lot to my understanding of it, I do enjoy people's attempts to work with that legend.
February 17, 2010
The book I read was The Telling Pool by David Clement Davies. I read the book because David Clement Davies is my favorite author who has also written other books that are very interesting. The protagonist is a young teenager named Rhodri Falcon. The antagonist would be Homeira who is an enchantress. One day during a carnival Rhodri is called by an old woman. She claims to reveal his future and pulls out a deck of cards. Each card represents an event that will occur in his future. She reveals the cards to him and tells him that the King will be in great danger and that he will have a great destiny. But Rhodri is told by their parents that he should not listen to her. Later he finds a blind blacksmith who again mentions his destiny again. And he begins to wonder. The blacksmith also tells Rhodri of the mystical pool called the Telling Pool and of the fabled sword Excalibur. A legendary sword that is said to bring peace and that it will be important to his quest. Saint Martin’s Day arrives and Rhodri and his family head to the Lord’s home. Rhodri takes part on his first falconine competition. Rhodri along with his rock falcon, Melanor, reach the finals. But Rhodri looses to the Lord’s son, William. Soon after the competition is over his father Owen, is called on to serve in the Lords army. After his father leaves Rhodri takes care of the household and the birds. Rhodri meets an old man called Tantallon, who later turns out to be the blind blacksmith who reveals Rhodri the Telling Pool. Rhodri sees that his father is coming home but he encounters the enchantress who enchants him and steals Owen’s heart. Owen does return home but he is more violent toward his family and Rhodri realizes that he must find Excalibur and retrieve his father’s heart from the enchantress.
The central conflict is man vs. man. Rhodri must fight against the enchantress to take his father’s heart back and free the other captured soldiers. Some symbols would be the talisman that Rhodri wears around his neck which is a deer and a cross. It symbolizes that Rhodri walks the path of the deer. Some motifs would be the sword Excalibur since the sword is mentioned many times and that it is a sword only courageous people could wield. It also mentions Guinevere, Lancelot, and King Richard. The curse that they have brought to the lands and it is revealed that Rhodri is of their blood. The writing style of the author is very descriptive. Every event is described in detail and you can always find yourself picturing his events, people, or animals, in your mind. Also the author seems to write many questions in the book that make you stop for a minute and think over if you agree with it or not. I would recommend it for others. The book starts of slow but in the end you have to finish the book. The Telling Pool is full of secrets and unexpected and unpredictable events.
The central conflict is man vs. man. Rhodri must fight against the enchantress to take his father’s heart back and free the other captured soldiers. Some symbols would be the talisman that Rhodri wears around his neck which is a deer and a cross. It symbolizes that Rhodri walks the path of the deer. Some motifs would be the sword Excalibur since the sword is mentioned many times and that it is a sword only courageous people could wield. It also mentions Guinevere, Lancelot, and King Richard. The curse that they have brought to the lands and it is revealed that Rhodri is of their blood. The writing style of the author is very descriptive. Every event is described in detail and you can always find yourself picturing his events, people, or animals, in your mind. Also the author seems to write many questions in the book that make you stop for a minute and think over if you agree with it or not. I would recommend it for others. The book starts of slow but in the end you have to finish the book. The Telling Pool is full of secrets and unexpected and unpredictable events.
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April 18, 2019Man, two DNFs in as many days! And both for kinda sorta the same reason - this blanket "Christians = bad. Witchcraft = good." Just... apparently nuance is too much work these days.
This is probably a perfectly fine book overall, but it isn't capturing my attention that much, and I'm already tired of all the snide remarks about Christianity, especially combined with all the flattering ones about witchcraft, because obviously all Christians are power-hungry hypocrites, while all wiccan are peace-loving and perfect. Borring.
This is probably a perfectly fine book overall, but it isn't capturing my attention that much, and I'm already tired of all the snide remarks about Christianity, especially combined with all the flattering ones about witchcraft, because obviously all Christians are power-hungry hypocrites, while all wiccan are peace-loving and perfect. Borring.
January 24, 2022
DNF 3%
This book is a bunch of short stories. It doesn’t really have a plot, a story of its own. Because of that, it is hard and annoying to read.
This book is a bunch of short stories. It doesn’t really have a plot, a story of its own. Because of that, it is hard and annoying to read.
July 1, 2024
Enchanting addition to the Arthurian legends - and a great read for adults and YA, also.
October 15, 2013
This book had so many resemblances to Kevin Crossley-Holland's The Seeing Stone it was almost uncanny. Both books feature young boys living in a small town on the border of England and Wales and discover they have a mystical connection to the long lost King Arthur. Instead of a stone, however, young Rhodri Falcon has a Telling Pool which shows him scenes of what is taking place in the wide world, especially in the Holy Land where his father fights in the Crusades. In all of this, he becomes entangled with Homeira a powerful enchantress who is doing...something wicked (I never could figure out exactly what).
This book is a classic example of a good idea that was never developed to even a quarter of what it could have been. The writing is distinctly juvenile; the reader gets a full explanation of every one of Rhodri's actions and gets to see his thoughts even before he thinks them. From the beginning, it is carefully articulated what a good lad Rhodri is, how much he loves his parents, how hard he has to work, etc., a move which stifles any real character development the boy might have undertaken. Telling replaces any and all showing. Because of this the characters are fairly flat and one dimensional, with perhaps the exception of William, the young lord. Also, it's never a good idea to try and not only introduce new characters in the last quarter of a book but give them important roles, as Isaac and Rebecca are supposed to have.
The plot was twisted and not in an-edge-of-your-seat-way. It was as if the author himself didn't know where he was going with the Excalibur reclaimed idea so he loaded the book with lengthy rabbit trails until he found the road he wanted. Most of the time, Rhodri is just sitting looking into the Telling Pool, which could be interesting if what he saw actually had some impact on the story. But it doesn't.
There were times when I enjoyed the book but the execution was generally so poor, I found it distracting. In short, just read The Seeing Stone.
This book is a classic example of a good idea that was never developed to even a quarter of what it could have been. The writing is distinctly juvenile; the reader gets a full explanation of every one of Rhodri's actions and gets to see his thoughts even before he thinks them. From the beginning, it is carefully articulated what a good lad Rhodri is, how much he loves his parents, how hard he has to work, etc., a move which stifles any real character development the boy might have undertaken. Telling replaces any and all showing. Because of this the characters are fairly flat and one dimensional, with perhaps the exception of William, the young lord. Also, it's never a good idea to try and not only introduce new characters in the last quarter of a book but give them important roles, as Isaac and Rebecca are supposed to have.
The plot was twisted and not in an-edge-of-your-seat-way. It was as if the author himself didn't know where he was going with the Excalibur reclaimed idea so he loaded the book with lengthy rabbit trails until he found the road he wanted. Most of the time, Rhodri is just sitting looking into the Telling Pool, which could be interesting if what he saw actually had some impact on the story. But it doesn't.
There were times when I enjoyed the book but the execution was generally so poor, I found it distracting. In short, just read The Seeing Stone.
July 11, 2015
Okay.
This book is a really good example of something really disappointing (that we've come across before), that being a fairly good idea that completely fails to make a good book. The difference this time being that the writing is not as much of a chore to get through, but still.
Like I said, the basic premise is good. Richard the Lionheart is going on crusade, and he's taking men with him. A young boy on the border of Wales and England lives with his parents as serfs. Pretty much all they seem to do is love each other and fly birds, which is certainly not what life as a serf was like, but whatever. His father is called to war. The kid has special connections to King Arthur.
The problem is that nothing ever happens. The kid watches the plot happen in the Telling Pool and it takes until practically the end of the book for anything to actually be done. Flat characters, bad plot development, overall boringness. The bad guy does bad guy things (trapping souls in her cave), but seems to have no bad guy end goal? Just. Ugh.
Unlike his other books, this was never one of my favorites. I bought it because of the person who wrote it, and it didn't work out all that well for me. Also unlike his other books, this does seem more like a children's book. I wouldn't give it to any children to read, though.
I do have to admit, I didn't dislike it this adamantly before. It wasn't my favorite, but I didn't dislike it the way I do now. Just a little food for thought.
This book is a really good example of something really disappointing (that we've come across before), that being a fairly good idea that completely fails to make a good book. The difference this time being that the writing is not as much of a chore to get through, but still.
Like I said, the basic premise is good. Richard the Lionheart is going on crusade, and he's taking men with him. A young boy on the border of Wales and England lives with his parents as serfs. Pretty much all they seem to do is love each other and fly birds, which is certainly not what life as a serf was like, but whatever. His father is called to war. The kid has special connections to King Arthur.
The problem is that nothing ever happens. The kid watches the plot happen in the Telling Pool and it takes until practically the end of the book for anything to actually be done. Flat characters, bad plot development, overall boringness. The bad guy does bad guy things (trapping souls in her cave), but seems to have no bad guy end goal? Just. Ugh.
Unlike his other books, this was never one of my favorites. I bought it because of the person who wrote it, and it didn't work out all that well for me. Also unlike his other books, this does seem more like a children's book. I wouldn't give it to any children to read, though.
I do have to admit, I didn't dislike it this adamantly before. It wasn't my favorite, but I didn't dislike it the way I do now. Just a little food for thought.
April 22, 2015
Read in a day. I loved this but was left a little disappointed. I've gotten quite used to Clement-Davies turning out these monstrous tomes of books filled with rambling descriptions, so this less-than-300-pages novel left me feeling a little cheated. This is described as an 'Arthurian fantasy' in the blurb which is really a stretch. The whole Arthur thing was beyond pointless, it didn't add anything to the story except the fact Clement-Davies had a few ready made takes and myths to 'go on'. The ending was rather lazy and rushed and really detracted from the enjoyment I got from the book overall. I'm not sure at what point The Telling Pool came in Clement-Davies writing career but it's shoddy work compared to Fire Bringer and The Sight. Give me a rambling prose, fit to burst with beautiful descriptions, poetry and song. The Telling Pool holds much promise and draws you in from the first but you'll be left sorely disappointed, feeling like you were promised a beautiful piece of fish but it turned out to only be batter and skin. Despite its flaws, it's a wonderful story and I award it four stars more for the promise of what it could have been and the way it set my imagination alight.
October 2, 2008
This book is full of suspense. I probably would have given it 5 stars if not for the lack of action. The book is long enough so it is satisfying but not too long to get the reader bored. I thought the ending could have better if it continued a little longer and did not just cut off when he gets home. For anyone who likes realistic fantasy books this is a great read and worth the money.
February 18, 2016
This book was so amazing!!! I'll definitely be doing an in depth review of this one soon!
August 29, 2019
Actually 3 stars for an adult reader and 4 stars for a middle grade or young teen (tween?). I decided to be nice and rate this as my younger self because I MEANT to read this when I was actually in the target audience.
If this book came out now it would have been stretched into a trilogy at least. Normally that's a bad thing, but for this I think it would be good. The main drawback in here was the lack of characterization, which would have been fixed if the story got more time. There were characters who said and did some very questionable things, but those decisions could have been justified if we had more time to learn the characters' personalities beyond flat stereotypes and everyone being vaguely misogynistic.
(Also: why did Wicca exist in the 10th century in this book? Yes it's based on older religions but Wicca itself was invented in the 20th century!)
If this book came out now it would have been stretched into a trilogy at least. Normally that's a bad thing, but for this I think it would be good. The main drawback in here was the lack of characterization, which would have been fixed if the story got more time. There were characters who said and did some very questionable things, but those decisions could have been justified if we had more time to learn the characters' personalities beyond flat stereotypes and everyone being vaguely misogynistic.
(Also: why did Wicca exist in the 10th century in this book? Yes it's based on older religions but Wicca itself was invented in the 20th century!)
January 6, 2017
I really enjoyed the book. I was excited to read it because I've read other books by this author and I loved them, so I was hoping the same thing would happen with this one. I did enjoy this very much, but it was not my favorite of all of David's works, my favorite being Fire Bringer. I was slightly disappointed by the fact that it wasn't about an animal like Fire Bringer and The Sight were, but for a book about humans, it was interesting. It was set in the time of the Crusades and King Richard the Lionhearted, the brother of the king that was in Robin Hood. There are not many books out about this time period, so to read about it, and to learn of King Arthur, the sword in the stone, and those types of legends was kind of cool.
April 30, 2020
First off I really liked this book. It was a young adult book so I wasn't expecting an epic fantasy. The Telling Pool mixed familiar stories with new characters and that made for a really comfortable read. I liked how it was very favorable to Paganism without being harmful to christians or the christian religion from that period.What I did not like was the authors use of the word Wicca to describe Pagan religion during the late 1100's .Wicca was created by Gerald Gardener in the 1940's and 1950s .I don't know if the author was just using Wicca as a buzzword or something else, but it was the only part of the book that I didn;t like.It left me wondering what happened to Rhodri and did he have more adventures.
October 23, 2017
This book that is titled The Telling Pool is written by David Clement-Davies. The main character is Rodri Falcon, a young falconer's boy who goes on a quest to save his father from an evil enchantress after a Holy Crusade. Rodri encounters several problems such as the harsh reality of life, betrayal, and love. I would recommend this book to readers who like adventure books because this book basically focuses on quests or otherwise known as adventures. Also, this includes a little bit of magic so it is a also a fantasy novel. In conclusion, if you really like books about magic during the medieval age, this is the perfect book for you.
November 28, 2017
Disappointed
I bought this for my 14 year old son, but he didn't care for it at all. The narrative tried too hard to be more than it was. I wanted it to be great but I was disappointed throughout. The writing seemed superficial and the story lacked emotion and empathy. The dialog seemed almost childish. In the end I felt cheated for having spent the time reading it. I was thankful that my son did not. I loved stories of King Arthur while growing up so many years ago. I thought my son might enjoy the wonder that I felt reading of the magical realms and chivalrous knights. This book lacked all of that wonder or maybe I am just too old.
I bought this for my 14 year old son, but he didn't care for it at all. The narrative tried too hard to be more than it was. I wanted it to be great but I was disappointed throughout. The writing seemed superficial and the story lacked emotion and empathy. The dialog seemed almost childish. In the end I felt cheated for having spent the time reading it. I was thankful that my son did not. I loved stories of King Arthur while growing up so many years ago. I thought my son might enjoy the wonder that I felt reading of the magical realms and chivalrous knights. This book lacked all of that wonder or maybe I am just too old.
February 12, 2019
I can't believe I bought this book ten years back or so and only NOW read it for the first time. A first rate fantasy story. I'd expect nothing less than the absolute best from this Author. A story that takes place during the time of Richard the Lionheart, so it was during the 'Robin Hood' time but this story is not of Robin Hood, but it goes back to British roots, of the story of King Arthur. A story of myth and magic, love and growing up, accepting your destiny and moving on and accepting the role of life itself.
A beautiful book, that's all I can say.
A beautiful book, that's all I can say.
June 30, 2020
The Telling Pool is a well written Medieval fantasy that for some reason I didn’t find very compelling. I finished the book after two months of occasional reading. The ending is satisfying but nothing exceptional. Character development was adequate but I never became fully engaged with any of the characters. This was just a mediocre read for me, and I usually love books with magic in them. The author is very good with words and I loved his writing style, I just wish the story moved at a faster pace and had enough energy to pull me in and keep me reading.
June 27, 2022
This was an enjoyable read. I like how much thought and historical details (the Crusades, anti-semitism, etc) went into the setting; it added a lot of depth to the story. I also enjoyed seeing Rhodri's character develop from an immature boy to a braver, more responsible young man. The layers of Arthurian legend were also a fun addition. Overall, the story had the same vibe and a lot of the same tropes as any classic medieval hero story, but there were lots of twists and details that made it original. And besides, who doesn't love a classic medieval hero story?
May 4, 2018
Honestly, I read the first 100 pages seriously and then skimmed the next 260 pages. It honestly just didn't get better. Aside from a rape happening via magic and most of the story taking place using visions, it just wasn't a compelling story. I've read other books by David Clement-Davies and I loved them. This book just isn't good. The main character is just not someone I could connect with. He seemed much younger than he should have been.
March 9, 2021
I genuinely enjoyed this because in parts it got at the atmosphere of an Arthurian tale very well, and the plot took a few turns that surprised me--and I consume enough fiction to be a little difficult to surprise. However The Telling Pool was not particularly gripping, and the writing was nothing to sneeze at but not particularly good. Not a waste of time to read, but there are many fantasy books that are just... better. And more worthy of 4 or 5 stars.
April 19, 2022
This book fell flat for me compared to his other works. I was excited to read it in high school as I had gotten a signed copy but there were some minor grammatical mistakes (which was surprising because the other books are immaculate!) The story took a turn then peters out and I was left disappointed rather than feeling resolved. And it's not that I did not "like" the ending, The Sight ended with something that I didn't want to happen but it felt justified and earned and complete.
July 23, 2022
DNF 20%
I found this book in the YA section at Books-A-Million and after reading the back it sounded like a really interesting concept. After reading to chapter 4, I really can't say that this is still something that is interesting to me. I can see how a child that is really interested in Camelot retellings might find interest in this but I unfortunately don't.
Bummed because I was looking forward to reading this book.
I found this book in the YA section at Books-A-Million and after reading the back it sounded like a really interesting concept. After reading to chapter 4, I really can't say that this is still something that is interesting to me. I can see how a child that is really interested in Camelot retellings might find interest in this but I unfortunately don't.
Bummed because I was looking forward to reading this book.
July 29, 2018
Mostly just "meh" for me. It's decently written, but it really plods along and I was just bored. I couldn't really connect with the characters in any real way, I felt disconnected from the entire thing, the book just didn't draw me in. I think some will like it, hence the average rating, but for me it was a real disappointment.
October 2, 2021
What an animal-- features a rock falcon throughout the book, major plot points centering on it.
I really enjoyed this book. It combines two of my favorite English history subjects, Arthur and Richard the Lionheart. It contains a wonderful mix of old druid beliefs, Catholicism, and history. Rhodri is not your average hero, and I love him all the more for it.
I really enjoyed this book. It combines two of my favorite English history subjects, Arthur and Richard the Lionheart. It contains a wonderful mix of old druid beliefs, Catholicism, and history. Rhodri is not your average hero, and I love him all the more for it.
August 29, 2017
I was pleasantly surprised with this book! It blends a new story with Arthurian legend, giving a fresh look at the tale we know so well without relying on it to make up the plot. The protagonist is likable and I could relate to his struggles. Grades 5 and up, and adults would enjoy this book!
March 21, 2019
Meh. I like some of his other books, but this one was just really bland and boring. Also, a personal annoyance, no one in any historical context is going to use 'Wiccan' to describe themselves. It didn't exist. Is it a terrible book? No, but I wouldn't recommend it.
September 20, 2019
I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't. It was very dry and cliche. Something done over and over again. The dialogue was boring, the storyline wasnt interesting, and the characters were very cookie cutter.
January 7, 2022
I loved this story. I love the King Arthur legend and its surrounding tales and I love the twist this story took with them. I'm a little sad to have finished it because I loved it so much but I'm glad I was intrigued enough when I found it at the library to read it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 127 reviews