Robert Holdstock had a truly creative idea in “Celtika.” In a genre in which every novel is a seeming attempt at plagiarizing J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” I will admit, his approach is refreshing. However, the execution of his idea was mediocre, its full potential perhaps not realized by Holdstock himself. No story will stand when undermined by word-usage inaccuracies and technical discrepancies.

“Celtika” is the combination of Greek myth and Arthurian legend – one more theory of Merlin’s doings before the Round Table was formed. In this variant, he joined with Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

The friendship between the two is the catalyst for Merlin’s aid in Jason’s resurrection 700 years later and his joining Jason in the search for his sons, hidden in time by Medea.

Sounds like a good story, doesn’t it? It is. Except for Holdstock’s glaring errors. Writing about immortals while keeping readers interested is hard enough, and he made it worse by using first-person narration. Falling into an amateur’s trap, he put expository back story into Merlin’s dialogue with his horses, then pumped the text full of cliches.

His characters use modern slang – I have yet to find evidence that “bugger” was a common term before the middle ages. At times, he even switched between past and present tense. There’s more, but by now you’re probably tearing your sackcloth and ripping out your hair.

The greatest flaw in this book is its main and secondary characters. They are mythical figures whom no one doubts will survive. Merlin, in particular, is guaranteed life, and if the main character’s life is not threatened, the author has lost the best hook for keeping his audience reading.

There are two ways to lessen this failing, the first being thorough characterization showing the desires and motivations of the characters. Holdstock has done this partially, with Jason and other supporting characters, but not with Merlin.

Second, since the readers will not be held by fear for Merlin’s survival, the narrative must be enthralling. It must hook the readers with every sentence.

If let up for a moment, readers will lose interest. They don’t have the same concern for Merlin as they would for a mortal, non-magic being.

That is the difficulty of writing on gods and demigods. The idea may be brilliant, but if readers don’t become involved with the characters, the author has failed them.

When readers know how everything turns out in the end, they become far less interested in the main character’s journey. The supporting characters are the driving force of this book. Holdstock would have done better to have remembered that.

After finishing “Celtika,” I felt apathetic. The needed characters were there, but without the development they should have had. I was emotionally moved twice in the span of its 370 pages, and neither time was Merlin involved in the action. What more warning is necessary to signal the author that something in the writing is wrong?

If I had not been obligated on behalf of this review, I would have thrown the book out by the third page of chapter one.

Holdstock did not use the tools he chose to their greatest advantage. But despite my fervent wish to deny it, the book is not wholly devoid of merit. I will consider this a learning experience for him . with the understanding that I expect immense improvement, and thus, great things from him in the future.

If you have a few spare moments on the bus or between classes and truly feel the need to indulge in a story of magic, I suggest Garth Nix’s Abhorsen trilogy (“Sabriel,” “Lirael” and “Abhorsen”), or if you haven’t read them by now – which I hardly believe- J. K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books.