The Witch in the Wood, also called The Queen of Air and Darkness, is the second book in The Once and Future King pentalogy (following The Sword in the Stone, and followed by The Ill-Made Knight, The Candle in the Wind and The Book of Merlyn).
Young Arthur is now King of England, but finds himself in times of great political unrest. Wondering, and not understanding, why people wage war on each other, he wants to create an order of chivalry where good deeds would be rewarded.
In the meantine four boys, Gawaine, Agravaine, Gaheris and Gareth, are up to some mischief to get their mother's attention. But Queen Morgause of the Outer Ilses, who's also a witch, is too eager on avenging her father's death and on having Uther Pendragon's heir pay for her mother's miserable life.
The pace of this book is very irregular, and I found the author's numerous references to his own times (the late 1930's) useless and rather annoying. However, I enjoyed some chapters a lot, especially the hilarious one where King Pellinore is in love and depressed, and Sir Palomides and Sir Grummore disguise as the Questing Beast to cheer him up, to finally have the Beast fall in love with them.
The review of this Book prepared by crooty