Arthurian Books - Page 2

The Eagles' Brood

Jack Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 35 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Eagles’ Brood continues the saga of the Colony known as Camulod, and the tale of the descendants of those brave Romans who forged a new way of life for the Celt and Roman peoples when the Roman legions departed Britain.

Most know the new leader of the Colony as Merlyn; all call him Commander. Cauis Merlyn Britannicus is responsible for their safety, and all look to him for guidance, leadership, justice, and salvation. It is a harsh life but a good community, and Merlyn is dedicated to spreading the influence of Roman culture beyond the Colony’s borders.

Uther Pendragon, the man who will father the legendary Arthur, is the cousin Merlyn has known and loved since they were birthed, four hours apart on the same day, the year the legions left Britain. He is the tireless warrior--the red dragon to Merlyn’s great silver bear--and between the two of them, the Colony knows few enemies.

As different as they can be, they are inseparable: two faces of the same coin. In a world torn apart by warfare and upheaval, each is the other’s certainty and guarantee of the survival of the Colony . . . until a vicious crime, one that strikes at the roots of Merlyn’s life, drives a wedge between them. A wedge that threatens the fate of a nation . . . .

Lady of Avalon

Marion Zimmer Bradley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 93 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

How Lady of Avalon Relates 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

As many have said this was not one of the better works in the Avalon series.

However the three novellas, while in themselves do not give you much time to become attached to the characters each has its own purpose within the series.

For instance the fist section follows Caillean's journey to found Avalon after leaving the Forest House, and to create the world that still captivates readers 20 or so years after Mists was originally published.

The second section ties in to the sequel Priestess of Avalon, which encompasses the entirety of is written in the novella about Dierna.

Lastly the third section recounts the early life of Vivane. So although Lady may not be the best out of the series is it is still an essential part of the collection.

Editorial Review:

Set in the time before King Arthur, this novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley brings the mesmerizing world of Avalon brilliantly to life with epic grandeur-telling the story of three remarkable women who alter the fortunes of Roman Britain as they fight to reclaim the magic and traditions of a once glorious past...

The Crystal Cave

Mary Stewart

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 112 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The first of four 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

The first in the four part Arthurian/Merlin Saga. Told by Merlin himself, the book introduces the reader to a divided Britain, and adds some realism to the Wizardry mythology.
The saga continues with The Hollow Hills (The Arthurian Saga, Book 2)

Such a good read 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Exactly what I was in the market for. A well written fantasy novel that is so convincing you'll think it really happened... I highly recommend this book and the other two in the series.

Nice first book in a series 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Mary Stewart delivers a quick read that takes the reader to the beginning of the Arthur story. Merlin develops from a young, retreating boy to a self-assured (perhaps cocky?) man who can receive visions but cannot control them. The characters are real and well-drawn (I especially liked Ambrosius) and the machinations and battles for control of Britain are handled thoroughly, but from a distance. There is a sense of build-up that does not quite pay off, but will lead the reader nicely into the next book in the series.

Editorial Review:

Mary Stewart tells the Arthurian legend in her own unique way, bringing to life one of the world's greatest legends and mysteries, shedding a fascinating new light on the turbulence and mystery of fifth-century Britain. An enthralling work, Ms. Stewart once again reveals those qualities of suspense and romantic adventure that have made her one of the world's most widely read novelists.
"A master storyteller."
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The Saxon Shore (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 4)

Jack Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Even worse than Whyte's previous efforts 1 out of 5 stars.
4 of 13 people found this review helpful.

If you liked Whyte's previous sophomoric efforts, you'll love this. In addition to being the same dumb, hackneyed story lines and stock characters we are used to from the previous books, this one has the additional feeling of being pure filler: in no real way does the story get advanced. Arthur begins as a baby, and ends as a small boy. There are adventures, but nothing important happens. As usual, in Whyte's books, the bad guys are left alive so they can sneak up and do new evil, and as usual the bad guys are pure plot devices and in no way characters. With all the (totally ahistorical) democratic rhetoric, Merlin's brother shows up out of nowhere and they immediately hand him half the power in Camelot. Anyone who would read this, I guess, has already read the previous lame offerings in this series and doesn't object to laughably boring plots which rely heavily on coincidence, caricatures who never grow or change, and historical detail that sounds like it comes from a museum brochure rather than any real scholarship. So go for it. But please, if you want something exciting that will also make you think, look at the really good Arthurian efforts out there--Gillian Brandshaw, A.A. Attanasio, or Barbara Taylor Bradford to name just a very few...

Editorial Review:

Merlyn Britannicus and Uther Pendragon---the Silver Bear and the Red Dragon---are the leaders of the Colony, lifeblood to the community from which will come the fabled Camulod.
But soon their tranquillity is in ruins, Uther lies dead from treachery, and all that is left of the dream is the orphaned babe Arthur. Heir to the Colony of Camulod, born with Roman heritage as well as the blood of the Hibernians and the Celts, Arthur is the living incarnation of the sacred dream of his ancestors: independent survival in Britain amidst the ruins of the Roman Empire.
When Arthur is adopted by Merlyn Britannicus, an enormous responsibility is placed on Merlyn's shoulders. Now he must prepare young Arthur to unify the clans of Britain and guard the mighty sword Excalibur.
And, above all, Merlyn must see that Arthur survives to achieve the rest of his ancestors' dreams, in spite of the deadly threats rumbling from the Saxon Shore.

Uther (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 7)

Jack Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

haunting 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I am a medievalist with a concentration in Arthurian legend, so I'm always interested to find a new interpretation of the legend. In most versions of the tales, the character of Uther has not been developed extensively, so I was particularly fascinated by Whyte's book. It was the first of Whyte's books that I've read, and it has stayed in my mind in a haunting and bittersweet way. I feel for Whyte's characters and care about them. And I like to think that Uther had some good qualities hidden behind that tough exterior.

Uther was hard for me to put down. I must say, however, that the editing was not impressive. There were numerous mechanical errors plus a couple serious errors in names that should have been caught. Even so, it inspired me to want to read the whole Camulod series. I think I'm in for a rare treat!

Editorial Review:

With Uther, Jack Whyte, author of the richly praised Camulod Chronicles, has given us a portrait of Uther Pendragon, Merlyn's shadow--his boyhood companion and closest friend. And the man who would sire the King of the Britons.

From the trials of boyhood to the new cloak of adult responsibility, we see Uther with fresh eyes. He will travel the length of the land, have adventures, and, through fate or tragedy, fall in love with the one woman he must not have. Uther is a compelling love story and, like the other books in the Camulod Chronicles, a version of the legend that is more realistic than anything that has been available to readers before.

The Singing Sword (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 2)

Jack Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

We know the legends: Arthur brought justice to a land that had known only cruelty and force; his father, Uther, carved a kingdom out of the chaos of the fallen Roman Empire; the sword Excalibur, drawn from stone by England's greatest king.

But legends do not tell the whole tale. Legends do not tell of the despairing Roman soldiers, abandoned by their empire, faced with the choice of fleeing back to Rome, or struggling to create a last stronghold against the barbarian onslaughts from the north and east. Legends do not tell of Arthur's great-grandfather, Publius Varrus, the warrior who marked the boundaries of a reborn empire with his own shed blood; they do not tell of Publius's wife, Luceiia, British-born and Roman-raised, whose fierce beauty burned pale next to her passion for law and honor.

With The Camulod Chronicles, Jack Whyte tells us what legend has forgotten: the history of blood and violence, passion and steel, out of which was forged a great sword, and a great nation. The Singing Sword continues the gripping epic begun in The Skystone: As the great night of the Dark Ages falls over Roman Britain, a lone man and woman fight to build a last stronghold of law and learning--a crude hill-fort, which one day, long after their deaths, will become a great city . . . known as Camelot.

The Book of Merlyn: The Unpublished Conclusion to The Once and Future King

T. H. White

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

It's Not What You Would Expect 4 out of 5 stars.
11 of 14 people found this review helpful.

I just want to start by saying, don't read this book if you are looking for a satisfactory conclusion to The Once and Future King. As a matter of fact, if you haven't read that yet then it's okay to read this, other than a bit of back story, the two are virtually separable. In The Book of Merlin, White displays his paranoia of the World Wars and his almost backward grasp on world politics by using the anthropomorphic characters from The Once and Future King and Merlin, who isn't so much a wizard in this book, but a raving anarchist. I'm not going to delve into the right and wrongs of the political spectrum represented, but a politically conscious reader would find most of what White has to say as absurd. Read this if you appreciate White, read this if you appreciate the political notions of a paranoid sadist, but by all means skip this and go read Mallory if you are interested in a good work concerning Arthur.

Editorial Review:

". . . a personal as well as historical story that crisscrosses the centuries on the question of war and peace." --New York Times This magical account of King Arthur's last night on earth spent weeks on the New York Times best-seller list following its publication in 1977. Even in addressing the profound issues of war and peace, The Book of Merlyn retains the life and sparkle for which White is known. The tale brings Arthur full circle, an ending, White wrote, that "will turn my completed epic into a perfect fruit, 'rounded off and bright and done.'"

Romance of Tristan and Iseult

Hilaire Belloc

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Romance 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 10 people found this review helpful.

A fairy tale, mideavel romance with a dragon, a giant, love potion, murder, deciet, love, loyalty, honor, etc. This translation is beautiful. It reads like butter.

Great Read. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I find The Romance of Tristan and Iseult a good read for anyone interested in Medieval literature, or romance; or both for that matter. It's well ahead of its time in that it is a story of two lovers forced apart by circumstance and whose love affects others around them as well as themselves, centuries before Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet. There is only one downside I can see, though. It is the lack of description of battles in the story; the author doesn't tell much about the fights or what happens in them, only that they occured. But all in all an endearing story.

Editorial Review:

Contents: Childhood of Tristan; Morholt Out of Ireland; Quest of the Lady with the Hair of Gold; Philtre; Tall Pinetree; Discovery; Chantry Leap; Wood of Morois; Ogrin the Hermit; The Ford; Ordeal by Iron; Little Fairy Bell; Iseult of the White Hands; Madness of Tristan; Death of Tristan.

The Story of King Arthur and His Knights: Library Edition

Howard Pyle

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This doth be an exceedingly good book! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

Howard Pyle delivers yet another splendid book which recaptures the enchantment and chivalry of the legend of Kind Arthur and his knights. Some have complained of the archaic english, but I love it. It only adds to the magic of Pyle's story. This book is filled with the adventures of noble knights, and it does an amazing job of keeping your interest. Somehow, even after many previous jousts and sword matches, Pyle makes each one more interesting than the last.

I also love the "moral of the story" section he does at the end of most major book divisions. He did not do that in the other Pyle book I have read (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), and I very much liked them. In such he made allegories of Excalibur and its sheath (to God's Truth and faith), and does likewise with many things, always wishing to teach to us some truth through his writings about Arthur and his knights. I also loved the oath of the knights of the Round Table:

"And this was the covenant of their Knighthood of the Round Table: That they would be gentle unto the weak; that they would be courageous unto the strong; that they would be terrible unto the wicked and the evil-doer that they would defend the helpless who should call upon them for aid; that all women should be held unto them sacred; that they would stand unto the defence of one another whensoever such defence should be required; that they would be merciful unto all men; that they would be gentle of deed, true in friendship, and faithful in love. This was their covenant, and unto it each knight sware upon the cross of his sword, and in witness thereof did kiss the hilt thereof."

This except, I think, well sums up this book, in which these oaths are held, and if they are not, retribution always follows swiftly. In the land of Camelot, good deeds before God are of highest value, and wicked deeds are always subject to disapproval and punishment.

Editorial Review:

In these wonderfully illustrated tales, renowned storyteller Howard Pyle journeys back to the age of King Arthur and his Round Table to chronicle the powerful, enthralling story that has delighted generations of readers fascinated by chivalry, magic, and the unforgettable drama of medieval times. **MASS MARKET PAPER**

The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 6)

Jack Whyte

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 39 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

spectacular! 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

"A gigantic ball of flame roared from the pit with a concussive, deafening sound that sucked all the air in the room, it seemed, into its heart, then belched it out again in a terrifying rain of sparks and embers and great, whirling clouds of choking smoke."

The Sorcerer Metamorphosis is an ingenius fiction of the Arthurian legend by Jack Whyte and it is the fifth book in the Camulod Chronicles series. It is about how Merlyn and Arthur return to their stronghold of Camulod but instead of peace and prosperity, they find themselves in the middle of a desperate war with their longtime neighbor and ally, the now distrought, Cambria! While Merlyn loses everything he ever cared about and morphs into a powerful sorcerer, Arthur fights in the war to learn how to become a man, a soldier, and a leader.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the previous books in the series and anyone who likes books on the Arthurian legend or just books about medieval warfare.

Editorial Review:

Throughout the widely praised Camulod Chronicles, Merlyn Britannicus has been driven by one sacred dream--to see Britain united under one just, powerful king. In The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis, it is time for the Sorcerer to fulfill his promise--to present the battle-proven Arthur as the Riothamus, the High King of Britain. When Arthur miraculously withdraws the Sword of Kingship from the stone in which it is set, he proves himself the true and deserving king--sworn to defend the Christian faith against invaders, and to preserve Britain as a powerful, united force.

The Sorcerer has fulfilled his promise. The King is crowned, Britain is united--and the face of history and legend is forever changed.