Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Lyons Public Library | SF WHY | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | Whyte, J. | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
The eagerly awaited new novel in Jack Whyte's acclaimed Arthurian series
In this historically authentic, internationally bestselling novel, the orphaned Arthur is heir to the Colony of Camulod. Born with Roman heritage as well as the royal blood of the Hibernians and the Celtics, Arthur is the living incarnation of his ancestors' dream: independent survival in Britain amidst the ruins of the Roman Empire. When Arthur is adopted by his cousin, Caius Merlyn Britannicus, an enormous responsibility is placed upon Merlyn's shoulders. Now he must prepare young Arthur to unify the clans of Britain and guard the mighty sword Excalibur, crafted by his great uncle, Publius Varrus. Above all, Merlyn must see that Arthur survives to achieve his ancestors' dream, in spite of the deadly threats rumbling from the Saxon Shore.
"Another dipperful from the fertile Arthurian well, sans magic but brimful of action". -- Kirkus Reviews on the Eagles' Brood
"Whyte breathes life into the Arthurian myths by weaving the reality of history into it. The first volume has left me eagarly awaiting the forthcoming sequels". -- Tony Hillerman
"This isn't the usual Arthurian tale with a fantasy gloss; in graphic realism lies its fascination, and its power". -- Publishers Weekly on The Eagles' Brood
Author Notes
Writer Jack Whyte was born in Scotland in 1940. He was raised in Scotland, but educated in England and France before migrating to Canada in 1967. He spent one year teaching English in high school, before focusing on a career as a professional singer, musician, and actor. He wrote, directed and appeared in a one man show about Scotland's national poet Robert Burns in the early 1970's. Due to the show's success, he started writing for CBC national television and eventually went into advertising. He is the author of The Camulod Chronicles or A Dream of Eagles series which sets the tales of King Arthur in Roman Britain and Templar Trilogy which deals with the rise and fall of the Order of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
YA-Three earlier books in this series have dealt with events that foreshadowed the rise of King Arthur. In this installment, readers learn of Merlin's antecedents and his descent from a Roman legionnaire and craftsman whose master creation was the sword Excalibur. Here, Merlyn Britannicus is presented as a man in his 30s, a wily political figure but very much a warrior, with no magical powers. In the vivid opening scene, he is adrift on the open sea with an infant in his arms, his cousin, the young Arthur. The following adventures concern Merlyn's efforts to assure Arthur's safety until he is old enough to begin to unify the divergent native clans of Britain with Saxon and Celtic invaders. This is first achieved by Merlyn's success in establishing a friendship with the Eirish tribe called the Scots, who effected his rescue from the shipwreck. His return to England with a force of the Scots and their remarkable war horses leads to the buildup of a fortressed community, which will eventually become Camulod, or Camelot. At the book's close, Arthur has become a capable young boy and Merlyn is removing him to Cumbria where Roman influence lingers. His intent is to raise and train him to worthy readiness for a great future. Whyte has taken an engaging approach to the long-established character of Merlin. Much that is new and intriguing brightens a legend that in many forms has always been enchanting.-Frances Reiher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The fourth book in Whyte's engrossing, highly realistic retelling of the Arthurian legend takes up where The Eagle's Brood (1997) left off. Narrated by Caius Merlyn Brittanicus from journals written at the end of the "wizard's" long life, this volume begins in an immensely exciting fashion, with Merlyn and the orphaned infant Arthur Pendragon in desperate straits, adrift on the ocean in a small galley without food or oars. They are saved by a ship commanded by Connor, son of the High King of the Scots of Eire, who takes the babe with him to Eireland until the return of Connor's brother Donuil, whom Connor believes has been taken hostage by Merlyn. The plot then settles into well-handled depictions of political intrigue, the training of cavalry with infantry and the love stories that inevitably arise, including one about Donuil and the sorcerously gifted Shelagh and another about Merlyn's half-brother, Ambrose, and the skilled surgeon Ludmilla. As Camulod prospers, Merlyn works hard at fulfilling what he considers his destinyÄpreparing the boy for his prophesied role as High King of all Britain. Whyte's descriptions, astonishingly vivid, of this ancient and mystical era ring true, as do his characters, who include a number of strong women. Whyte shows why Camulod was such a wonder, demonstrating time and again how persistence, knowledge and empathy can help push back the darkness of ignorance to build a shining futureÄa lesson that has not lost its value for being centuries old and shrouded in the mists of myth and magic. Author tour. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Fourth volume in the Camulod Chronicles, Scots-born Whyte's reinvention of the Arthurian saga, begun with The Skystone (1996) and the discovery of a new metal with which to forge Excalibur, The Singing Sword (1996, not reviewed) and--200 years laterThe Eagle's Brood (1997), in which the Roman occupation of fifth-century Britain hears the first chords of its death knell. Now, the Colony that will become the fabled Camulod is ruled by Merlyn Britannicus and Uther Pendragon. When Uther (Arthur's father) dies, cousin Merlyn cares for the babe and raises him to unify Britain and guard Excalibur. Bernard Cornwell's more florid, less gritty trilogy of Arthur ends with Excalibur (see above), while Whyte's doorstoppers are historically more dense and action-crammed than marvelous, and--with Arthur still a child after four long volumes--already dwarf Le Morte dArthur, will soon loom over Gibbon's Decline and Fall, and, with the Saxon chronicles marching on logically into Ivanhoe and The Waverley Novels, may simply go on forever.
Booklist Review
The newest installments in two highly regarded Arthurian series. Cornwell continues his dynamic Warlord Chronicles retelling the Arthurian legends from the point of view of one of Arthur's trusted warlords, Derfel. Recounting events long after the king's death, Derfel portrays a reluctant leader driven by fate and his own sense of honor. This compelling volume follows Arthur through his final battles and reconciliation with his banished wife, Guinevere. Cornwell brings a modern religious sensibility to his vivid interpretation of the times, casting the conflict between the Britains and the Saxons as a war between the old gods and the Christian god played out through the powermongering of men. Not only is Cornwell keen on religious and political themes, he also has Derfel relate vivid accounts of the curiously courtly rituals and etiquette of this fabled war, fashioning an exciting, intelligent, and mythic novel of duty, betrayal, greed, and love. Whyte adds a fifth novel to his acclaimed Camulod Chronicles, a story of pre-Arthur Britain told from Merlin's perspective. The Britain of Merlin's youth is a collection of civilizations left over from the Pax Romana, and the government installed in Camulod operates as a shadow of the Roman republic. Merlin is a High Commander who possesses gifts of foresight through dreams, but he is no magician: his powers are based on his friend Lucanus' gift of medicine. He does intuit, however, that the bastard child Arthur is fated to be king, and commits his life to protecting him. Whyte spins a tale of loyalty and trust, fleshing out Merlin's character as one that is diametrically opposed to the usual portrayal of an infamously randy sorcerer. His saga concludes with Merlin spiriting Arthur away from his would-be assassins. As both Whyte, Cornwell, and the authors listed in the adjoining Read-alike column demonstrate, the Arthurian legends possess remarkably enduring allure and significance. --Grace Lee