031286759X

In 1933, John Dillinger, public enemy number one captures the fancy of depression America. He becomes a hero as he robs ten banks over the course of a year. Jails don't seem to hold him as he escapes from the seemingly impossible containment area that prisons are supposed to be. Since banks seem only to foreclose during that era, people worship Dillinger as a modern day Robin Hood. He becomes more heroic by the day as the flamboyant criminal turns the FBI and other law enforcement officials into the Keystone Cops, that is until that fatal day when the Lady in Red sets him up to die in a heroic shoot-out.

THE STORY OF JOHNNY D is a fabulous biography that more than just highlights the life, especially the last year, of John Dillinger. The book places his rise to fame inside a period piece that shows why Johnny D is popular and bankers and FBI agents are not. Dillinger's genuine exploits read like an Errol Flynn tale adding to the Depression Era feel. Arthur Winfield Knight, author of THE SECRET LIFE OF JESSE JAMES, makes biographies as much fun to read as the TV series makes them to watch.

Harriet Klausner

It starts off with the birth of a soon to be king,Arthur. The book tells about Arthur,his life, and it told how he died. I think Howard Pyle is a great writer. I wrote this review as a responce to the book

The Fabulous Journey of Life

" Whoever pulleth out this sword from stone and anvil is the right-wise king of all England" and so, this begins the great legend of King Arthur. In this page turning book, The Knights of the Round Table by: Enid Blyton, readers find various stages of excitement. Many of these exciting points are found in the story, "Sir Galahad and the Quest of the Holy Grail." One of the exciting parts readers will read is, when the war is going on in the castle of the three evil brothers. This is exciting because you can't guess what is going to happen. Another exciting part is found in the " Quest of Excaliber." In this story Merlin, Arthur's trusty friend, helps him find a sword because Arthur's broke in his last battle.
Various signs of uniqueness are shown throughout his book. I think that the most unique part of the story was how it was narrated. The author writes the book so it has certain suspense to it. The book is written in third person and the author occasionally uses dialog. Throughout the book the author uses past tense and future test.
I recommend this book for eleven year olds because, it is a fairly easy read. Also, for people who are interested in the King Arthur story because, it gives the basics of King Arthur out.

Attanasio is one of my favorite writers - constantly innovative, frequently lyrical, and until this book he hadn't disappointed me. It's not a bad story, but it falls far below the standard of work that I've come to expect from this man. The first two books in this series are delightful, and as good as anything Attanasio's ever done. I finished this one, however, only to keep up with the series. Rerad this book if you've been drawn into the series, but by no means let it be your introduction to the work of this talented author.

Attansio's interpretation of teh Arthurian legend is fascinating and well-written, but it took this reader nearly 100 pages to become acclimated to the author's bizarre shortened chapters. Attanasio abbeviates his scenes so that they last no longer than 1 1/2 pages at the most.

Interestingly, it doesn't appear that his work suffers because of it...yet it was still disconcerting. This was the first Attanasio book I've read. Despite what others have written, it is possible to use this as a jumping-off point into his novels.

The Wolf And The Crown is a beautiful weaving of the classic story of Arthur, except now the tale has an original factor to it. Attanasio is a very talented author; he combines legend with his own mythology. I loved it because Attanasio used characters from several beliefs; he didn't just focus on Christianity. You may believe this weird, but I think that his stories compare with The Wild Road, mostly because King's and Attanasio's details are similar. Such as: They both describe the weather, surroundings, features of an animal or person, and attitudes very thouroughly. I reccomend this book to everyone in the universe!!!

This book contains elements that are truly excellent, however the quality is far too inconsistent and unfinished to recommend it wholeheartedly. Steinbeck, in his introduction, comments on how much he treasured Malory's _Morte d'Arthur_ as a boy, and stated that his goal was to rewrite the stories for a modern audience.

The first section or so is a rather dry retelling of the familiar events and battles. As Steinbeck progreses through the book though, he seems to wander from his goal to merely and faithfully retell Malory's stories; the tales he tells become more lighthearted and introspective as Steinbeck's natural instincts for storytelling take over. One chapter, "Gawain, Ewain and Marhalt" takes a brief chapter in Malory and makes it into a hilarious story that is over 60 pages long. The knights become very human, and Steinbeck appears to be gently mocking the chivalric code. He does offer far more insight into the characters of the knights than earlier writers ever did; we begin to understand why some of the events could have happened. However, when he gets to the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere, he bogs down permanently. For any reader who has wondered how on earth Arthur's favorite knight could have been having an affair with his wife - well, Steinbeck didn't seem able to answer that one either. He leaves us dangling with Lancelot in shameful tears over one stolen kiss - and then the book ends! I believe that Steinbeck could not reconcile his mixed feelings surrounding the downfall of Arthur's knigdom, and therefore he had to stop, and apparently never recovered the enthusiasm to continue.

This book has wonderfully entertaining and insightful elements, but it is obviously an unfinished work, and therefore cannot be considered as a truly significant addition to the Arthurian library.

This book is one of the best modern versions of the legend of King Arthur and the Round Table, along with T.H. White's The Once and Future King. This book achieve what Sir Thomas Malory left blank in Le Morte D'Arthur, psychoanalysis for the characters. The book excludes the Grail Quest and the final phases of the legend. I should say that I loved Steinbeck's perspective of Sir Lancelot.

This book, "The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, is a collection of vignettes (stories), each, a differnet tale of the knights and their quests for honor and fame. Some of the legendary characters in this book you may know of are King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, and many other unique knights. Not only do these stories have adventure, they are also of romance, betrayal, hatred, and trust. My opinion, it's a very good book because it's realistic, yet it's a fantasy. For example, women are treated as though they weren't worth much and the battles have some of the same causes as today, such as greediness and people's beliefs. I also liked it because it is very adventurous and exciting with lots of interesting stories that are well written. King Arthur has many battles and knights fight for honor in these tales of virtue. One such battle is when King Arthur struggles to keep his kingdom when rebellious,greedy lords and dukes attack. This would be a good book for people interested in the Middle Ages and the Arthurian Legend. Therefore, I must say that I would definetly recommend this book to people who like adventure with a touch of histiory.

This is an excellent book. It is by far the best Twain I have read yet, and I give it four stars. In this novel, Mark Twain holds the glory and romance associated with Arthurian Legend up to the standards of 19th century society, and reveals defects in both the romantic ideal of King Arthur and the faith that Twain's generation holds in scientific and social "progress." Both funny and thought-provoking, this book provides the reader with a new set of eyes with which to view the barbarism and injustice that Arthur and his knights so valiantly fought to preserve. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is the tale of Hank Morgan, a typical 19th century man who is transported back in time to the days of Merlin, Guinevere, and King Arthur. After becoming aware of his surroundings, and deciding to ignore his uncertainty about whether King Arthur actually existed, this man uses the common knowledge of his time period, his practicality, and some perfectly timed arrogance to acquire a position of great power in this land that he finds repulsive and in need of an enlightened leader. The ensuing story is the tale of what happens when the two utopias collide and this man abuses his power in an attempt to bring the "great and beneficent" miracles of the 19th century to the Age of Chivalry. I would recommend this book to any reader in 8th grade or above, but I would discourage people with passionate faith in the purity and glory of King Arthur from reading this book if they do not want to be forcefully presented with demonstrations of chivalry's inhumanities. A fairly well developed sense of humor will help the reader to enjoy Mark Twain's subtle ironies and satirical situations, and some basic knowledge of science helps in understanding some of the scenes, however this isn't vital to the book. The vocabulary is moderately advanced, the subject matter is somewhat mature at times, and the philosophical reasoning is probably beyond the reach of most Junior High students, yet I would encourage anyone who is interested to give this book a try. This novel is also great for the general public because A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court provides the reader with a main character with whom they may identify. The main character, Hank Morgan is presented with situations in which he must deal with being a stranger in a new atmosphere, being a social outcast due to his uncommon beliefs, he must avoid physical confrontation, and he is forced to use his intellectual abilities rather than brute strength to solve difficult situations. Many readers will have faced similar difficulties in their lives, and this ability to identify with the characters will definitely add to the overall enjoyment of the story. With this piece of work, Mark Twain displays his true talent for excellent writing and story telling. He incorporates enough adventurous and action filled scenarios to make the reader want to continue reading vigorously, yet he also manages to discuss very philosophical and thought-provoking topics during the lulls in the action. This book reads very quickly near the beginning and end. The action tapers off during the middle of the story, but not for long, and once it starts to pick up again, Twain demonstrates his true potential for greatly entertaining writing in the very climactic and cleverly ironic ending that brings this all-around great book to an even better close. This is definitely a book worth reading.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an intriguing novel written by Mark Twain. This is a fantastic book for the high school level reader, but would be entertaining to adults as well. I am a freshman in high school, and I enjoyed many attributes of the plot and writing style. In this novel the main character, Hank Morgan, is mysteriously transported from the nineteenth century in Connecticut back to the fifth century in England. During his time in medieval Britain, he keeps a journal which is what most of this book is. The preface and afterwards are both the narration of Mark Twain who writes as if he has found Hank's journal, and is merely writing it down in a book. As the journal starts out, Hank is introduced to King Arthur and after narrowly escaping death and becomes the country's most powerful advisor. Hank introduces many modern wonders to this feudal society. He is hailed a magician, being able to perform wonderful "miracles" and "magic", when it really is only modern science. It is very entertaining to read about how the feeble-minded people of that time react to these feats. In the end, there is a tremendous battle with many exciting episodes leading up to it. If a reader is partial to battle scenes of high caliber, this is a book for him! Of course, Hank has many other battles as well. Once of his biggest enemies is the Church of England. The big question the reader asks themselves during this book is "Will Hank return to his time and if so, how?". It was exciting for me to ponder this question throughout the novel. During Hank's travels through medieval Britain, he meets many people. The people he meets who think a government ruled by the people in Britain (his ultimate goal) would be a good idea, he sends to Camelot where he has schools set up which teach people about modern governmental ideas. Schools were also set up to teach people how to produce his wonders of modern science. These few enlightened people remain loyal to Hank until the very end. I thought it an entertaining notion that people who were trained from birth to believe in one thing, could realize it's faults and begin to believe another things. I really enjoy this book because it brings a lot about human nature into question. It discusses the vast differences of beliefs, manners, and life styles between one hundred years ago and fourteen hundred years ago. I also thought the differences between classic Arthurian legend and Mark Twain's perspective of the time were very interesting. Hanks training of these idealistic people he runs across plays into the large political aspect of this book. Since Hank's ultimate goal is to transform Britain into a country ruled by the people, he starts factories producing modern goods which greatly changes the lives of the Britons. I enjoyed the descriptions of the people's reaction to these modern products of science thirteen centuries before they would be invented. Throughout the entire book commentary and philosophizing concerning the comparison of the fifth century feudal system of Britain and the nineteenth century democracy of the U.S. by Hank Morgan is common. This political aspect is typical of Twain's works. It gave me great pleasure to read this aspect of the book and to comprehend it's meaning. Through Hank Morgan, Mark Twain is able to depict vivid images in the readers mind. Whether it be a person, scene, or sensation felt by Hank Twain describes it in a way which puts a solid picture in the imagination of the reader. I have not seen the movie of this novel, but I have heard it isn't very well done and it is nothing compared to the book. I believe this is because Mark Twain paints such a realistic picture in the mind of the reader, it is nothing compared to what some director can film. From Mark Twain's great descriptions and writing style to the unique ideas presented, the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a fantastic novel. There are so many aspects of it to enjoy, and it is just an all around entertaining book. I give this book four out of five stars and I recommend it to any one interested in fantasy, especially if they want a different perspective on King Arthur.

Well, the perfect companion to La Morte d'Arthur...

Twain completely dissects the "good ol' days" of Arthurian Britain by exposing the vicious social practices of the time: white slavery, le droit de seigneur, confiscation of property in event of suicide, the complete lack of impartial justice, the degrading influence of the Church on the mass, etcetera etcetera etcetera...

The Arthurian legends are wonderful tales, but they are a mythic literary production; Twain deals with the brutal reality of daily living in the Dark Ages, and points out that the good ol' days were not so good, anyway.

As for its applicability to modern America, I am not fit to judge. Perhaps it's there. But "The Connecticut Yankee" is a wonderful tonic for those prone to romanticizing the past. Twain seems to agree with Tom Paine that the English nobility were "no-ability", and simply the latest in a series of robbers.

And, of course, the book is stuffed with wonderful Twainisms... My favorite is his observation that a conscience is a very inconvenient thing, and the significant difference between a conscience and an anvil is that, if you had an anvil inside you, it would be alot less uncomfortable than having a conscience.

Twain also mentions the beautiful mispronunciations of childhood, and how the bereaved parental ear listens in vain for them once children have grown.

You'll never look at castles the same again...

The Knights of the Round Table
By: Roger Lancelyn Green

The book King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table include numerous interesting stories. The author, Roger Green, did not only set Arthur on quests, but his knights too. From the adventure of the Green knight to the quest for the Holy Grail, this book keeps you entertained. The king Arthur and his knights were well known for their bravery and honorability. For example, Sir. Gawain kept his promise to the green knight to look for him in one year.
However, the old English and the number of characters in the many stories of this book become very confusing.
I rate this book five out of ten, because I enjoy more descriptive action stories rather than so much talking. I recommend this Arthurian novel to whoever enjoys stories rich in characters and dialogs.

Who hasn't heard of King Arthur and the knights of his Round Table? In this book you meet them all - including the magician Merlin, and the brave knights Sir Launcelot, Sir Gareth, Sir Tristam, Sir Bors, Sir Kay, and Sir Galahad. All the old favorites are included - Arthur drawing the sword out of the stone, Arthur receiving the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, and Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. But this is just the beginning of excitement - followed by numerous quests and adventures of the knights, including the Quest for the Holy Grail. This book is chock-full of entertaining adventures involving knights in shining armour, damsels in distress, fierce jousting and sword fights to the death, battles against hoards of enemies and giants, tournaments and miracles.

The medieval setting is painted in a rather idealized fashion, limited to the nobility and figures of the court, who embrace all that is beautiful, brave and noble. These virtues are sometimes portrayed rather simplistically, as unknown knights engage in mortal combat, and only after they have virtually killed each other do the introductions begin: "What is your name?" Behind this medieval mayhem is a heightened sense of chivalry more reflective of legend than fact, where knights battle to the death for the sake of a woman - even one they have only just met. But isn't that what the Arthurian legends are all about? Nobody is under the illusion that they are to be taken too seriously. Journeying to Arthur's Camelot is a form of escapism - suspend your sense of disbelief, watch the flashing swords and fearful battles, and enjoy.

That's not to say that the Arthurian tales do not reflect any reality. Arthur's world is in many respects a real medieval world. Medieval beliefs in paganism and Christianity are evident throughout. Witchcraft and enchantment is presented as alive and deadly, and conversely the true religion - in this case the beliefs of the medieval Catholic church - is evident throughout as knights commend themselves to God in prayer, thank him for his help, and even repent from their sins. The whole notion of the Holy Grail is of course a very Christian tradition - although a tradition that represents more fiction than fact. And the moral virtues of justice, truth and right for which the honorable knights fight are still noble ideals of virtue today. Arthur's kingdom is presented as a kingdom blessed by the grace of God, a beacon of light symbolizing all that is good and true and right, and a worthy model for kingdoms in today's world because it revolves around timeless virtues. Tales that promote dignity, courtesy, courage, respect for right, respect for female dignity and purity are as ennobling as they are entertaining.

How much truth there is behind the Arthurian tales will always be the subject of debate. The fact remains that there is an extensive and confusing body of legend to wade through. In this work, Green has essentially followed Malory's fifteenth century classic "Morte d'Arthur." But unlike most other writers, such as Sir James Knowles, Green has made some significant improvements:
1. Firstly, the traditional Arthurian tales are a confusing mass of legends. But Green consciously weaves all the tales together as part of a single pattern. He needs to take some liberties with legend in order to achieve this, but these alterations are minor, and the end result is a plausible reconstruction with a clear development, revolving around the establishment of Arthur's kingdom, its climax with the successful quest for the Holy Grail, and subsequent downfall.
2. Secondly, most other collections slavishly follow the body of legend inherited by Thomas Malory. Green follows Malory in the main, but has researched the legends carefully for himself, and also incorporates some Arthurian legends not found in Malory.
These innovations of Green result in a very readable and successful version of the Arthurian tales, and yet one that does not significantly sacrifice faithfulness to legend. Those looking for a more historical reflection of the Arthurian tales would do well to turn to a version of Malory, such as that by Sir James Knowles. And those looking for a more developed and extensive modern version where the author has taken liberties beyond the original legends, would enjoy the classic work by Howard Pyle. But as a faithful, plausible and enjoyable introduction to the tales, you can't go wrong with this superb effort by Green.

Most readers looking to be introduced to the Arthurian legends need look no further than this collection by Green. It's not as grand as Malory, but it's a better read. There is no end to the accomplishments of sword and sorcery, adventures and quests. To our sorrow, Arthur's kingdom ends in darkness and disgrace, but not before it has shone with a wonderful and memorable light. Along with the tales of Robin Hood, the tales of King Arthur are the most exciting tales that British history has produced. This is the stuff of legend, and it's worth a read.

I have read so many King Arthur books and can't keep track of which ones I read. But this one I remember being quite enjoyable. It includes numerous King Arthur tales some you may know others may be new to you. My personal favorite being "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight". All I have to say is this is an enjoyable and adventurous read weather you have ever read about King Arthur before or not. After reading this your bound to be captivated and find yourself searching for more King Arthur tales! I recommend not only this book ,but the many other ones that are out there also. After reading this one check out "The Squire's Tale" by:Gerald Morris - It's a fun book about a boy,Terence, and the famous Sir Gawain(in which you are or will become familiar with if you read "King Arthur and His Knight's of the Round Table".

The Light Beyond the Forest is a very "boring" story about knights that talk funny and have weird things happening to them. "Acts of God." Most of the time I didn't even think about the book while i was reading it.
The knights were from the Round Table in Camelot. If I rated this book I'd give it a 3 out of 10. ...If I were a knight I'd slice my hands, toung, and legs off before I read any other books in this series!

The Quest for the Holy Grail
The Light Beyond the Forest by Rosemary Sutcliff had an extremely interesting plot. The reader follows the quest for the holy grail in four different characters. Sutcliffe jumps back and forth between the quests of Sir Percival, Sir Bors, Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot.
The time of the setting is in the medevil age. It takes place in many locations throughout the story. There are a few suspenseful twists that will keep you waiting until the end. Throughout the quest many conflicts appear between the characters and the grail.
Finally, I would recommend this book for 13+. Although it is not very long it can be confusing and hard to understand at times. This book is great for adventurous readers because of its plot and conflicts

This story is about the many exciting adventures of a few of the main knights involved in the Grail Quest. It many follows Sir Lancelot, Bors, Percival, and Galahad. The stories tell of their journeys through unfamiliar lands, saving damsels in distress, and over all trying to find the Holy Grail the one thing all the knights' desire, but only one knight can recover it.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Although at times I was confused do to the ever-changing characters and story lines. Things I really liked about this book were the excitement in the adventures and the wonderful characters. I would most definitely recommend this book to all young adult readers who enjoy a great suspenseful tale.

I was very disappointed with this book. I, too, noticed that Cai's green eyes had made a sudden shift to blue, but since his eyes are only mentioned once, this is easy to miss. At one point in the book, Lawhead states that Arthur's warriors "plight their troth" to Arthur. Well, Lawhead should look this up in the dictionary--the way he used it is very confusing, because to "plight one's troth" has the primary meaning of getting engaged to someone in order to marry them. Not until I got to the third meaning in my dictionary did it state "to swear an oath of allegiance". Gwenhyvar never had a chance, I guess--Arthur had married his generals. :)

The legend that concerns Twrch Trwyth is actually the story of Culhwch and Olwen. Culhwch wants to marry Olwen, but before he can do so, he must fulfill a series of quests put upon him by Olwen's father. One is to kill the boar Twrch Trwyth (whose name I was unable to find a meaning for) and get the comb and razor from between the great boar's ears. This boar just so happens to be a king who ticked off God and, Quite literally, was turned into a boar, and all of his household and followers were turned into piglets. Arthur is not the main character in this story, he has sort of been just stuck in, because all he really does is assist Culhwch in his various tasks (along with another character, Mabon, who happens to be a Celtic god). The chase of the hunt for Twrch Trwyth starts in Ireland, but ends up in South Wales and Cornwall--not Scotland. Arthur does not get so severely injured that he needs to be healed with the Grail, either--in fact, this tale is an oddity in the Arthurian mythos because it has absolutely nothing to do with the Grail, or any of the other stories in the Arthurian legend.

Lawhead also employs a very odd narrative technique here, one that ended up irritating rather than helping. In the middle of the battle, Merlin suddenly goes racing off, and of course the reader is forced to follow him because he's the narrator. This was very annoying, because then the reader is left wondering what is happening with the battle while Merlin goes off investigating the plague. It would have been far better to have someone else narrating this part of the book, like Bedwyr or Cai, so that Merlin's racing off doesn't produce such a weird break in the action, and when he came back he could tell them all about the plague. Even though Merlin does eventually return, and finds out nothing has happened since he was gone (?!), this has still got to be one of the worst ways to write a book.

Oddly enough, the plague is supposed to be this big huge menace, but it gets very short shrift in this book. I suppose the reason for this is that the plague problem will be dealt with in Grail.

Gwenhyvar--well, we get more background on her, but still no explanation of why she's got a Welsh name and she's Irish. In the original Arthurian myths, she is Welsh, so the name makes sense there, but not in Lawhead's book.

I am still completely mystified as to why Charis is called The Lady of the Lake. At least we get to see now the connection between Avallach and the Grail, and that "The Fisher King" is not just a title, but that he really does have a connection to the Grail like the Arthurian Fisher King did.

Llenlleawg--it should have been pointed out earlier that he was supposed to be Lancelot. All through Arthur I thought Lot was Lancelot, because Lancelot is the only knight who falls out of Arthur's favor. While it was briefly mentioned in this book, it still should have been done earlier.

Also, after swearing off fighting because of the loss of Ganieda, why does Merlin pick up a sword again? In Merlin he is committed to helping the Summer Kingdom come to fruitition, but not through fighting! Suddenly he picks up a sword again, forgetting all about his lost love and his unborn child that was killed, and goes off fighting again! His vision is restored fairly quickly after he lost it--how is it that Aneirin, the narrator in the last section of Arthur, still thought he was blind? This section picks up many years after Pendragon--something like 5-10 at least, maybe even more than that.

There are a lot of mistakes and inconsistencies in this book. I really dislike this kind of sloppy writing, and "rewriting because I feel like it" is not a good enough reason to me to be severely altering the Arthurian stories, which are good enough in their own right.

After the first three books, I expected much more from Pendragon. The first three told an enchanting story through several generations. This one, as near as I can tell, takes place between sections 2 and 3 of "Arthur." The main battle seems to be the same as the final battle in book three; did Arthur go through the same thing twice with two different enemies? The ending (with Arthur being taken away to be healed) is almost the same as in the previous book, and since it takes place before the ending of "Arthur" we are no closer to having that book's ending explained. I'm hoping "Grail" clears a few of these things up, otherwise Lawhead would have done much better leaving it off as a trilogy.

Fans of the first three volumes of Lawhead's "Pendragon Cycle" need to be forewarned about two things before they commence this fourth volume of the series.

Firstly, "Pendragon" is not a continuation of the story that ended in volume 3. "Taliesin", "Merlin" and "Arthur" complete Lawhead's retelling of the Arthurian legends, and form a complete and independent story in themselves. In "Pendragon", Lawhead expands on a part of the story about king Arthur that he has already described by recounting one of the struggles that the king Arthur faced in the early days of his kingship.

Secondly, "Pendragon" does not match the high standards of the three volumes that preceded it. Readers familiar with the first three volumes will find that Lawhead recounts much of Arthur's life that they are already familiar with. In fact, the description of Arthur's king-making is nearly identical word for word to the description of this same event found in "Arthur", the only difference being that "Pendragon" recounts the event from the perspective of Merlin. But the initial drama and sense of passion and glory is gone, because we have been here before. Even though events such as Arthur's youth are described in more detail here than in "Arthur", the fact remains that we already know the basic plot, and this detracts from the amount of enjoyment you can expect.

Yet with this warning in mind, "Pendragon" is still a worthwhile read. Lawhead focuses on one aspect of Arthur's reign, namely his conflict against the barbarian Vandals and against a pestilent plague. Don't be confused: this is not an enemy described in "Arthur", hence its ascription as "The Forgotten War" (Chronologically both "Pendragon" - aside from the first part - and "Grail" both fit between books 2 & 3 of "Arthur")

In this great conflict, the human element strongly comes into the foreground, especially the twin roles of the bard Merlin, and the king Arthur. The first point of view heightens the readers understanding of Merlin's role in this conflict. Lawhead's treatment of Merlin is profound, and particularly outstanding in my mind is one passage where Merlin comes to realize that "in order to welcome redemption, one must first embrace the utter hopelessness of failure. For how can a man look for rescue unless he knows he is truly lost?" (p.69) - a wonderful metaphor of salvation for lost sinners. Equally outstanding is Merlin's journey to the other-world, where Lawhead uses a profound sequence of events to bring Merlin to understand his role in the great conflict over against evil.

Also profound is Lawhead's treatment of Arthur. The last third of the book in my view is a climactic masterpiece, and after being entranced by the last section of the novel, Lawhead's weaknesses in the first half of the book were quickly forgiven and forgotten. Arthur's role in the struggle against the enemies of the people is central: as leader and king he must fight on behalf of his people. In an absolutely unforgettable climax, the whole weight of his people's hopes depend on him, as Arthur himself must single-handedly take on the leader of the barbarians in a battle to the death. The imagery will not be lost on you, as Arthur makes a distinctly Messianic figure, bruised for his people, a Christ-like king giving his everything for his people at the risk of his own life.

Yes, "Pendragon" has weaknesses. Does this make "Pendragon" a failure? If you were not forewarned, you would likely be disappointed. Even if you are forewarned, you may still be disappointed with the first half of the book because it lacks Lawhead's typical depth and drama. But in the last half of the book Lawhead more than redeems himself with a captivating narrative that you won't be able to put down, and will in the end leave you breathless at its sparkling imagery and depth, and eagerly grabbing the next volume in the series.

Stephen Lawhead is one of my favortie writers. His first three books in the Pendragon series left me with tears of joy and craving more. In Grail, his fifth book in the cycle, Lawhead again dips into the Arthurian world and explores the holy grail, the cornerstone of Arthur's "Realm of Summer." The first third of the book catches you up to speed with the characters, the middle third explores the current conflict, and then the last third is all action. Yet the action and set-up feel extremely forced and contrived, leaving me thinking that this had to be some sort of contractual obligation with Avon. When the book finally starts moving, it unfortunately relies on cliches--the evil witch who kidnaps the queen and leads the rescue party into a huge, dark woodland where the characters get seperated and lost. Although the ending is unique to Lawhead, the first three-quarters of the book are listless, cliched, and previously explored in earlier books. Lawhead is one of my all-time favorite writers, and I'm very sorry to not recommend this book.

SRL always delivers a great read, but this book didn't reach the same level of excellence as the first three in this series. I'd have to compare this to the fourth book, Pendragon. Both are good stories, but seem to be dragging the story of Arthur out. In the third book he concludes the story. The fourth and fifth then go back and tell us more about the life of Arthur. If you've read the first three books you should read this one also, but I would not recommend starting here. Like always SRL does an excellent job of taking the legend (in this case the Holy Grail) and presenting it in a more realistic light then many other fantasy novelists who make up extremely unrealistic fantasies. Once I finally got involved in the series I enjoyed it. For a really good read I'd recommend Byzantium or the Song of Albion trilogy.

Lawhead's Done It Again!

It is truly the mark of a good author when a relatively long book series retains all of it's brilliance and originality to the very end. Lawhead has accomplished this and more with his wondrous Pendragon Cycle.

Grail is the 5th and final installment in the series (unless you include Avalon in the list). While I think that this is the weakest book of the series, it is still superb and certainly worth the read. The atmosphere of the book is very unique. Unlike the previous books in the series, the enemy is largely supernatural - a much more frightening enemy than the Picti, Angli, or Vandali. Morgian is definetely at her worst - and she even gets a few opportunities to narrate the story (a very peculiar twist.)!

Really my only complaint about the book regards Lawhead's choice of characters. It seems that many of the major characters that were seen in Arthur and Pendragon have faded to the backdrop - replaced by relatively new characters. These characters are fine, but I would have rather seen more of characters like Bedwyr, Cai and Arthur.