My best friend was into this type of book early on, and eventually he won me into them. I started with the Lord of the Rings, and was pretty much hooked. Then I saw these books on his shelf, and decided to give them a shot. Rather instantly I was hooked! The characters in each book are well thought out and the reader gets to know and enjoy every aspect of the story. Though by Arthur it became a little convulated, the plotline was seamless and excellent. Keen Beans Mr. Lawhead!

Taliesin was really the first fantasy book I have read. Mostly I read star trek stuff and chriton books. So this was a real turn-around. The second I started reading Taliesin I was hooked. I couldn't put the book down. Though it's mideival writing style does slow the reader down the over all story and the characers are what you fall in love with. I am almost done with pendragon the fourth book in the series. This is what started me on fantasy books.

If you are expecting something like Lawhead's profound and satisfying "Pendragon Cycle" when reading the "Dragon King" trilogy, prepare to be disappointed. This is the Lawhead "Lite" version, because it lacks the depth of description, character and emotion present in many of Lawhead's other works. Undoubtedly, this is more entertainment than the literary fiction of those offerings. But it would be unfair to criticize Lawhead too harshly for this, because this series was born in the infancy of his career as a writer. Readers familiar with the more polished and developed Lawhead as evident in his later work would do the man an injustice by measuring his first work by the incredibly high standard of his more mature efforts. As a series geared towards the level of teens rather than adults, and where the reader is not under the false expectation that it contains the majesty and depth of the "Pendragon Cycle", this is still a great read.

This first volume in the series! "In the Hall of the Dragon King" introduces us to young Quentin, who undertakes an important mission to rescue the Dragon King Eskevar from the traitorous Prince Jaspin and the evil necromancer Nimrood. The king can be rescued from the corrupt wizard only after Quentin and his friends make a perilous journey to the dreaded Karsh, the desolate home of Nimrood. In volume two of the series "The Warlords of Nin" Quentin has matured into a young adult, and must defend the royal castle and the kingdom over against the deadly Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Victory is only possible when Quentin is armed with the enchanted sword Zhaligheer, but first Quentin must make a dangerous journey to search for a rare and fabled substance needed to make the sword. In "The Sword and the Flame", the third title in the series, the adult Quentin has assumed the throne and is busy building a temple dedicated to the Most High. But the evil necromancer Nimrood re!turns and collaborates with the defenders of the old gods against Quentin. The flame of the sword goes out, and the faith of the king and the hopes of the kingdom appear to be extinguished with it.

The strength of the series is the constant battle between good and evil, the powers of light and darkness. Quentin and his companions fight for freedom, justice and righteousness. Lawhead plainly intends this conflict to portray spiritual warfare. Quentin's enemies find their support in the pagan religions who worship the old gods, and employ the powers of sorcery, the occult and the dark arts. In contrast, victory of Quentin's kingdom is possible only with the help of the Most High God. The Christian symbolism is clearly evident: the conflict between the powers of good and evil is a picture of the great spiritual battle of the ages between God and Satan. Readers familiar with the battle images of Ephesians 6 will find the connections obvious. Quentin in particular plays a M!essianic role, by achieving deliverance as the Priest King, fulfilling prophecy in a manner much like Jesus Christ. Yet in contrast to these Messianic overtones of Quentin's role in an epic struggle, Lawhead also humanizes Quentin to the point where he is like us, a soldier in the battle rather than the Deliverer. Lawhead makes profound observations about personal faith, by showing that in the battle Quentin must learn to trust in the Most High. The Most High will be faithful in preserving the Kingdom, but his soldiers must be faithful in trusting and obeying him.

It is this depth of spiritual vision that makes Lawhead's prose all the more compelling and enjoyable. It is in the first place a story filled with medieval vistas and conflict - courageous knights in shining armour, flashing swords, evil wizards, deadly battles, heroic quests, and ancient chivalry. But especially the central place of the Most High God makes Lawhead's "Dragon King" trilogy so powerful and who!lesome - a picture of spiritual warfare, kings and kingdoms, prophets, dreams and visions, and above all faith in the Most High. It's not as deep and profound as his "Pendragon Cycle", but Lawhead "Lite" is still a very enjoyable read.

This captivating tale of a good-hearted hedgehog introduces children to many precious animals. When tiny Anabelle is nominated Official Dog Chaser of Riverbank, several citizens give her their harsh advice. Eventually, Anabelle realizes the best way to rid their homes of the menacing labrador is to make your enemy into your friend.

I am so impressed with this tale! It just was republished in March. The author skillfully increases your child's vocabulary by introducing challenging words and then providing the definition through a clever animal.

Your child will learn a valuable lesson on how to deal with others of all personalities. It will encourage them to look beyond first impressions and get to know one another more thoughtfully.

The Total Guide to College Life should be required reading for all who are entering college. Much of the advice is applicable for those attending trade schools or technical institutes. The approach is no-nonsense and interesting. The book includes information on how to create part time employment, how to get into and out of classes, a crash course on time management, and a roommate survival course.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. The whole trilogy is a great story that is really hard to keep your mind off of. The characters and the plot is well thought out and the essence of the battles and good vs evil is almost overbearing at times. Lawhead has great description, and describes each scene well. If you like a book that will stretch your imagination with celtic culture and mythology this is a great series to read!

Seldom do I read a trilogy I truly enjoy where I don't want to start the third book. The beginning of the third book leads to the end of the trilogy and this isn't the "Never Ending Story". Llew, the misplaced warrior, grows to meet his destiny. One wonders if the land will die before he finds it. Plenty of loose ends to entice you to read the third of the series, but you would want to anyway. Mythical, mystical and heroic, this is well worth the read.

In this second book of the "Song of Albion" series, Lawhead fleshes out his landscape and characters, yes, and even the villians. For some reason, he switches narrators and unnecessarily forces the reader to make a mental jump, but once that jump is made, the story breezes along.

Tegid, the bard, and Llew, the reluctant king, set about carving a new life for themselves while Meldron, the usurper, thinks they're dead. They have time to rebuild and form a company of sorts, but when Meldron catches on to their survival, we know the showdown will eventually come--and to mostly satisfactory results.

Lawhead fills his story with rich details and memorable scenes, but, as in the first book, he makes some apparent blunders. Though I was intrigued by the re-appearance of Nettles from the first book, his character never played a true role in the events of the story. Lawhead seemed to set him up for significance, then let me down. This type of thing happens occasionally in Lawhead's writing, whether due to poor plotting or forgetfulness, I do not know.

Overall, though, I have to give this book a glowing recommendation. Once finished and set aside, I couldn't get it out of my mind. The scenes were still there, the characters still breathing, the questions still rumbling through my thoughts. Maybe, in this fictitous world come to life, like the real world we inhabit, people and events don't always react or go as planned. Maybe, there are bigger purposes, as of yet unknown to this reader. Maybe, I don't care...I just want to believe the Otherworld is out there, and the Song of Albion is being sung, bringing life to all who hear it.

"The Warlords of Nin" is the second offering of Stephen Lawhead's "Dragon King" Trilogy, following "In the Hall of the Dragon King", an independent story where readers were introduced to the temple servant turned hero Quentin. In volume two of the series, Quentin has matured into a young adult and made his home and studies in Dekra, far away from his beloved Bria. Along with his companion and friend Toli, Quentin heads back to the royal castle at Askelon at the urgent summons of King Eskevar, who detects an impending danger that threatens the empire. All the signs, including the bizarre and ever-brightening Wolf Star, point to a perilous time.

The danger proves to be a serious one indeed: Nin the Destroyer, with his four warlords, and thousands of soldiers. Quentin and Toli escape from the clutches of one of the warlords along with the defector Myrmior, who turns out to be a most helpful ally. Myrmior's cunning and clever strategy does a great deal to slow the ad!vance of the army of Nin, which threatens to overwhelm Askelon. But in the end, victory depends on the fulfilment of an archaic prophecy about a Priest King, who will bring deliverance armed with a mysterious sword known as the "Zhaligheer" or "Shining One". It seems the Quentin is the fabled Priest King, and in obedience to the prophecy, he undertakes a mission to the lost mines of Ariga, along with the armorer Inchkeith, to search for the rare and fabled lanthanil needed to make the sword. Will he accomplish his mission on time? Is he the one of whom the prophecy speaks who will deliver Askelon from its fearsome foes?

"The Warlords of Nin" is a separate story from "In the Hall of the Dragon King", with Quentin, his companions, and his country being the continuous element. The story is filled with breath-taking scenery and medieval conflict. Courageous knights in shining armour, flashing swords, deadly battles, ancient chivalry - it's all here. The conflict between the! powers of good and evil is in the end a picture of the great spiritual battle of the ages between the powers of light and darkness, God and Satan. Readers familiar with the battle images used by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6, will find the connections obvious. The fight for truth, justice, righteousness and good is in many ways portrays the great struggle against evil in world history. The use and tacit endorsement of astrology, oracles, dreams and prophecy in this struggle is somewhat surprising, but could be explained as being reflecting a pre-Christian era, not unlike the time of the Old Testament before the coming of the Messiah. And so it is appropriate that deliverance comes though the fulfilment of prophecies about a Messianic Priest King. Readers familiar with the Bible will find the notion of a Messianic prophecy about a Priest King most recognizable, because this was precisely the case with Jesus Christ. To say that Quentin is Christ-like is to say too much, yet t!o deny the allusions to Christ's victory for His people is to deny the obvious.

Yet in contrast to the Messianic overtones of Quentin's role in an epic struggle, Lawhead also humanizes Quentin to the point where he is like us, the soldiers in the battle rather than their Deliverer. In the process, Lawhead makes profound observations about personal faith. In the battle, Quentin must learn to trust in the Most High, and be confident that the Most High has plans for him, even when the way is unclear. In total trust, Quentin "should go along with this strange business regardless of my own feelings about it." Says Durwin: "We must not fear for the Most High; he can take care of himself. We must only look to ourselves that we remain faithful to his call." He concludes with an exhortation to faith that applies also to believers in the spiritual war of today: "But if you go beyond your fears and doubts, and follow anyway --ah! strange and wonderful things can happen. Yes, orph!ans can become kings, swords can sprout flames and great enemies can be laid low at a stroke." (p.282-3)

It is this depth of spiritual vision that makes Lawhead's prose all the more compelling and enjoyable. Although essentially a story, it's a story with the power to impart enduring spiritual truths. No, maybe not to the extent of Lawhead's phenomenal achievement in the "Pendragon Cycle". But that doesn't make this book any less enjoyable, or any less of an achievement.

This book is my favorite in the Dragon King Trilogy. This book has lots of action in it. The story continues after Quentin and his friends defeat the evil Nimrood the necromancer. I suggest that you read the first book, In the Hall of the Dragon King, first.

This story is about how Quentin, now a young man, is called unexpectedly to return to Askelon. He had been staying at Dekra, the place of power and mystery. As Quentin and his best friend Toli rides back, they encounter many interesting things. A whole village is scared for some reason and the Wolf Star was growing bigger and bigger every day. But Quentin and Toli trusts in the Most High and returns to Askelon where they meet their good friend Durwin, the hermit and also meet King Eskevar. Quentin quickly knows that something was wrong with the King, the King had grown pale and his face was gaunt. In other words, the King was deathly ill. He knew that someting was amiss in Mesandor.

Meanwhile, Theido and Ronsard, the two brave knights, (Ronsard is my favorite character!) had been sent out from King Eskevar to sort of scout the land. They realize that something was wrong, just like the King had said. Whole villages had been burnt, there was nothing but a enormous black spot on the ground. As they travel on, they see a nearly dead person in one of the burnt villages. They learn little from him, but he tells them that the enemy's name was Nin the Destroyer before he dies. Theido and Ronsard then returns to Askelon.

Quentin and Toli had been also searching for any signs of the enemy. They meet Esme, a rather fierce girl who was secretly a princess. On their way back to Askelon, they see the village called Illem burning. They quickly ride to Illem and meet the villagers running in terror. They are quickly surrounded by many soldiers of one of the warlords of Nin. Toli and Esme escapes but Quentin is captured.

Will Quentin escape? What will happen when the Ningaal reach Askelon?

This book is definently something you have to read! I love the Dragon King Trilogy and I have read them over and over again. Happy Reading!

these books remind me of the "The lion the witch and the wardrobe" if you liked that you will love these books!!!!:)

Simon & his friend Lewis take off on an expedition to find an aurochs because Simon read about it in a tabloid. Simon goes into a cairn and disappears. Lewis waits for him to come back and then goes in search of information. He finds Professor Nettles, an odd duck, but thoroughly loveable. Nettles gives him the background that he needs, and then they go back to the cairn. This time Lewis goes in.

He finds himself in Albion, and must find his way through life. Simon is there at the outset, but there is always something untrustworthy about Simon. The ramifications of having two present-day "strangers" in Albion are set up to be disasterous.

This is a wonderful book. You can tell that Mr. Lawhead researched the topic extensively and brings his active imagination to life with this book. The descriptions are wonderful, and the characters about leap from the page. There is a little bit of everything in this book to suit different readers--intrigue, romance, fantasy, history--truly a wellrounded book.

I can't wait to read book 2.

I've been an avid fan of Stephen Lawhead's work for some years now, and I truly believe that the Song of Albion triology is his best work to date. Our world is but a shadow compared to the world Lawhead creates when Lewis and Simon cross over into the Otherworld. It's incredibly vivid and the plot is so engaging and well thought out that you can't help but be drawn into it. Celtic mythology is also something so different from any other culture in the world, and Stephen Lawhead the master of the Celtic/Fantasy genre. I can't speak highly enough of these books, and for me they sit equal with 'Magician' and just below 'The Lord of The Rings' as all time fantasy classics.

I believe that this was the first of Lawhead's books that i read. And, now that i have traversed his literature more thoroughly, I see the characteristics of Lawhead shining through to make a brilliant story in the heart of another world. The story (characteristically for Lawhead) begins slightly slowly. In the middle of Oxford England weird things are happening, and honestly I didn't really get it or get into it until Oxford was far behind. As soon as the England part was over I was thrust into gripping suspense. I could not put this book down. The series quickly became my favorite trilogy ever--and subsequently my favorite books ever--with the beautiful description of a lost celtic world, enthralling story of a boy's journey into manhood and heroism, and driving plot. This is a must read for anyone who loves adventure, suspense, mythology, learning, or just a gripping page-turner. Two thumbs way way up!

Meriln is by far the best in the Pendragon series to date. Lawhead fluently weaves into his tale legends of Stonehenge, Arthur, Merlin and many other stables of British lore. I found this book to be satisfying and intriguing in its use of these tales. The Pendragon series is an intellectual step above the Emperyion Saga and Merlin the best in the series. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in fantasy or British lore

This book was amazing. Lawhead combined all the different versions of the Arthurian Legends as well as the myths of Atlantis so well it made sense, and it made a wonderful story at the same time. He also dealt well with Merlin and many of the book's other main characters being Christian. While that is probably not historically accurate, it was written into the story well. I definitely reccommend this book to anyone with an open mind who is the least bit interested in Arthurian fantasy or ancient Britain.

If you've never read Steven R. Lawhead, prepare to be entranced by the breathtaking beauty of the universe which springs from his pen. He follows the man we know as Merlin from conception to the fruition of his potential, as a wise and powerful adviser to Britain's greatest king, Arthur. Lawhead's Merlin is not a shadowy druid lifted from the pages of Mallory, but rather a man whose exceptional ablities are complemented by the terribly heavy burden of his responsobility. He does not live in a time of chivalrous knights in shining armor, but a tumultuous malstrom of conflict in which barbaric kings scramble for scraps of power amongst the ruins of the Roman Empire. It is Merlin's task to guide and impart vision to the one man who can quell the bickering and unite the Isle of the Mighty under one flag. But there are many obstacles along the way. I would have hated for this book to end but for one fact: there are more books in the series! It only gets better.

Don't give up on this one! It slow in catching fire, but once it does...oh, boy--watch this story burn!

Similar to the third installment of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings," Lawhead's third Albion book starts somewhat slow and atmospheric, but succeeds in setting the stage for greater things to come. We follow Llew's journey as a king and husand, watching as he falls in love with his land and his lady. When both are threatened, "The Endless Knot" comes alive, following Llew, Cynan, Scytha, and the Ravens as they journey to the Foul Land in search of the kidnapped brides.

The depictions of evil and malice are imaginative and memorable, and even more awe-inspiring are the victories of the Swift Sure Hand toward the end of the trilogy. For the first time in this series, I felt my breath taken away as it has been at times in reading Tolkien's masterpiece. This book contains imagery beyond anything I've read by Lawhead before, and he tidely--if not a bit quickly--ties it all together at the end with a clear connection between Llew's sacrifice for his bride and the sacrifice of Christ for his church (his bride, as well).

Though the biblical allegory is minimal, it's effective. We reach the end of the story exhilarated and exhausted, only to find we are back at the story's beginning. In this clever manner, Lawhead demonstrates the circle of life and "The Endless Knot." Instead of feeling knotted up, I felt freed...by the story, by the prose, by the clear and purifying Song of Albion.

The Song of Albion trilogy are some of the best books I have ever read!! They deserve 10 stars! I read fiction critically, paying attention not only to the quality of plot, but also quality of writing and, most importantly, development of characters. Stephen Lawhead's books in general, and this trilogy in particular, satisfy me in every detail. The plots are original and very well researched, and the writing is excellent, with inspiring but not over-used metaphors and subtle alliteration. The characterization is excellent! I could not believe when reading some of these reviews that the reviewer had read the same books that I did. I can truly say that I have never read books in which the characters are better developed than in these. These books deserve to be compared with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which are my all-time favorite books!

Read these books if you like, as I do: Celtic mythology; high fantasy; believable fictional characters; writing that is at once both poetic and gritty; anything written by Tolkien; well-written fantasy with Christian values...I could go on, actually--let's just say READ THESE BOOKS.

For those people who thought that the Celtic mythology setting of these books was not accurate and rather forced, I beg to disagree. Having studied Celtic mythology informally quite a lot for the past couple of years, I happen to know that these books are VERY well researched. The more that I learn about Celtic mythology, the more I am impressed by the accuracy of the Song of Albion setting. You will have learned more than you know, as you will find if these books inspire you to look further into this fascinating genre of mythology! And the Otherworld setting is, to me, very believable. I could almost believe it is real. It was a mysterious experience to visit a full-sized model of Stonehenge at sunset, during the time-between-times.

Another great thing about these books is that musicians Jeff Johnson and Brian Dunning have written music to go with them. I originally heard of these books through this music. I have all the "Songs from Albion" CDs and highly recommend them, especially if you like contemporary Celtic-style music that is original composition, with a touch of New Age, rock, and medieval styles.

That is my review of the series. About this book in particular--I do not need to go over the plot since that has already been done here, and I would not want to ruin it for you anyway. Although it is still very good, this was my least favorite of the three books in this trilogy. It seemed a bit drawn out, as if the author ran out of things to say before the 400 pages were full. But there are still many important ends tied up. The ending may be to some people disappointing, although it was certainly "coming" no matter what. I will not give it away, but you will probably also be very surprised by the ending. While the "end" is not hard to guess for a reader of the first two books, you will never guess the "means"!

Well, I'm done raving now. READ THESE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!

This wole three book series is absolutely amazing. I was reccomended them by a relative & I couldn't put them down 'till I'd finished! These are a great read! Highly addicting.

The groan factor began almost immediately and stayed for about the first 100 pages of the book - well past my "get me in 50 or your donated edict." I'm glad I stuck with it despite the flat start, because this book clips right along and kept me turning the pages, which is all anyone wants - to look forward to the time when you can dive back in.
Others moan about the absence of "nail on the head" historical accuracy of the book, I however didn't encounter any passages that failed so bad as to pull you out of the story.
From the Viking vessels that the Sea Wolves used and how they were forced to portage on certain parts of the Dneiper & the barbarian mentality are all accurate and extremely interesting. The Description of Byzantium (Constantinople, currently Istanbul) and the Emperor Basil is also equally fascinating and accurate.
Pros: Solid Historical Fiction with a fast moving plot and a satisfying conclusion. I will read more Lawhead books.
Cons: 1st person narrated, which is constricting - but not enough to sink this story.
Go for it!

Like the other reviewers I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was the first Lawhead book I read and I was very pleasantly surprised by it.

The story is incredible with epic scope and marvelous detail. I was especially impressed with how Lawhead takes the protagonist, a humble monk and slave, through a series of incredible adventures and intrigue.

I had a few complaints with the story. I found the concept of a small war band of hardened vikings attempting to sack a fortifted city as large as Byzantium a bit absurd. Surely these wily veterans would have realized the impossibility of their task, especially once they saw the extent of the Byzantium fortress and military might. I also thought that Lawhead relied a little too much on coincidences. Characters pop in and out of the story a bit too conveniently. While Aiden's spiritual struggle was important to the story, I found that in describing his feelings the author seemed to reiterate the same idea using similar language. I found this tiresome and skimmed many of those repetative sections.

All in all though, it was a fantastic historical novel and a great summer read.

Now that I've read The Iron Lance and Avalon, I thought I'd stop in and read the reviews on Byzantium (I previously reviewed this book on July 27, 1997, but since they are now refering to me only as "a reader" I felt entitled to say something else). I was surprised by a few (to say the least). I honestly think Byzantium is Lawhead's best book ever. I loved Avalon, but it still didn't pass Byzantium as my all time favorite. If you like historical fiction or just want an excellent story with extremely well developed characters - this is the book for you. The important thing is to read the book with an open heart for the powerful message that is portrayed. It is a true story of redemption. I think one of the reasons I loved the book so much is I felt a kinship with the main character, Aidan, unlike I have with any other fictional character. After you read this, read the Celtic Crusade books, beginning with The Iron Lance. These continue the story and you'll see what happened to Byzantium a few hundred years later. Happy reading!