- Mass Market Paperback: 496 pages
- Publisher: HarperTorch; Reissue edition (Dec 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 038080297X
- ISBN-13: 978-0380802975
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.6 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
87,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #91 in Books > Fantasy > Historical
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Even as a child, James could remember feeling that some mysterious power held his fate in strong, infallible hands. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Even as a child, James could remember feeling that some mysterious power held his fate in strong, infallible hands. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I first read the Pendragon Cycle several years ago and am still a huge fan. As I also enjoy political thrillers, I seized joyfully on this book - only to find an ill-put-together royalist propaganda tract. I did manage to finish it - Lawhead is still a good writer, and kept me turning the pages - but I was sorely disappointed. The ridiculously contrived story to account for James being the heir of the Duke of Morvern was faux-romantic tat more worthy of Barbara Cartland than Lawhead; and if Morgian is dedicated to bringing down the monarchy and has had fifteen centuries in which to hone her skills, why does her every action seem almost calculated to strengthen it? She comes across not as the terrifying force for evil she was in the earlier books but as a stupid airheaded bimbo.
But worst, I think, was the central premise of the book: that, after continuing to sleep through all the perils that have menaced Britain since the sixth century, Arthur should return to save the country from... republicanism. Is it supposed to be the ultimate evil? And why does an arch-royalist, even an American-born one, manage to get royal titles so consistently wrong?
I did enjoy the satire on New Labour, thinly disguised as the "British Republic Party"; but it was surely implausible that right, left and centre would coalesce so easily to fight the monster as they do in the book. (I see no sign of that in real life.)
The characters deserve better plots and surroundings; there was scarcely one who did not seem out of place. Lawhead should return to the Dark Ages, and quickly - it's where he belongs.
But worst, I think, was the central premise of the book: that, after continuing to sleep through all the perils that have menaced Britain since the sixth century, Arthur should return to save the country from... republicanism. Is it supposed to be the ultimate evil? And why does an arch-royalist, even an American-born one, manage to get royal titles so consistently wrong?
I did enjoy the satire on New Labour, thinly disguised as the "British Republic Party"; but it was surely implausible that right, left and centre would coalesce so easily to fight the monster as they do in the book. (I see no sign of that in real life.)
The characters deserve better plots and surroundings; there was scarcely one who did not seem out of place. Lawhead should return to the Dark Ages, and quickly - it's where he belongs.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had been warned by others who enjoyed Lawhead's Pandragon series on the Arthurian legends that these don't translate very good into a modern setting. But, as I've enjoyed his other books a lot, I took a chance on reading it. It turned out to be all too true. Lawhead has not managed very well to bring the magic of the old celtic legends into a modern setting. When Mr. Embries sings, a scene that would have left the reader awestricken, set in a celtic environment, it seems... sentimental. Morgian seems like a real bimbo, and James' feelings when he discovers his lost memories, the way they are described, seem... silly. I've decided to give the book 3 stars, because it's not completely without good sequences. Both the beginning and the wedding feast reflect the brilliance of the author, but the rest does not give him too much credit.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I had been warned by others who enjoyed Lawhead's Pandragon series on the Arthurian legends that these don't translate very good into a modern setting. But, as I've enjoyed his other books a lot, I took a chance on reading it. It turned out to be all too true. Lawhead has not managed very well to bring the magic of the old celtic legends into a modern setting. When Mr. Embries sings, a scene that would have left the reader awestricken, set in a celtic environment, it seems... sentimental. Morgian seems like a real bimbo, and James' feelings when he discovers his lost memories, the way they are described, seem... silly. I've decided to give the book 3 stars, because it's not completely without good sequences. Both the beginning and the wedding feast reflect the brilliance of the author, but the rest does not give him too much credit.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Lacklustre End to an Epic Series
The Pendragon cycle is a wonderful set of books, full of fresh ideas and good research to make an epic blend of myth, history and religion that is a powerful antidote to the... Read more
Published on 10 July 2009 by Sir Furboy
Arthurian legend meets modern Britain - brilliant!
Steve Lawhead manages to take on the current UK political scene, and unite it with the strong theme of king & kingdom evident in his Pendragon Cycle. Read more
Published on 4 Jun 2001 by D. Sawyer
God save the king! Amen says Lawhead.
In Avalon, Stephen Lawhead has modernized the king Arthur of his delightful Pendragon cycle, and transported him to a futuristic and contemporary twenty-first century Britain,... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2001 by Godly Gadfly
Excellent contemporary slant on the Arthurian legend
Having read Stephen Lawhead's excellent Pendragon cycle, I bought this book not quite anticipating how a modern retelling of the return of King Arthur would work. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2000
Rather lacking King Arthur.
I am an avid Lawhead fan, but I found this book a disappointment. I expected to find much more of King Arthur but instead there was a lot of modern day politics. Read more
Published on 27 April 2000 by Mrs. Jenny Methold
Arthur has come back: a wonderful story !
I am French, but I often read books in English, and Stephen Lawhead is probably one of my favourite writers in the English language. Read more
Published on 25 April 2000 by gildas.gourdin@wanadoo.fr
A Must For Anyone Who Enjoyed The Pendragon Cycle
Anyone who has read and enjoyed the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead will love this book. The story, as suggested by the title is about the Return of King Arthur. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 1999
The best SRL book since Byzantium and an incredible story!
Stephen Lawhead masterfully recreates Arthurian Britain in the twentieth century. Arguably Lawhead's best novel to date, I found it impossible to put down. Read more
Published on 4 Oct 1999
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