Excalibur
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Review
"Medieval times burst to life in Cornwell's canny retelling of the King Arthur myth." --"People"
"The action is gripping and skillfully paced, cadenced by passages in which the characters reveal themselves in conversation and thought, convincingly evoking the spirit of the time." --"Publishers Weekly "on "Excalibur" (starred review)
"The best Arthurian since Gillian Bradshaw, if not Mary Stewart herself." --"The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction "on "Enemy of God"
"The strength of the tale lies in the way Cornwellflesh-and-blood tells it through the creation of fesh-and-blood players who make a historical period come magically alive." --"The Washington Post "on "The Winter King"
"The action is gripping and skillfully paced, cadenced by passages in which the characters reveal themselves in conversation and thought, convincingly evoking the spirit of the time." --"Publishers Weekly "on "Excalibur" (starred review)
"The best Arthurian since Gillian Bradshaw, if not Mary Stewart herself." --"The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction "on "Enemy of God"
"The strength of the tale lies in the way Cornwellflesh-and-blood tells it through the creation of fesh-and-blood players who make a historical period come magically alive." --"The Washington Post "on "The Winter King"
Product Description
Arthur's final test of courage is upon him . . .
Arthur has crushed Lancelot's rebellion, but at a cost. Guinevere's betrayal has left him reeling, and his Saxon enemies seek to destroy him while he is weak. Chaos threatens to engulf Britain. Yet Arthur is a military genius and noble leader. As the battle draws close, he prepares to fight his way to victory at Mount Badon and also win back the woman he lost. But in the final journey of the warlord, the intrigues of Mordred, now the adult heir to the throne of Britain, and the magics of the priestess Nimue could prove to be Arthur's downfall.
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First Sentence
WOMEN, HOW THEY do haunt this tale. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
WOMEN, HOW THEY do haunt this tale. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I found this book to be a great conclusion to an already great series. The book concludes in such a way that it makes you want to know more, even though the book has come to a satisfactory end.
I was very impressed in the way how Cornwell managed to write about a period in history where very little is known and is often associated with fantasy. Cornwell changed this and managed to write a perfectly plausible book on the events that happended, apart from the mild fantasy element.
The outline of the story is different from Cornwell's usual so it makes for orginal material if you are used to the normal Cornwell setup. The character narrates and the character has to overcome many personal challenges and tribulations.
Overall, i would say that this is Cornwell's masterpiece. I often say that Sharpe's Sword was the best but after reading excalibur, I have changed my opinion. THe state of my Excalibur book reflects this!
I was very impressed in the way how Cornwell managed to write about a period in history where very little is known and is often associated with fantasy. Cornwell changed this and managed to write a perfectly plausible book on the events that happended, apart from the mild fantasy element.
The outline of the story is different from Cornwell's usual so it makes for orginal material if you are used to the normal Cornwell setup. The character narrates and the character has to overcome many personal challenges and tribulations.
Overall, i would say that this is Cornwell's masterpiece. I often say that Sharpe's Sword was the best but after reading excalibur, I have changed my opinion. THe state of my Excalibur book reflects this!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ok, I know that this is supposed to be a review for 'excalibur' but im going to write this in the context of the other two books. I first got the winter king when i was 12 and have since read all three books at least 200 times. The artistry and skill whith which cornwall casually emits is staggering. I think the reason why i love this trilogy so much is because of the charcters. all of them are idosyncratic, loveable and three dimensional. Having read the books as much as I have you come to think of them as old friends, ready to take you on an epic quest of adventure and fantasy. It was these books that inspired my love of the arthurian legend and i think it is the way the charcters progress throughout the novels, that makes these works truly epic. As a reader, you have the sense of a greater period of time passing, from the turbulent stages of Arthur's early rule, the chaos of civil war, to the final battle in which civilisation is pitted against savagery. Therefore you, as the reader, feel like you have lived the lives of these characters; experienced their happiness, despair, avarice, and courage.
Cornwall himself has admitted that these three books are his favourite and upon reading them it is not difficult to see why. Although i have followed his work in the 'holy grail' series and most recently, the chronicles of 'alfred the great', the arthurian saga stands as his magnum opus. Within these pages a whole world has been created, which as any enthusiastic writer will tell you is extremly difficult process to achieve and can only convincingly be done by a true professional. I know this sounds like a patronising eulogy, but the engagement with which these books are able to draw the reader in is spectacular. I can only hope that this, along with J.R.R Tolkiens the 'lord of the rings', will eventually become texts that are studied in school, as a testment to ingenuity and artistic creativity.
So what are you waiting for?
Cornwall himself has admitted that these three books are his favourite and upon reading them it is not difficult to see why. Although i have followed his work in the 'holy grail' series and most recently, the chronicles of 'alfred the great', the arthurian saga stands as his magnum opus. Within these pages a whole world has been created, which as any enthusiastic writer will tell you is extremly difficult process to achieve and can only convincingly be done by a true professional. I know this sounds like a patronising eulogy, but the engagement with which these books are able to draw the reader in is spectacular. I can only hope that this, along with J.R.R Tolkiens the 'lord of the rings', will eventually become texts that are studied in school, as a testment to ingenuity and artistic creativity.
So what are you waiting for?
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I haven't read any other books by Bernard Cornwell and only read these because I'm interested in this period of Britain's history. Absolutely magical, to compare it with Tolkein is perhaps irrelevant but it may help the prospective buyer so here goes... In a nutshell, where The Lord of The Rings is a fantasy story based in a 'realistic', but unfamiliar, history, the Warlord Chronicles are realistic stories based in a familiar period of history that conveniently leaves few written records. A number of the 'shock' moments in these three books simply wouldn't have happened either in LOLR or most other fiction. Excalibur ties up the story, giving it a reasonably satisfying ending but leaving you wondering what then happened in the years between the end of the book and Derfel's arrival at the monastery. These books are as near perfect as possible: pretty close to being my favourites of all time. Cornwell is a genius.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Brilliant
First of all, you MUST read The Winter King and the Enemy of God before reading this book. By the time you get to this book you will be absolutely hooked and desperate to know the... Read more
Published 8 days ago by Annabelle
Excaliber
If you haven't read either of the first two books The Winter King and Enemy of God then you should do so before reading this one. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Z
Fantastic conclusion
My nan bought me the first book in the trillogy a couple of years ago and it was amazing and so was the second, she bought me this final book last christmas but i was so reluctant... Read more
Published 7 months ago by ThatBoyLuke
Great book but could the ending have been better?
I'm not going to reiterate all the points made in other reviews but the one point that I do wish to draw attention to (Bernard are you listening...? Read more
Published 8 months ago by John in Cornwall
Best Cornwall Ever
I have read alot of Bernard Cornwall ..although his main characters..Richard Sharpe ..Thomas Hookton ..Derfel ect, in essence are the same person. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Brian Daniels
great take on the legend
i love bernard cornwall's take on the arthurian legend, and find the characters well developed and believable in this version. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Vikki
EXCELLENT CONCLUSION
This book is the conclusion of the Warlord Chronicles and is highly recommended. You will not be disappointed with this series of books by an excellent author.
Published 11 months ago by D. Mullen
Great book, but Kindle edition costs more and is full of errors
It's a great book, and would certainly get 5 stars from me if I had the paperback version. However, I am somewhat annoyed at the poor quality of the Kindle edition, and to make... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Dr. R. Frazier
The Last in the Warlord Trilogy
Here is the end of King Arthur. If you haven't read either of the first two books The Winter King and Enemy of God then you should do so before reading this one. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Stuart McCunn
Good? Yeaaah
This book was by far the best! (I mean it) I was amazed and couldn't stop reading it. I very much enjoyed the ending, it does finish off the story but it does also leave a few... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2010 by E. Turtle
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