- Paperback: 496 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; 3 edition (1 Nov 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140232877
- ISBN-13: 978-0140232875
- Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 11 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
23,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #74 in Books > Fiction > Myths & Fairy Tales
Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur
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Product Description
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"
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"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"
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Product Description
A story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal, EXCALIBUR begins with the failure of Lancelot's rebellion and the ruin of Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. The Saxons, sensing the disunity of the Britons, seize the chance to destroy Arthur. The climax of the war comes with the legendary triumph at Mount Badon, and Arthur`s great victory. But the promises he made then come back to haunt him after the years of peace and glory.
Inside This Book
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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
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quite superb!,
By Alan "jolly_roger1" (Cannnock, England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (A Novel of Arthur: The Warlord Chronicles) (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!
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
words fail me..,
This review is from: Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (A Novel of Arthur: The Warlord Chronicles) (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?
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding conclusion to a brilliant series,
By A Customer
This review is from: Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur (A Novel of Arthur: The Warlord Chronicles) (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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