Grail: Book Five of the Pendragon Cycle (Mass Market Paperback)

I am not sure what prompted Stephen Lawhead to write a fifth volume, but all I can say is that it simply feels wrong - almost as if someone else wrote the book.

The traditional tales of King Arthur ends with Arthur disappearing mysteriously, an event depicted magnificently at the end of Pendragon Cycle 3: Arthur, as Arthur sails off to Merlin's Grandfather's palace on Avallon - a secluded island (marked as the Isle of Wight on the map at the beginning).

So it came as a bit of a surprise to me to discover that this book begins with Arthur, Merlin and others not only returning from Merlin's Grandfather's palace, but somehow the palace Arthur was returning from was at Glastonbury Tor, the location Avallach leaves in the previous book.

The structure of the book was also different to the other books - while the others are all split into three or four sections, this is one single section told through the eyes of one person.

There were other discrepancies too, and the narrative did not seem up to the standard I have come to expect from Lawhead. To be honest, I'd recommend avoiding this book, because it kind of spoilt the rest of the series for me.

Just when the kingdom of summer reaches its high point, tragedy strikes. At the height of the kingdom's glory, the subversive attacks of Morgian return. This Queen of the Powers of the Air and Darkness steals the sacred Grail, abducts Arthur's queen, and deceives his champion soldier. From this point on the action intensifies, as the newly established kingdom of peace fights warfare on a new front: spiritual warfare. Unlike the battle scenes of previous volumes, the battle scenes in this book describe a struggle against demons and the powers of darkness (Eph. 6).

Lawhead's vision of the Grail did make me uncomfortable. Firstly, the cup used by Jesus was an ordinary object, and to have it turn into a sparkling grail with rows of rubies, emeralds, and pearls, with a "broad band of impossibly ornate scrollwork" seems to go against the very purpose of the last supper. Secondly, the purpose of the supper was to encourage believers in their spiritual worship and commemoration of Christ, not in a material worship of a sacred object. The words of Jesus - "Remember and believe" - seem all but forgotten, since healing through the Grail appears to occur independent of faith and believing. Rather than stress faith, the use of the Grail results in a magical form of healing that occurs through ritual rather than faith. One other concern is the ease at which the characters take God's name on their lips - at times it borders on blasphemy and unnecessary oath-making.

But these weaknesses aside, Lawhead has created a convincing and exciting spiritual conflict between the forces of good and the forces of evil. The spiritual warfare is a refreshing change from the blood and gore of earlier battlefields. It also functions as a compelling image of the universal conflict between God and Satan, a conflict involving both God and men. The power of evil is vividly portrayed. Here Lawhead successfully reminds us of the Biblical notion of angels of darkness disguising themselves as angels of light, and deceiving even believers. The weakness and vulnerability of men over against these powers is vividly described. But most importantly, when men are helpless over against the powers of evil, Lawhead presents the only path to victory: God. Conquest of evil cannot be accomplished by human effort, but by divine power. "Only by God's good grace do any of us stand or fall." (p.377)

"Grail" marks the end of the wonderful Pendragon cycle. It is true that while the ending of "Grail" resolves the conflict, it does not satisfactorily mark a clean ending to the series. This is not surprising because "Grail" (like the preceding volume "Pendragon") actually precedes the events described at the end of book 3, "Arthur", and consequently both "Pendragon" and "Grail" have a distinctively "add on" feeling. Next time I will read the series in chronological order, more or less as follows: Taliesin, Merlin, Pendragon Bk. 1, Arthur Bk. 1-2, Pendragon Bk. 2-4, Grail, Arthur Bk. 3. The chronological aberrations of the last two volumes are indeed a weakness, and it is unfortunate they function more like an afterthought, rather than being properly integrated into Arthur's life. Yet the very fact that this series is so re-readable is a testimony to its greatness. Great it truly is, and that is high praise indeed!