Avalon Mm [Mass Market Paperback]

Obviously, the figure of Arthur represents an ideal, and it would have been interesting to see more of the drama of recorded British history somehow woven into the narrative of legendary Arthur coming back to the 21st Century. I was left wondering what figures (royal or otherwise) in British history aroused the author's admiration in terms of standing in the tradition of inspired leadership idealized by Arthur. Given the surname of the main character and a couple of other statements, one gets the impression that Lawhead believes that the royal succession in Britain took a wrong turn with the transition from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover. However, this does not demonstrate any appreciation for the fact that the personal character traits and positive public perceptions of monarchs like George III, Victoria (and her consort Prince Albert), George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II have helped the monarchy to survive to this day. Even though they do not bear the name of Stuart, those monarchs do descend from King James I. Also, does Lawhead see good things in the development of parliametary democracy?

Lawhead doesn't really effectively argue the case for constitutional monarchy so much as he argues for inspired leadership. He implies that the new Arthur represented in James Stuart is going to exercise more political clout than present monarchs, but in this age of democracy, how would that be accepted and what would it look like? How would a religiously pluralistic culture influenced by secular humanism react to the unabashedly Christian coronation ceremony depicted near the book's end? Also, just how far into the 21st Century is the story set? How has E.U. developed? Is the United Kingdom still united?

Historical and cultural issues aside, the main characters suffer from a lack of development. It would have been interesting to see James Stuart struggle with real human weaknesses and how his professed Christian faith gives him hope and perseverence. As someone else noted, Prime Minister Waring is a cardboard villain who is not a formidable antagonist.

So once again, exploring the ideal of Christian kingship in the setting of 21st Century Britain presents compelling ideas, but as someone noted, Avalon is not up to the literary level of a work by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. If the premise of this novel interested you, I would recommend the non-fiction books "The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana," by Peter Hitchens, and "God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Dimension of Monarchy" by Ian Bradley.

Basically, I was disappointed that I bought this book. I can see this being the basis for a "straight-to-DVD" movie, starring obscure B actors.