Road to Camlann: The Death of King Arthur [School & Library Binding]

-But still a worthy read.
Sutcliff captures the dark, dreary mood in the settings and descriptions of this book as Arthur slowly realizes Merlin's prophecy from the first book (Sword and the Circle); that one day, his reign would come to dismal end, is finally coming true.
While at times I felt kind of rushed during the story telling, I never lost interest and still felt the emotions of the characters very well.
In particular, Sir Gawaine, who,together with his youngest brother Gareth, have been my favorites ever since I first picked up an Arthur book.
After the loss of his brothers(a sad but unfortunatly fast part of the story), Gawaine's attitude is extremely believable, and well brought out from the more authoratative reading in La Morte D'Arthur.
And King Arthur's feelings and reactions to everything around him are also believable, as he becomes more embroiled in the war against Mordred (who is well portrayed as a slinky, sly man who loves to wear black capes and hangs around in doorways fiddling a peacock feather between his fingers. . .).
In very sad fashion, the book ends, much like the actual La Morte D'Arthur, leaving you wishing Camelot and the Round Table didn't have to crumble as sadly as it did in both Morte D'Arthur and Sutcliff's fine retelling.
Read this book,and the first two.
Then read La Morte D'Arthur. It will give you an even bigger picture, and a greater appreciation for this exceptional retelling of one of the greatest stories.
READ IT!!!

"The Road to Camlann" does not quite live up to its potential. Despite being centered in what is arguably the most dramatic period of Camelot's history, it is less poetically and skillfully written than Sutcliffe's other "Arthurian chronicles", being slightly rough and amateurish in style and seeming in places to have been written in a hurry.

Still, despite not matching the artful charm of "The Sword and the Circle" or the intensity and beauty of "The Light beyond the Forest," this book does have one thing going for it--the perfection of its characterization. The dialogue, while lacking the wit and poesy of the earlier books, is extremely touching, perfectly balanced and consistent in mood, and it reveals character extremely well. The reader's love for Lancelot is intensified into a sheer adoration that makes you loathe Gawain the way the character was meant to be loathed; that same Gawain is given solid, understandable motivation despite the reader's justified loathing for him; Arthur is transformed from the wooden hero he is often portrayed as into a true tragic hero, comparable to such other truly great portrayals as those in T.H. White's book or Lerner's "Camelot"--one can almost hear Richard Burton's voice when the Arthur of this book speaks.

As for the true villains, Agrivain, despite his small part, is made almost sympathetic by subtle trends in his portrayal, and Mordred blows away everything else in the book. The moment he speaks, the moment any description turns to him, the rough-hewn-writing style becomes, to use the book's own phrase, "as smooth as silk of Damascus". For Mordred sake alone this book, for all its faults, is definitely worth reading. Order it today!

The Road to Camlann
By:Rosemary Sutcliff
R Bhatt
P.6
This book is about the worst times of the Round Table. There are many wars, treacherous events, and lots of hatred. One of the treacherous events is the love between Queen Guenever and Sir Lancelot. The king's stepson Mordred causes all of this destruction. He wants to destroy the Round Table and gain the throne for himself. In the end everyone loses and many die including King Arthur and Mordred.
I liked some parts of this book and didn't like others. It sometimes got boring but I am very much interested in the medieval times. Especially of King Arthur and the Round Table. The thing that interested me most was a phrase on the front cover. "The darkest days of the Round Table are at hand." This pharse describes the book in one sentence.
I also found another pharse that I liked. " After years of Arthur's fair rule, evil has come to Camelot." This sentence describes the plot of the story. You can conclude from this that many calamities will happen in the book. This is a good book to read if you like suspense, treachery, and wars. Otherwise you may not like it.
My least favorite part was when the final war took place at Camlann. There many knights died and one of them was Mordred. However Sir Gawain died there and King Arthur was wounded and later died aftere the war. The war was very bloody and got a little boring. The most boring part was at the end when a few of the knights including Sir Lancelot become monks. They all eventually died of old age.