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In The Eagles' Brood, the third novel in his Camulod Chronicles, Jack Whyte introduces a new narrator. Caius Merlyn Britannicus, known to his friends as Merlyn, is growing from a young boy to Commander of Camulod and living a life that will establish his place in legend. Whyte's great talent in the Camulod Chronicles is the use of everyday historical detail to make the world of fifth-century England as real to the reader as it is to his characters, and in The Eagles' Brood, this approach really pays off. As Roman influence declines, other factors, including restless local warlords and kings and a Christian church growing in strength, take its place. One result is an increase in warfare and adventure, and there may be as many sword fights in The Eagles' Brood as in the previous two volumes combined. Yet it is typical of Whyte's attention to detail and to the intellectual life of the Britons that some of the bloodiest action takes place en route to a debate over the theology of Saint Augustine.
The Eagles' Brood also offers an alternative starting point for someone who has not read the earlier books and doesn't want to tackle the entire series of fairly large volumes. This is possible because Merlyn is the bridge that takes us from the Roman-dominated world of Publius Varrus to the world of the Britons, in which the baby Arthur will grow up. Wherever you start, though, the Camulod Chronicles offers flesh-and-blood characters living in an historical era so well portrayed that it's easy to see how it became legend. --Greg L. Johnson
From Kirkus Reviews
In the author's The Skystone (1996), set in the last years of the Roman occupation of fifth-century Britain, the sword Excalibur was forged, presaging the reign of King Arthur years later. This time, the narrator, grand-nephew of the forger of the sword, is none other than that (traditionally) eerie being, Merlin the sorcerer--sanitized here to the most high-minded of soldiers who survives wars, betrayal, and a tragic love affair. Caius Merlyn Britannicus, born in a.d. 401, is the son of the Commander in Chief of the forces of the fortress/town of Camulod, a community of Romans and Britons. Merlyn's best friend from boyhood is his cousin Uther Pendragon, a mighty warrior and the son of a Celtic king, though with a terrible temper that can show itself off the fields of war. Torturing Merlyn is the suspicion that it might have been Uther who brutally beat the waif whom Merlyn will name Cassandra after she violently resists Uther's sexual games. The deaf and dumb Cassandra (her real identity will be a surprise) is healed and then secluded, eventually becoming Merlyn's wife until her savage death. There are wars and invasions, waged principally by King Lot of Cornwall, wars that bring awful innovations like poisoned arrows. There are also theological conflicts, since the free-will doctrines of Pelagius are condemned as heretical by the Church. Merlyn's trek to a seminal debate of theologians is marked by skirmishes--he rescues the warrior/bishop Germanus at one point--and by the discovery of a half-brother. All ends with the deaths of those fierce antagonists Lot and Uther, and with Merlyn holding up Uther's baby son by Lot's dead queen, a baby who has ``the deep golden eyes of . . . a mighty bird of prey . . . a King perhaps, to wield Excalibur.'' With plenty of hacking and stabbing, pontifications, dogged sex, and a few anachronistic mind-sets: another dipperful from the fertile Arthurian well, sans magic but brimful of action. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great read.,
This review is from: The Eagles' Brood (A Dream of Eagles, Book 3) (Paperback)
The Eagle's Brood, as part of an imaginative interpretation of the well-known tale, brings pre-Aurthurian Briton to life. Jack Whyte writes with an 'Old English' voice in vivid detail, weaving in real places and historic events in such a way that the reader lives the trials and triumphs of this tumultuos era right along with the characters. Long and satisfying, it's hard to put this book down from start to finish. Warning! It will leave you hungering for more.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great series!,
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This review is from: The Eagles' Brood (A Dream of Eagles, Book 3) (Paperback)
I've loved this series for years. My Dad bought me the Skystone for my birthday a few years back and had it signed by Jack Whyte. Been a fan ever since. I've also read the Templar trilogy and will mostly like read the Laird book as well. Keep up the good work Jack!
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dream of Eagles series (Eagle's brood),
By
This review is from: The Eagles' Brood (A Dream of Eagles, Book 3) (Paperback)
I am someone very interested in the setting of these books. I'm interested in the roman empire, and it's fall. I'm interested in the dark ages. I'm interested in the Romano British. I'm interested in the ancient Celts of Britain, Hibernia, Wales, and Brittany who come before during and after the Roman conquests. I'm interested in the Saxons and Angles and other Germanic tribes. I'm also interested in the legends of king Arthur as well as historical tie ins to those legends. This series should have been just for me!I'll throw in that though I'm a fan of these topics, I'm not a historian on these times or peoples. I've never done a history degree, and though I touched on many historical readings of the dark ages, I have never done any thorough or academic research of the period. I don't claim to be an expert. I'll still state my observations and opinions. There were some things about this book that I liked. I liked learning a few things about roman Britain, where the cities were, and how the military was organized and such. However one thing the author wrote into this story made me doubt the historical accuracy of the rest of the book. There is an important character who comes from the Roman aristocracy, old blue blood of Rome if you will. He's not only born of old respected ancestry but also born into great wealth. He is introduced as a general. At one point in the book he says that his son is joining the Legions as a rank and file soldier, just like he did. Not as an officer, not with special privileges... a common foot soldier. I can not swallow that both he and his son joined the Roman legions as common legionnaires. From what little I know of late Roman society, aristocrats did not join the legions as common soldiers nor did common soldiers get promoted up to being generals. In this story I am asked to believe that this character of very high birth joined as a common foot soldier and worked his way up to commanding a legion through honest hard work and personal excellence. I'm also asked to believe that his son is embarking on the same path. I could be totally wrong but I feel the author is imposing modern western middle class values of hard work into a society where those values do not belong. In my mind it destroyed all credibility that the author possessed. Aside from making certain characters buy into modern values, and making me question the authenticity of the story, I do have other critical comments. I found the pacing odd. sometimes it glossed over long periods while at other times it was detailed. I suppose this is what happens when you tell a tale that goes over lifetimes and even generations. Personally I like tales of action and high adventure and at times I was disappointed when the narrator would summarize periods of great trial and conflict with very brief descriptions. This first books can be read as the life story of a man, a Roman veteran. but the focus of the story is more towards the end of his life as he starts to build a new community. This will be important in the later books. Afterwards it follows the stories of others who follow the ground work he helps to set. With the passing of one hero we begin to focus on another. i have not finished the series but I would not be surprised if the second hero who is focused on is eventually overshadowed by a third. But I can not say as I have not read that far. Overall I enjoyed the beginning, but lost interest as the books progressed until I just stopped reading them. I would not recommend it to anyone whole heartedly. I might reservedly recommend it to those who, like me, are interested in the historical setting that it takes place within. i may eventually pick it up again and continue reading. It wasn't horrible.
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