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From Publishers Weekly
Fearing for the life of his nephew, eight-year-old Arthur Pendragon, after an assassination attempt in their beloved Camulod, Caius Merlyn Brittanicus uproots the boy and sails with an intimate group of friends and warriors to Ravenglass, seeking sanctuary from King Derek. Though Ravenglass is supposed to be a peaceful port, danger continues to threaten and it is only through the quick thinking of the sharp-tongued, knife-wielding sorceress Shelagh that catastrophe and slaughter are averted. Derek, who now realizes the value of the allegiances Merlyn's party bring to his land, offers the Camulodians the use of an abandoned Roman fort that is easily defensible. The bulk of the novel involves the growth of Arthur from boyhood to adolescence at the fort. There he is taught the arts of being a soldier and a ruler, and magnificent training swords are forged in Excalibur's pattern from the metals of the Skystone. While danger still lurks around every corner, this is a peaceful time for Britain, so this installment of the saga (The Saxon Shore, etc.) focuses primarily on the military skills Arthur masters, as well as on the building and refurbishing of an old Roman fort. Whyte has again written a historical fiction filled with vibrant detail. Young Arthur is less absorbing a character than many of the others presented (being seemingly too saintly and prescient for his or any other world), but readers will revel in the impressively researched facts and in how Whyte makes the period come alive.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
In the fifth installment of the Camulod Chronicles, Caius Merlyn Britannicus has fled Camulod after a failed assassination attempt on young Arthur. Arriving in the neutral port of Ravenglass, Merlyn discovers that the king is Derek, the man who killed Uther Pendragon, Arthur's father, and raped Ygraine, his mother. He wisely suppresses his emotions and bargains for the use of an abandoned Roman fort located in the hills above the town. To ensure the group's safety, and to keep Arthur's presence secret, Merlyn and his young charge publicly board a ship leaving the harbor, then trek back overland to the fort, where "Cay" and his apprentice are welcome. Over the next few years, Arthur begins to grow into the man who will become the legend and one day wield the sword smelted out of skystone just for him: Excalibur. Until then, Cay must keep him alive and hidden from his enemies. Not as bloody as some of its predecessors in this series, Whyte's latest continues to bring the myth convincingly to life. Melanie Duncan
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The survival and growth of Britain after the Romans Left c 500CE,
This review is from: The Sorcerer, Vol. 1: The Fort at River's Bend (A Dream of Eagles, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)
Having read all seven books on Merlin and King Arthur by Jack Whyte, I can only say it is the best series of any other book on Arthur and Merlin I have ever read. Jack Whyte (a Scot/Canadian) is one of the best, most well researched historical fiction authors and I have read many, Victor Canning is the only one I would say runs a far second. Whyte's Knights Templar Trilogy is as good as any fiction writing on the Knight's Templar. Whyte starts with one character and builds carefully, descriptively into a full functioning culture. All major characters are well rounded and fully developed.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Vital Link,
By
This review is from: The Fort at River's Bend: The Camulod Chronicles (Hardcover)
I was quite surprised to see so many negative comments in the reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book, finding it a vital link in the chain that is the series. Yes, there was not so much action, but there was important thoughtful background to the business of becoming a king in those turbulent times. What helped to bring it alive for me was my many visits to Mediobogdum, the Fort at River's Bend and as I read I was able to develop a very clear mental picture of the scene as I believe Jack Whyte intended it. Incidentally the picture on the cover of the Canadian edition almost exactly portrays the the view from the west wall of Mediobogdum while the castle on the cover of the US edition is in the wrong side of the valley and resembles a construction from an entirely different era. It does however capture the way the fort is perched on a mountainside.This is not a book to read alone, it should be read in the series in the order that was intended. I highly recommend it to readers of the entire series.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
TO TELL A GOOD STORY,
By Hermes Trismegistus "Mercurius Ter Maximus" (sharing between my psychiatric ward and Amazon) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Fort at River's Bend : The Sorcerer Book I (Mass Market Paperback)
An adventurous saga well told and fluid in its unravelling. The whole series is exciting and satisfying: you don't look for literary elegance here, you look for story substance... and you get it! The Chronicles are an enticing version of the Camelot myth, providing the reader with hours of dreaming in a world long gone. On opening the book, any one of the six so far available, you suspend reality and dive into the dimension of fantasy with pleasure and expectation: Whyte transforms you into the main character and you ride along, ready to do battle.
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