The Fort at River's Bend: Amazon.ca: Jack Whyte: Books

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12 Reviews

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3.2 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Vital Link, Feb 21 2004

By	John Farrer "John F" (near Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

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1.0 out of 5 stars pointless, Mar 31 2002

By A Customer

If you were to sum up this book by saying that in it Arthur grows from the age of 8 to 15, you would have covered everything of importance that takes place within. Armed with this knowledge, you could move seamlessly from The Saxon Shore (second only to this book in its rambling tediousness) to The Sorceror and barely miss a thing.

While I think Whyte's goal of trying to put the Arthurian legend in historical context is not a bad one, I am growing more and more disillusioned and -- frankly -- bored with each succeeding book. Merlyn is a self-absorbed, unlikeable hero and I dislike the idea of Arthur's reign being something that was due entirely to planning and scheming on the part of his relatives, as if he is nothing more than a figurehead. Not to mention that the story is so altered from the original Arthur tale that if the names were changed you wouldn't recognize it.

Unfortunately, what truly mars this book for me is something else entirely. In an attempt to raise Arthur in anonymity, Merlyn brings him to, of all places, the kingdom of the very man (Derek) who murdered Arthur's father and raped his mother. The characters' dismissal of this rape as, ultimately, unimportant is profoundly shocking. Merlyn, always exploring his feelings, expresses some unease at the memory of actually seeing the rape occur, but he befriends Derek, calls him and portrays him as a good man, and says that "rape and venery are part of war and part of the payments soldiers take for risking their lives."

Well, I guess that makes it okay, then.

Even the best of books would suffer greatly by such a scenario and this book is far from that. If you are interested in learning about King Arthur, I recommend looking at the original Malory, or Mary Stewart, or even Marion Zimmer Bradley -- anywhere but here!

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4.0 out of 5 stars Foot of Clay, Mar 2 2002

By	Mary loves Murder (Indianapolis, Indiana USA) - See all my reviews

If this Whyte is so smart about the Roman era in England, why does he misuse the word DECIMATE like every other ignorant John Q. Public? From context, he means DEVASTATE (p. 414 paperback). Decimation was a punishment used within the Roman army: if a unit had misbehaved badly enough, one in ten (10%) of the members of that unit were killed, I believe by stoning, and the killings were performed by their fellow soldiers in that unit. Certainly a severe punishment from an emotional standpoint but not catastrophic to the military function of the unit. Devastation, of course, means a severe level of destruction, certainly more than 10%. Mr. Jack Whyte has at least one foot of clay.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Dismal, dreary, dull....need I say more?
I've waded through the first 4 Camulod books hoping they would get better, but The Fort at River's Bend finally did me in. Read more

Published on Jan 25 2002 by Michelle Topham

4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful continuation of the series.
I have been enthrauwled by these books and have trouble waiting for the next one to come out. He writes in a way that makes you almost believe that this is not fictional but an... Read more

Published on Jan 15 2002 by kallenbach4

5.0 out of 5 stars Unputdownable!!
I loved The Fort at Rivers Bend and read late into the night to finish it.After several attempts on Arthurs life,Merlyn and his close friends and supporters relocate to a secure... Read more

Published on May 23 2001 by Beverley Strong

2.0 out of 5 stars Slow and disappointing
(To be honest - I am only half way through, but I felt strongly enough to write this)

After reading the first 4 books in this series, I was expecting a book with the same... Read more

Published on May 3 2001 by Arianna

2.0 out of 5 stars Skip this one
I was captivated by Whyte's first four Camulod novels (4 stars each) and was of course looking forward to this one. Read more

Published on Jan 3 2001 by Daniel Dean

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great story by Jack Whyte

This is the fifth in the Camulod Chronicles series by Whyte. They are all superlative, beginning with The Skystone. Read more

Published on Jun 14 2000 by Joseph H Pierre

4.0 out of 5 stars TO TELL A GOOD STORY
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... Read more

Published on Jun 6 2000 by Hermes Trismegistus

5.0 out of 5 stars An Absorbing Intermisso
It seems fitting that book five of this series should proceed at a measured pace giving the young Arthur time to grow toward becoming the legendary king. Read more

Published on April 4 2000 by M.E.C

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the Greatest
A reviewer from a former novel of Mr. Whyte's asks why people read this series of books if they don't like them. Read more

Published on Mar 13 2000 by Carol Dickman

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	67% buy the item featured on this page: The Fort at River's Bend 3.2 out of 5 stars (12)
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The Fort at River's Bend (Mass Market Paperback)

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