Customer Reviews

The Singing Sword (A Dream of Eagles, Book 2)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

The Singing Sword is a valiant but misinformed attempt to place the Arthurian legend within the transitional period as the Roman Empire withdraws from northern and western Europe. One of the biggest disappointments is the essential premise of the book: "we need a sword for use from horse back." The protagonist spends an entire volume "inventing" something the Roman cavalry alae had been using for centuries. Just as the Roman infantry had adopted the short gladius or "spanish" sword during the conquest of Spain. The "spatha" or long sword, adopted from the Gauls, had been adopted as a standard cavalry weapon by Rome long before. So the protagonist had but to ask his Celt friends for a sword to model his upon. Rosemary Suttcliffe's Sword At Sunset recognized the probable origin of Arthur's sword in the Roman spatha over 20 years ago

This is the second book that I read from Jack Whyte. It was even better than THE SKYSTONE, I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to read the next books in the series. Jack Whyte is a superb author. These books are a lot better than sitting in university history classes on the fall of the Roman Empire. This way you can see how the common people felt about what was going on around them. It was also good to see that even the Romans were dissatisfied about what was happening and they were powerless to stop it.

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.

Jack Whyte continues his tale of Publius Varrus and Caius Brittanicus and their formation of the "colony" of Camaloud. In this, the second novel in the series, the Legions have departed and Arthur's Great Grandparents are struggling for their survival.

Whyte's strong suit is his faithfulness to historical detail. From the departure of the Legions to the Pelagian Heresy, from life in a divided and crumbling Empire to the invasion of post Roman Britain by the Saxons and other "barbarians."

Once again, as in the first installment, Whyte's description and detail of adult sexual situations makes it a novel not for the young or those who easily blush. However, this isn't a condemnation of Whyte or his novel. It is simply more "adult" oriented than the average fantasy novel.

Another strong suite for Whyte is his character development. Each character grows and expands as the story evolves. Furthermore, Whyte doesn't make his characters caricatures so common to most fantasy novels. For example, Publius is certainly a flawed hero and we are shown his more "human" side.

You like Action? There is plenty of action moving the story along. Before you know it, the novel is done and you are dying to read the next installment.

This series does an amazing job bringing the world King Arthur would be born into to life. It may not be what really happened, but it is certainly possible. Just be warned, this novel will leave you hungry for the next intallment.

Unlike so many other second novels in a series this one starts out strong and continues for the entire book. Although the main charater is still Publius Varrus, the retired Roman legionaire turned blacksmith, the story is fresh and different as we are treated to his continuing life story. The Roman presence in Britain is weaker now and raiding parties from the north and south are threatening the Camulod Colony. Varrus and the other leaders have to strengthen the colony defenses. They accomplish this by starting their own cavalry unit. With accurate historical research Jack Whyte shows the reader how Excalibur was crafted as a need to have a weapon to use on horseback.
The first person narative is still one of the best parts of the book as it gives an intimate feel to the main character. However there are a few disappointments with "The Singing Sword". The first is the ressurection of the villian from the first story. The second and less obvious point is this: the first book told a story about a group a men and women in Britain, and the Arthurian elements seemed to fall in place around them easily. In this book the story seems to be bent and twisted in order to meet up with the Arthurian concepts.
Still, considering the great characters and quick paced story telling these points can be over looked. It still deserves a four star rating.

I really loved the Skystone and that is what lead me to decide to read the next. The singing sword I was glad to see was still narrated by Publius Varrus. Some of the events in the book were not needed (Cylla Titens). But for the most part the plot was good enough to keep me reading late at night. When the colony was going to be inspected by Claudius Seneca (who Varrus thought was dead). It kept me reading on to find out exactly what happened. Jack Whyte shaped all of his characters very nicely. I found myself involved with most all of them. I thought the book had a very fast and sad ending that I think could have been stretched some more. The book got its title from something that happened in the last 50 pages or so. Over all I thought I enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the next of the Camulod Chronicles

This is volume two of a series that puts the legend of King Arthur into an historical perspective. There are other books or groups of books that have attempted this, most notably Mary Stewart's Merlin Chronicles - but Stewart never painted her picture with as big a brush as Jack Whyte does, and (so far at least) Whyte has done it without a hint of magic or any other type of fantasy.

This is not intended as a slap at Stewart; I think her series is fantastic. It's just that I never thought it was possible to tell the story of Arthur and Merlin from a "human" point of view, until now. Whyte has proved that it's possible. So far I've only read the first two books in the series ("The Skystone" and this one), and if the rest of Whyte's novels are as superbly intelligent and well-written as these two I believe that Mary Stewart has some serious competition on her hands.

I'm so glad Jack Whyte has picked Publius Varrus as our narrator again. I grew quite fond of Varrus in the Skystone. Varrus'journal picks up where we left off in the first book.

Rome is pulling out of Briton just as Caius predicted. The colony is growing along with Caius and Varrus'private,illegal army and fort. Caius' son, Picus, is advancing in rank in the Roman army.The Seneca family is still looking for Varrus to punish him for his crimes against them. The Celts and the Romans are coming together for the birth of the first true Britons.

Excalibur is born.

If you enjoyed all the battles,weapons,politics and religion in the first of the Camulod Chronicles, you won't be disappointed here. The story remains "real" while blending the myth of the Authurian legend within these pages.

I'm afraid that I will have to go against the other reviewers of this novel and say that I wasn't greatly impressed. I found it pretty slow moving with weak and unconvincing characters. It was a definite struggle to finish this novel - it would have to rate as just about the least interesting "Arthur" story that I have ever read.

I was also irritated by the historical inaccuracies. Some examples: the battle of Adrianople took place in 378AD and not 376AD, the macedonian phalanx was an infantry formation, not a cavalry one, the Roman short sword was a gladius, not a gladium.

Having said all this, I will probably read at least one more of this series but this is no longer a high priority after this book.