Pendragon (Stephen R. Lawhead)

Book Four of The Pendragon Cycle, in which Lawhead doubles back and retells more of the story of Arthur that wasn't told in Book Three. The stories are told through Merlin's voice this time, and are more interesting than those in Book Three, but the whole thing smacks of stretching out the series to enhance the royalties. Book five in the series: Grail (The Pendragon Cycle, Book 5) (just a warning, it doesn't live up to the best of the series, the first three books starting with Taliesin: Book One of the Pendragon Cycle).

Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion. Lawhead makes his home in Austria with his wife. Stephen Lawhead is one of my all time favourite authors and I am only sorry that he does not write more often. All of the books so far in the Pendragon series have been good reading, particular for those interested in the Arthurian legends, but also for those who just like a good historical novel. Set against the background of Roman Britain with a little Celtic legend thrown in the books tell a wonderful and sometimes moving story of Taliesin Merlin and Arthur. In this particular book Merlin tells the story which Arthur's own book left untold. The story of the winning of the title Pendragon and all that it entails, both for Arthur and the people who surround him, both friend and foe.

I have long admired Stephen Lawhead's writing. He has the uncanny ability to create worlds and characters that spring to life through his poetic images. He has definitely breathed new life into the Arthurian legends with his Pendragon Cycle. But "Pendragon", the fourth book in the series, is perhaps the weakest link. "Pendragon" is not a continuation of the story that was started through "Taliesin", "Merlin", and "Arthur". Rather what Lawhead does in this fourth installment is revisit some stories about Arthur's life that either weren't in the previous books or that weren't expounded upon. This makes the beginning of the story read like left-overs that Lawhead cut from the original work. There are even times when the story is word-for-word the same as the previous novel. That being said, "Pendragon" does begin to build about halfway through the book and the story of Arthur's struggle to save Britain from a barbarian invasion comes to life. While perhaps not the strongest l... Read more

Pendragon is one of the better books of the series. It has a flowing plot, which at times is thick and hard to read, but lawhead makes up for it in the poetry of his language. It is a unique addition to all the Arthurian books out there, and to me, the best researched and thought up. I have read too many accounts of Arthurian fiction, and I very much liked the Pendragon cycle. Lawhead writes like a poet. His writing can get pretentious at times, and a bit thick and hard to read, but it is well worth it. It definitly enriched my mind and made me want to write epic poetry. It's not the kind of book that you can't put down, the narrative doesn't flow like a best-selling novel, but if you like the subject matter, it is not hard to get though. Many people critisize this series of books because it deviates from legend. This bothers me. The reason it is "legend" and not fact is because it is largely unknown. I love how lawhead makes everything seem authentically celtic, ("Bedwyr" inst... Read more

Pendragon is the fourth of Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle, an excellent reimagining of the King Arthur legend. Set right after Arthur's coronation, with Merlin as the narrator, Pendragon tells the story of Arthur as a new king facing adversity both in England and abroad in Ireland. A huge armada arrives in Ireland while Arthur is visiting his ally Fergus, an armada looking for a new home, a home taken by force and led by the ruthless Boar. After a viscious fight in Ireland, the Boar leaves only to land in the very heart of Arthur's new kingdom which has just been struck by a terrible plague that may wipe out the kingdom. Arthur must go beyond himself and find a way to defeat both a cunning and deadly enemy as well as a way to stop a unseen plague.