Uther (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 7)

by Jack Whyte

2001

Status

Available

Publication

Tor Books (2001), 928 pages

Description

With Uther, Jack Whyte, author of the richly praised Camulod Chronicles, has given us a portrait of Uther Pendragon, Merlyn's shadow--his boyhood companion and closest friend. And the man who would sire the King of the Britons. From the trials of boyhood to the new cloak of adult responsibility, we see Uther with fresh eyes. He will travel the length of the land, have adventures, and, through fate or tragedy, fall in love with the one woman he must not have. Uther is a compelling love story and, like the other books in the Camulod Chronicles, a version of the legend that is more realistic than anything that has been available to readers before.

User reviews

LibraryThing member hlselz

This is an historical fiction series about King Arthur, and they are my favorite books of ALL time. Whyte is an amazing author, and his descriptions are amazing. The books tell a realistic story of King Arthur, without all of the magic and sorcery we see in modern myths. These books start off with

King Arthur's great great grandfather, and chronicle the family until the death of King Arthur. The charectors are so well developed you feel as if you know them. The other great thing about these books is that they are written in journal-like form. So as different members of the family are "writing" the different books, the writing style and methods change slightly.

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LibraryThing member willowcove

A wonderful retelling of Arthurian mythology from a more realistic and less mythological standpoint. Great read!

LibraryThing member donagiles

Southwest Britain tale, after Romans left, 800 plus pgs, good story to keep me busy for 5 days. I'd hate to have lived then, I'm to soft and kids learned to cope then like only few adults do now. Would our generation & our kids ever drop over dead if we had to live as they did then.

LibraryThing member Iudita

This was another great book in the Camulod series. I really enjoyed it but my only complaint was that it was a bit long. It sometimes felt like the story would never end. I have really enjoyed this whole series.

LibraryThing member DinadansFriend

Jack Whyte is a competent romancer, but his penultimate contribution to Arthuriana is a mixed product. The love story is relatively mawkish, and his dependence on co-incidence and false climaxes rather than sup plotting is in full flower. this is an embedded story, that is to say that it occurs

while the main line novel "The Eagle's Brood" is also happening to many of the minor characters in both works. This technique was done far more effectively by Stephen Grundy in his working of the Nibelungen Lied into two works, "Rhinegold" and "Attila's Treasure." I think the Grundys are far more likely to be permanently retained should a weeding of my shelves prove necessary. Returning to Whytes ethos, he remains principally in the very poorly documented fifth Century Britannia, and his cast still centres about the family of Caius "Merlyn" Britannicus who ends this chapter as the guardian, or uncle of the fully orphaned Arthur, an infant of several weeks age. The plot is primarily that of the gradual maturing of Uther Pendragon, here cast a a Celtic king, albeit fully accepted into the survivalist community of Camelud, set up by his Grandfather. Other than the names, there is little yet to link this collection of stories to the Mallory characters and motivations, or to what we do know about the history of the declining roman presence in the West of England. Does it move, yes! Are the battle scenes still far to complex for the technology of the times? Yes. Has Mr. Whyte learned how to write effectively of atrocities? Not yet. Has he really comprehended the morality and personal habits of the Celtic Society that existed alongside the Roman parts of Britannia? No, I read in however errors that might arise of a Presbyterian boyhood? I think I do. So far the Camelud Chronicles remain in my list of ineffective Arthuriana, with "The Mists of Avalon" by Bradley? Yes they do. However, the reading public does continue to buy both these works, sooo... Those who like this sort of thing, will like this chapter of the chronicles.

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