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Merlyn Britannicus and Uther Pendragon---the Silver Bear and the Red Dragon---are the leaders of the Colony, lifeblood to the community from which will come the fabled Camulod. But soon their tranquility is in ruins, Uther lies dead from treachery, and all that is left of the dream is the orphaned babe Arthur. Heir to the Colony of Camulod, born with Roman heritage as well as the blood of the Hibernians and the Celts, Arthur is the living incarnation of the sacred dream of his ancestors: independent survival in Britain amidst the ruins of the Roman Empire. When Arthur is adopted by Merlyn Britannicus, an enormous responsibility is placed on Merlyn's shoulders. Now he must prepare young Arthur to unify the clans of Britain and guard the mighty sword Excalibur. And, above all, Merlyn must see that Arthur survives to achieve the rest of his ancestors' dreams, in spite of the deadly threats rumbling from the Saxon Shore. "Of the scores of novels based on Arthurian legend, Whyte's Camulod series is distinctive, particularly in the rendering of its leading players and the residual Roman influences that survived in Britain during the Dark Ages."--The Washington Post… (more)
User reviews
The last book and this one, which center on Merlin, do have elements of the supernatural, at least in term of prophetic dreams and use of "the Sight." I admit I found that disappointing, even though I love fantasy. But the realistic aspect of these books was a lot of what made this series special, so any step into the supernatural for me diminished that, especially since of all the authors mentioned above, I felt Whyte has the weakest prose style. You can't mistake this for literature certainly. This story doesn't have the strength in the writing and characterizations of a T.H. White or Mary Stewart.
One other thing bothered me in terms of the world created in the book. At one point Merlin acts to nip "factions" in the bud, absolutely forbidding them and freedom of association among the people involved. For "faction" think "political party." You can't have a republic or a democracy or anything but an autocracy without them, and I'm not sure if it's that Merlin doesn't understand that, or Jack Whyte doesn't, but it bugged me.
Another thing that I felt was off in this latest installment was pacing. Let's just say the pace defines leisurely. The three previous books each took in decades. While in the case of The Saxon Shore, over 600 pages of the 716 pages take place in the course of less than a year--during Arthur's infancy. The first time I tackled this book was years ago--and I didn't finish. I pushed past the point I lost interest this time, and I do intend to finish with my last book in the series I own, The Sorcerer, but no this didn't much impress me as much as the earlier books.
This book helps round out the character
Of course, Camulod is an amazingly advanced place socially and scientifically. And just the right mix of experts and skills are present in the odd bunch of family and relations surrounding the boy king and his 'wizard'. I think it all could be a bit more acceptable if the author had left out a couple of miracles and coincidences.