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thomas_hense's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
The author had submitted "The Sorcerer" as one book. Unfortunately the publisher split the book into two volumes without the author's consent. I knew this and read both volumes as one book as the author had written it.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this two volume book as much as the previous books in the series. It felt over descriptive and very repetitive of the previous books in which all the characters just felt the same as previous characters.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this two volume book as much as the previous books in the series. It felt over descriptive and very repetitive of the previous books in which all the characters just felt the same as previous characters.
velocitygirl14's review
5.0
I was tired of the fantastical tales of Arthur and decided to try the more realistic take on the tale and Jack Whyte doesn't disappoint. I really loved Merlin's voice and the way that his voice was quite amused as he told his tale through the book. Cassandra was heartbreaking and lovely at the same time and it just showed how a man can become a tale and a legend.
I also liked the sympathetic take on Uther, since we don't get to see that very often.
I also liked the sympathetic take on Uther, since we don't get to see that very often.
jessiqa's review against another edition
4.0
SPOILERS AHEAD.
This is the sixth book in the Camulod Chronicles. The story takes up back to Camulod where war is brewing on two fronts. Ambrose takes one force (and Arthur) in one direction, while Merlyn takes another force in the opposite direction. Ambrose learns that things are still well with Vortigern and the following Autumn, Merlyn goes to accompany Bishop Germanus to Verulamium as in on of the previous books, for the Pelagian heresy had been completely rooted out. Things go awry and Merlyn returns home in a hurry and on the journey loses his wife and many of his men. He blames Peter Ironhair for all this and undergoes his metamorphosis, into that sorcerer we know him best as. This is out of revenge, which he does not attain in full, for Ironhair is killed by another's hand. He is also gravely injured on this quest, and the leprosy he feared seems to be real, although his old friend Lucanus had assured him this was not so.
I have complained before about how in the previous books so much seems to go so well for the people of Camulod and Merlyn in particular, with a few large exceptions. It seems Whyte was saving all his bad mojo for this book, where Merlyn loses not only his wife, but his brother, and for a time, his sanity. He goes down a dark path and even by the end of the book, he does not truly come back into the light. Perhaps he never will.
The draw for me in Arthurian Legend is Arthur himself. Not Lancelot or Guenivere or even Merlyn. In this series we have seen precious little of Arthur. And that's fine: This isn't his story. It's that of Camulod, told by those who knew it best, Publius Varrus and Merlyn. So, when this book reached it's end with Arthur being proclaimed High King and pulling the sword from the stone three times, my heart filled with the happy. This was familiar territory and a hint that the next selections in the series may have a bit more of my favorite character, I hope.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book and recommend the series to any who enjoy Arthurian Legend. This series puts it in an almost plausible historical setting, subtracting the magic and miracles from the legend. One can imagine that if Arthur and Merlyn really lived, that this may have been how it could have happened. (Saying that, of course, reminds me of the ending of Clue where there are three different ways the story could have ended.)
This is the sixth book in the Camulod Chronicles. The story takes up back to Camulod where war is brewing on two fronts. Ambrose takes one force (and Arthur) in one direction, while Merlyn takes another force in the opposite direction. Ambrose learns that things are still well with Vortigern and the following Autumn, Merlyn goes to accompany Bishop Germanus to Verulamium as in on of the previous books, for the Pelagian heresy had been completely rooted out. Things go awry and Merlyn returns home in a hurry and on the journey loses his wife and many of his men. He blames Peter Ironhair for all this and undergoes his metamorphosis, into that sorcerer we know him best as. This is out of revenge, which he does not attain in full, for Ironhair is killed by another's hand. He is also gravely injured on this quest, and the leprosy he feared seems to be real, although his old friend Lucanus had assured him this was not so.
I have complained before about how in the previous books so much seems to go so well for the people of Camulod and Merlyn in particular, with a few large exceptions. It seems Whyte was saving all his bad mojo for this book, where Merlyn loses not only his wife, but his brother, and for a time, his sanity. He goes down a dark path and even by the end of the book, he does not truly come back into the light. Perhaps he never will.
The draw for me in Arthurian Legend is Arthur himself. Not Lancelot or Guenivere or even Merlyn. In this series we have seen precious little of Arthur. And that's fine: This isn't his story. It's that of Camulod, told by those who knew it best, Publius Varrus and Merlyn. So, when this book reached it's end with Arthur being proclaimed High King and pulling the sword from the stone three times, my heart filled with the happy. This was familiar territory and a hint that the next selections in the series may have a bit more of my favorite character, I hope.
On the whole, I enjoyed this book and recommend the series to any who enjoy Arthurian Legend. This series puts it in an almost plausible historical setting, subtracting the magic and miracles from the legend. One can imagine that if Arthur and Merlyn really lived, that this may have been how it could have happened. (Saying that, of course, reminds me of the ending of Clue where there are three different ways the story could have ended.)
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