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Title: Avalon: : The Return of King Arthur by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 0-380-80297-X Publisher: HarperTorch Pub. Date: 01 December, 2000 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.58 (53 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Second half of this book saves it
Comment: Having previously read "Byzantium" and "Iron Lance", I was curious to see how Lawhead would handle a story set in modern times. His writing is still superior to much of the stuff thats out there these days. However, the protaganist in this story is not nearly as engaging as in Lawhead's previous works. You admire the character, but I didn't feel the connection with him the way I did in Lawhead's other books.
The first half of this book moved much too slow for me. Only at about the midway point did the pace quicken to my liking.
Every writer is allowed to delve into uncharted waters. My only hope is that Lawhead sticks to what he seems to do so well - writing in the distant past as opposed to the present day.
Rating: 5
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Comment: Since I was a small boy, I've been fascinated by the Arthurian legend. In recent years, I've become acutely aware of the Christian underpinnings of the legend. I've also come to realize that historic Christianity is unabashedly monarchist (Christ is, after all, 'King of Kings', not 'First Citizen of all Republics', and St. Peter refers to Christians as 'a Royal Priesthood'). This book rolls all that into one. It is the book that I've waited 35 years to read, and I did it in less than 24 hours. It's that good. My wife, who never reads novels, loved it.
Interestingly, since reading it, I noticed a news story about a minor scandal involving one of the British Royals, and the response of one PM, calling for the abolition of the Monarchy, could easily have been lifted from the pages of 'Avalon'.
Buy it. Buy the other books in Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle('Taliesin', 'Merlin', 'Arthur', 'Pendragon', 'Grail').
Let the Kingdom of Summer begin!
Rating: 2
Summary: The premise enticed me, but . . .
Comment: As someone who has been fascinated with the history, symbolism, and ritual of the British monarchy, the premise of Avalon captured my attention, but ultimately, I found it a bit disappointing. Lawhead is dealing with interesting issues, but doesn't develop them in a very compelling way and spends to many words describing things that don't matter much overall. I sensed that much of what fascinates Lawhead about British national identity also fascinates me, but I never got the impression that his knowledge of British history, or of issues in contemporary British culture, was that extensive.
Obviously, the figure of Arthur represents an ideal, and it would have been interesting to see more of the drama of recorded British history somehow woven into the narrative of legendary Arthur coming back to the 21st Century. I was left wondering what figures (royal or otherwise) in British history aroused the author's admiration in terms of standing in the tradition of inspired leadership idealized by Arthur. Given the surname of the main character and a couple of other statements, one gets the impression that Lawhead believes that the royal succession in Britain took a wrong turn with the transition from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover. However, this does not demonstrate any appreciation for the fact that the personal character traits and positive public perceptions of monarchs like George III, Victoria (and her consort Prince Albert), George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II have helped the monarchy to survive to this day. Even though they do not bear the name of Stuart, those monarchs do descend from King James I. Also, does Lawhead see good things in the development of parliametary democracy?
Lawhead doesn't really effectively argue the case for constitutional monarchy so much as he argues for inspired leadership. He implies that the new Arthur represented in James Stuart is going to exercise more political clout than present monarchs, but in this age of democracy, how would that be accepted and what would it look like? How would a religiously pluralistic culture influenced by secular humanism react to the unabashedly Christian coronation ceremony depicted near the book's end? Also, just how far into the 21st Century is the story set? How has E.U. developed? Is the United Kingdom still united?
Historical and cultural issues aside, the main characters suffer from a lack of development. It would have been interesting to see James Stuart struggle with real human weaknesses and how his professed Christian faith gives him hope and perseverence. As someone else noted, Prime Minister Waring is a cardboard villain who is not a formidable antagonist.
So once again, exploring the ideal of Christian kingship in the setting of 21st Century Britain presents compelling ideas, but as someone noted, Avalon is not up to the literary level of a work by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. If the premise of this novel interested you, I would recommend the non-fiction books "The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana," by Peter Hitchens, and "God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Dimension of Monarchy" by Ian Bradley.
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Title: Grail (The Pendragon Cycle, Book 5) by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 0380781042 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 June, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Pendragon : Book Four of the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 0380717573 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 September, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Arthur (The Pendragon Cycle, Book 3) by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 0380708906 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Merlin (The Pendragon Cycle , Book 2) by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 0380708892 Publisher: Eos Pub. Date: 01 April, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Taliesin : Book One of the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead ISBN: 038070613X Publisher: Avon Pub. Date: 01 January, 1990 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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