Customer Reviews

Avalon:: The Return of King Arthur

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I began reading the Pendragon Cycle in Junior High (gee, guess that shows how young I am, huh?), and absolutely fell in love. Now a Junior in college I was thrilled to see Lawhead bring the story to its conclusion(?) in present day England. What a wonderful story come full-circle! Although, I must agree, Moira was not quite the evil villianess I have seen in previous Lawhead tales. Some slight disappointment there. But how about the return of good old Embries? How classic to make him a timeless compainion to Arthur. He has been my favorite character all along. If you are a Lawhead fan, I have told you nothing new. However, if you've never read Lawhead before, or if you've never read the Pendragon Cycle before, I reccomend starting at the beginning with Taliesin. The story line will be much more intriguing if you know the history. Oh...and if you plan on reading the whole series, stop by Stephen's website for what order to read them in, they weren't written chronologically. And it's just a fun site.

In Avalon, Stephen Lawhead has modernized the king Arthur of his delightful Pendragon cycle, and transported him to a futuristic and contemporary twenty-first century Britain, which is on the verge of throwing out the monarchy for good. But Lawhead is convinced that the monarchy is not all bathwater, but that there's a baby in there somewhere that should be preserved. Make the legendary Arthur come back to life to be that baby, and save the monarchy. There in a nutshell, is the plot of Avalon.

Of course there's much more to it than that, and it's impossible to summarize in a few words a plot that is ingeniously original. The Pendragon Cycle is clearly a prelude to this story, and I would suggest that it is required reading for readers of Avalon. Lawhead makes frequent and obvious allusions to the characters and events of the Pendragon Cycle (eg p.89ff), and readers unfamiliar with his earlier work are likely to find themselves perplexed without this background. At any rate, readers familiar with Lawhead's earlier works are sure to get the most of this new tale.

Yet this is far from a modernized Pendragon - it's definitely a story on its own, and fans of the Pendragon Cycle are treated to a completely new tale. The story begins shortly after the death of the last of a series of corrupt and selfish monarchs, with Britain on the verge of abandoning the monarchy for good. Suddenly the unknown James Stuart discovers that despite his ordinary and obscure childhood, he is the rightful king of Britain, and the modern-day Arthur. Although James has a modern-day Merlin at his side, victory of the monarchy is far from assured, because there's a modern-day Morgian and a host of evil powers against him in his quest for kingship and the restoration of Arthurian Britain.

As a followup to the Pendragon Cycle, Avalon is equally suspenseful and exciting, sparkling with originality, action and intrigue, although some characters and sequences lack imagination and depth. But on the whole it is not as successful. The return of Arthur into a contemporary world bears the suggestion of reincarnation, although Lawhead clearly distances himself from reincarnation and leaves the idea of the "same life in another time" as an unsolved mystery (p.159-160). Likely the premise of the return of Arthur and his companions into a modern world is not intended to be a serious religious or philosophical idea, but a literary device. But one can not be so gracious to Lawhead with respect to other modern elements of the story - the sexual allusions (p.178-9) and frequent use of blasphemy (over two dozen instances) detracted strongly from this novel and its Christian message.

Certainly the vision of the Kingdom of Summer is clearly expressed (p.265ff). Furthermore, the struggle to establish the kingship over against the forces of evil is clearly intended to be a conflict that parallels the universal spiritual conflict between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness (p.396). James' struggle for kingship has definite overtones of the Biblical struggle of David before him (p.343), and overtones of the Christ whom he shadows. But sadly, although the kingdom of summer is presented as a vision, we don't get to see this vision become a reality, because the accession to kingship marks the end of the novel (whether we are treated to another novel where we see a modern kingdom of summer is yet to be seen).

On the whole, Avalon lacks the profound religious depth that made the Pendragon Cycle so captivating. With some exceptions, it is less religious and philosophical and more political. In a contemporary era where the monarchy is largely perceived as irrelevant, one cannot but wonder whether the lengthy and passionate diatribes in Avalon defending the monarchy as a legitimate institution by divine right are in fact an articulation of Lawhead's own opinion on the subject. Is the defence of and vision for the monarchy and the biting criticism of the corruption of today's politicians Lawhead's own? Perhaps there's a pro-royalist and anti-democrat message here for leadership in our own time. One thing is certain: just like "Arthur", "Avalon" will not only entertain you with a nail-biting ride, it will fuel a passion for a king and a kingdom! God save the king!

Well, I hoped to write the first review, but Donovan beat me to it. I will merely add to his accurate praises. Avalon arrived on Thursday, I started reading it Friday and just finished it now late Saturday night. It is a page turner. I was reading my way through the last three books of the Pendragon Cycle before I actually read Avalon. However, I could not resist that beautiful new book sitting unread on the bookshelf. So, I set down Arthur right before a tremendous battle against Balduf and picked up Avalon. I would say that Avalon contains some of the wittiest and most gripping dialogue I have ever read. The characters leapt to life, familiar yet changed in their modern setting. I was terribly scared that Lawhead had over reached himself when I heard that this was a modern King Arthur fable. Lawhead exceeded my expectations for this story and pulls it off with great aplomb and heart. I definitely enjoyed the book more because of my prior reading of his Pendragon Cycle.

Please read this book and let your heart soar! My intial reading rates it at 4 stars, one of Lawhead's best, easily the best since Byzantium, but upon further readings, I may strike again with another review with a higher rating.

This book reads a lot like the first book in a series, but I haven't found any evidence that that's really what it is. If I knew for a fact that there was more to come, I would be more forgiving, because it would excuse what seems to me to be the book's chief shortcoming: it is all about the reborn Arthur becoming king, but not very much at all about what he does AS king, or why this will be good for the British people, and, hence, why it matters whether he was reborn or not.

As the book opens, the British Prime Minister Waring is an Evil Politician who is well on his way to destroying the monarchy by legislative and bureaucratic means and reducing Britain (in the author's view) to a U.S.-style republic. In the nick of time, however, the crummy existing king does himself in, whereupon Merlin reveals to the upstanding young James Arthur Stuart that he is (a) a Duke, and (b) rightful king (as all of the more immediate royal family have signed abdication forms under Waring's pressure).

All the stuff about James's family line is handled in a rather clumsy and slipshod way, and you are eager to be done with it. (Why couldn't he have started out as minor nobility instead of all that business with his parents concealing their marriage? I suppose it's because the Sword in the Stone theme of the disguised Wart has to be recapitulated, but honestly, it's not done terribly well.)

Anyway, we move on quickly to the conflict between Arthur and the evil Waring (unknowingly aided by the sultry Morgan le Fay) over whether Britain should be a monarchy or not. As the crucial referendum battle approaches, Waring obligingly shoots himself in the foot with clumsy thug tactics which enable James Arthur to display his skill as a street fighter.

The Waringites never bother to make any reasonable arguments against the continuation of the monarchy. Naturally you root for Arthur because he and his Jenny (yes, yes) are Good People while Waring is Bad. But James Arthur's speeches about how the 'Summer Country' must be restored are awfully short on program. Many issues are skated over, like: what are the Muslims, Jews, etc., supposed to do while Arthur is declaring the necessity of a king who will defend 'The True Church'? IS the Church of England the 'True Church' (Arthur was pre-Reformation)? What is Arthur's kingship actually going to be like? You have the impression that Britain will be a wonderful place because Arthur's goodness and justice will just magically emanate throughout the realm and create a kinder, gentler Britain, but how is this going to work in practice? Is he going to be commander-in-chief of the army? What about all the other countries unfortunate enough not to have an Arthur? Is Arthur going to have to conquer all of Europe and be crowned by the Pope like in Malory's books?

Ultimately the fact that none of the serious issues of monarchy vx. democracy get addressed brings down the caliber of the work, which, however, I will admit to be an engaging read - within limits.

The ancient texts that chronicle the legendary King Arthur assert that he will return to save Britain from its foes in its hour of greatest need. Modern authors, including Susan Cooper, have used this to good advantage, by having Arthur save Britain from the evils that haunt it in current times. This novel is one such tale, and an excellent one at that.

James Arthur Stuart is a simple, former soldier, whose only interest is to save his inheritance from an Australian development consortium. But a meeting with the mysterious M. Embries (Merlin) opens up a whole new world for Stuart that he might not have wanted, including the truth about his parentage and status as the legal heir to the throne of Britain, as well as the fact that he is King Arthur reborn. The story follows Stuart as he grapples with this knowledge, declares himself king, and takes on the reins of sovereignty, despite the political maneuvering of Thomas Waring, the Prime Minister who has been doing his best to destroy the monarchy so he can be the first president of Great Britain.

The tale is well written and holds interest. Stuart is a believable character, though the effects of discovering his parents and heritage could have been better developed, and Embries' magic is interesting and easy to follow. Waring is a good villain, though he becomes somewhat cliched as the tale progresses. Moira, however, I found to be a dreary villainness, only taking on some slight interest when she explored Llyonesse underwater. Otherwise, she behaves just like every other manipulative femme fatale who uses her sexuality to enslave men, and is strictly a one-dimensional character. Ho hum. No new ground here.

I am unaware if Avalon is the beginning of a series, but it is excellent as a stand alone novel. It will be interesting to see if Lawhead can make the case for the necessity of an active monarchy in the modern, democratic world. All in all, recommended reading.

Avalon is the final book in Lawhead's wonderful Pendragon series. Unlike the other books in the series, it is set during conteporary times when England is threatened by an evil so great that only a revitalized monarchy can save it. Enter James Arthur Stuart, an army officer, who is told by an old man named Merlin that he is the legitimate heir to the throne. It turned out that he was conceived in secret and his existence hidden, raised by a foster family, in much the same way as King Arthur was. Lawhead adds contemporary versions of Arthur's knights and advisors as well as his enemies. Sometimes this book gets lost in Lawhead's rather grandiosse style which fits much better with the ancient rather than the contemporary, but overall, this is an enjoyable and interesting novel. A fitting conclusion to the King Arthur story.

Having never read this author before, I can't compare this book to any of his others. Avalon was well written- and even engaging- but certainly not what I expected when I bought it. The dust jacket and synopsis make it seem as though the story was about the rebirth of Arthur into modern England. Instead we are left with an interesting albeit off-topic tale of the battle between the "evil" Prime Minister who wants to overthrow the monarchy, and the Man Who Would Be King. The idea for the book seemed like a great one, I just struggled with the manner in which it was laid out. I mean, if this book was really about Arthur, why do we have so few examples of his life (via flashbacks or whatever), and so many chapters full of the Prime Minister bantering with his flunkies? I can only hope that perhaps this is the first in a series of books, and Lawhead will eventually show us more of how his modern-day Arthur would lead the England of the future. An interesting read, but not "Arthurian" enough for me.

I have been reading over the other reviews here at Amazon.com and felt I should put a review up that would actually bring justice to this book. It was wonderful, and in my opinion, the best of Lawhead's creations.

No, it is not exactly like all of his other fantasies, but what can you expect when trying to bring an ancient Celt into the 21st century. I applaud SRL's clever way of bringing King Arthur into present day. I do, however, tell those that are expecting and wanting a high fantasy book: this is not for you. It contains deep political subjects, that just some people can't stand - especially those that are sort of lost on politics in the first place.

SRL has masterfully combined the past and present and a Celt and a regular young man. I have found this to be what has made me love this book so much, for it is unlike his others (though I certainly enjoy those as well). A peaceful close to the Arthurian legend...or *skims over last page*...or maybe not. Who's left with a curious feeling at the end? I am, at least.

I would recommend this to most adults or teens that know more about politics (like myself...CNN is always on in my house). If you fall under those two categories, you're sure to love the conclusion of SRL's Arthurian books, "Avalon".

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!

Though Stephen Lawhead means for this book to be a stand alone novel and not a part of the Pendragon Cycle, I cannot imagine enjoying it as much without having first read the Pendragon Cycle. That said, this book is much different than any of the other books he has written. One difference is that it all takes place in a short space of time (less than a year), wheras many of his books take up a long period of time. Also, this takes place in the present time, not the past. But the themes in this book are timeless. Lawhead has been able to speak against the cynical attitude of the present day in a powerful way. This book deals with timeless issues and questions of leadership that need to be addressed today. But he does it in a fun story and at no time seems to be preaching. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the Pendragon Cycle, for it re-introduces you to some memorable characters. I would also recommend this book to anyone who would like a deeper, more real look at what leadership is all about and what true sovereignty is.