The Eagle (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 9) [Hardcover]

Jack Whyte (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2006

Beginning with The Skystone, the first in his riveting Camulod Chronciles, Jack Whyte has embarked on an ambitious and remarkable re-telling of the Arthurian cycle, giving us a fresh and compelling take on a story that has been beloved for centuries.  
 
The Eagle brings us at last to the heart of the tale, the creation of fabled Camelot and the love story that enshrined its glory. Whyte takes us into the minds and lives of Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot, three astonishing but fallible people who were bound together by honor, loyalty, and love. Three who created the glory that was Britain's shining dream…and, some say, caused its downfall. 
 
The Gaulish nobleman Clothar--known in our time as Lancelot--is drawn to the young High King's court by tales of honor and nobility, where he meets a man whose love of law matches his own.  More, he finds in Arthur a life-long friend whose dream of uniting the people of Britain in peace Clothar embraces.  And Clothar meets Arthur's queen, a wondrous beauty whose passion and ideals match her husband's. Together they work to bring Arthur's dream to life.
 
But dark forces rise in opposition to Arthur's plans for creating this noble island nation and it is hard to tell friend from foe in the swirling chaos that ensues. Many tales have been told of the dream that shined and died.  This one will astonish even the most jaded.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ninth and final installment in Whyte's Camulod (Camelot) series offers an imaginative if rambling account of the end of the Arthurian era. Narrated by Clothar of Benwick (Lancelot), King Arthur's best friend and loyal companion, the novel is grounded in the author's "interpretation of Lancelot" as "an archetypal hero." Faced with fractious local rulers and Saxon invaders, Arthur hopes to unite Britain to fend off the invasion. But two regional kings—the treacherous Symmachus and the ambitious Connlyn—unite to frustrate, and ultimately destroy, Arthur's dream. The basic plot, however, is overburdened with a stew of subplots and backstories: Clothar's affair with a betrothed woman adds heft but not substance, and the detailed recounting of the paternity of Arthur's son, Mordred, the fruit of an unwitting incestuous affair with his half-sister, is distracting. The author also sends Clothar off on a seven-year detour to Gaul where he trains a cavalry force and saves his cousin's kingdom from the Huns. Clothar returns to Britain to find that events have taken a dangerous turn and a final showdown looms with Camulod's enemies. Fans of Whyte's exhaustive retelling of the Camelot legend will welcome this final chapter. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Whyte concludes his nine-volume retelling of the Arthurian legend with a rousing final chapter in the saga of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere. With the threat of a Saxon invasion looming, Arthur attempts to cobble together a united Britain but is thwarted by jealous rivals. Meanwhile, Clothar (Lancelot), a romantic young nobleman, pledges his loyalty to Arthur and the ideals of Camulod (Camelot). As the two men work feverishly to turn their vision of Camulod into a reality, the stage is set for the ultimate clash between Arthur and his enemies. As one might expect, the doomed love triangle of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere plays a pivotal role in this epic reworking of this classic literary staple. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; First Edition edition (December 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312870078
• ISBN-13: 978-0312870072
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Arthurian

More About the Author

Jack Whyte is an actor, orator, singer, and poet and the author of the critically acclaimed Dream of Eagles series. He lives in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Eagle, May 14, 2006

By 

steve schmucker - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Eagle (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 9) (Hardcover)

I loved the series and couldn't wait to read the final. All of the other books were well written and detailed. This book however was very hurried I felt, especially the last chapter. The fate of most of the characters was plopped on the last page! I was truley diappointed at the end. The other books being so well laid out, I figured this one would be just as good. The book starts off great but then its all down hill.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars End of a saga - slightly limping to the finish., August 1, 2006

By 

Alan Montgomery "Opera lover" (Oberlin, Oh USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Eagle (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 9) (Hardcover)

Reading the entire Camulod Chronicles (or Eagles Brood in Canada) has been quite rewarding. The build up to Arthur being crowned was most entertaining. But with the shift to "Lancelot" - here named Clothar - Whyte got bogged down in details that weren't necessarily good story telling. Lance Thrower and The Eagle both follow Whyte's vision of the end of the Arthurian era. But while it doesn't bother me that Mordred is not evil but instead a pawn for power of others, it does bother me that so little is made of the Knights of the Round Table and their missions. Lip service barely touches the subject. And the most important part of it, for some of us at least, the search for the holy grail (which should have been a part of the healing of Arthur's wound) is totally ignored. It never comes up. Perhaps it would have helped if Mr. Whyte had read the story over in the wonderful tellings of others before he launched his re-invented tale. Is it enjoyable? Yes, but it isn't what the 8 previous volumes told us to expect.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Strong Conclusion to the Series, March 27, 2007

By 

C. T. Houchin (Wichita, Kansas 67218) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Eagle (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 9) (Hardcover)

Having read all the other books in the series of course I HAD to read the concluding volume. I was apprehensive, because of all the Amazon reviews rating "The Eagle" average at best. I couldn't disagree more. If you read this book, or any of the series as "another King Arthur book", you're going to be disappointed. Most of the fans of the series already know that. The last two books written in the voice of "Clothar the Frank" or Lancelot as we've come to know him, are going to be compared both to the earlier books in the series, which don't touch much upon the Traditional Legend of King Arthur, AND the myth itself which has been done and redone countless times. "The Eagle" is a page-turner from beginning to end. It is full of action, and the characterisations are the best in the whole series. Jack Whyte has probably saved his best for last. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I can think of books I like better ... although not that many.