Customer Reviews

The Eagle (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 9)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

While the background and environment Jack Whyte has so meticulously unfolded over the Camulod Chronicles remains as intact and believable as before, the characterization and ultimate humanity of the story itself left much to be desired.

It is clear, even from the author's notes and prologue, that any Arthurian story was going to be around the central relationship triangle. However, the "Shining Light of Camelot (Camulod)" was never really realized in the Eagle. I felt that Jack Whyte had created and lived with such a wonderful character in the form of Caius Merlyn Britannicus that any Arthur character would be anticlimactic at best. One gets the impression walking away from The Eagle that Whyte left his true story at the end of The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis with the iconic moment of Arthur being crowned Riothamus.

Perhaps it's too painful to write the dissolution of the ideal of Camulod, but the pathos and purposeful philosophy of the characters is simply lost in The Eagle.

For what it's worth, taking the Eagle as a purely stand-alone novel outside of the Chronicles themselves would ease the expectation.

I am a huge Jack Whyte fan; probably still will be in the future. Having said this I have to add that this book was completely unnecessary. The first four hundred pages are okay; dealing with the growth of Arthur and his dream. There are battles, and historical information enough to go around.

The last three hundred pages are a complete waste. The tale leaves Camulod, as Lance travels to Gaul (ancient France/Sweden). From this point on, any information the reader gets about Arthur and his kingdom is from letters sent to Lance from Merlin. Lance shows up once or twice to talk to Arthur; goes back to Gaul, enjoys a completely worthless bout of games that is supposed to be the precursor to the jousts. Absolutely nothing important happens in the last 300 pages; but the worst is to come.

Jack tacks on an ending to the Arthur saga that is pitiful. He literally raps the story up in 5 pages; having Lance report hearsay of the happenings in Camulod. He doesn't know what happened to Arthur; and basically it ends that abruptly.

As a story of Lance the book has a certain amount of power. Do NOT write a book like this and say it is the final chapter in the tale of Arthur, as it ends nothing. The ending to this book is as drawn out and hideous as that of Stephan King's Dark Tower series.

I don't believe in saying "do NOT read this book" Only idiots force themselves on other readers. Just go into this book knowing that you will get no closure whatsoever.

The Good:
The book in general is well written. Obviously Whyte took a lot of time doing his research into the Dark Ages and writing the book itself.

The Bad:
The book has little to do with King Author himself. Its told from the viewpoint of Lancelot galloping around Gaul for most of the time.

The Ugly:
The book skips around like a really bad 45 record. After the first 200 pages we leave Arthur behind in Britain and follow the footsteps of Lance in Gaul, setting up a new fighting force for King Pellas. After 200 more pages I got the distinct feeling that Whyte was tired of writing and started shoveling in bits and pieces of story because he wanted it over with, putting together a story that looks more like a broken jigsaw puzzle than anything else.

I really hope Whyte goes back and tells Arthur's story. This is just as much a flat tire as The Lance Thrower. Wait for the paperback, or buy used.

This book is a deep disappointment. Whyte focuses on Lancelot and gives King Arthur and Camolud short shrift. What's the point of endng the series this way. Recent scholarship indicates that an Arthur character existed and defeated the Saxons at a place called Borum Hill appparently ensuring peace for Britons for about a generation. Rich material there but given one sentence in Whyte's finale. I don't see why Whyte bothered. This book is more like the second act of Lancelot's life than the finale of King Arthur's.

I am a huge fan of Camulod chronicles. I thought i would finish this book in a few days but that was not the case. This book is a betrayal to this great serie. This book skips years in just a few lines and i am not used to this in Camulod chronicles. I enjoyed reading pages and pages about trips of Publius Varrus and now i had read 5-6 books to get Arthur born but i now learn about his death in a few lines from hearsay.
The only part i enjoyed in this book is where Jack spawned Mordred. I think im gonna go back to "Fort at the River's bend" to read about Arthur and Morag.
If you are a fan of the chronicles you will read this and you will be disappointed...

This book was an absolute joke and made a complete mockery of the entire series. No resolution, no real commentary on the characters developed so well in the first five novels. I've never been so frustrated and disappointed upon completing a series. The first five novels were absolutely some of the most entertaining I've read. The last two books were so useless that I can't recommend that anyone start the series. Don't waste your time, there are plenty of authors with more respect for their work.

I have always been a huge fan of the Merlyn - King Arthur mythology. I have read many series and books. I purchased the Whyte 9 volume set and spent the last month reading them. By far the Camulod series is my all time favorite. I never get choked up over fiction, but the final 3 words in "The Eagle" brought tears to my eyes. I have to admit that I will be Camulod withdrawal for awhile.

I have to respectfully disagree with the other reviews posted. I gave this book a five star rating and I am so glad that I ignored the negative reviews. In the 9 series books we have 8 written in the 1st person, and 1 (Uther) in the 3rd. That translates to the fact that 1st person books are more than just a narrative, they are the PERSONAL narrative of the author and is therefore naturally more about the author and their experiences than any other. In the final two books of the Camulod series the author is Clothar, returning to Britain after an absence of many years, and he lets you know he is the sole survivor of the Knights Companion of Arthur in the opening pages of his memoirs. The Knights Companion receive little attention in the previous books as well, as Merlyn writes about Arthur and the politics of the time and not about the personal adventures of the Knights. So it puzzles me that the other reviewers would be disappointed in the final book. This is Clothar's story of his service and personal friendships as a Knight Companion to the High King of Britain. It is not a story about the other Knights Companions and was never intended to serve in that capacity. Before and particularly after Arthur is wounded, the High King faces his mortality, his responsibility to his kingdom, and that he ensure that it survive him. What better way to ensure the survival of a kingdom but to make peace with your neighbors, to establish trade, to make alliances far and wide: with Anglians, the Scots, the Franks in Gaul etc.. Indeed, Arthur is pleased that his British troops are marrying and having families in Gaul. When Arthur is requested to send an emissary to Gaul, he is eager to do so. He returns Clothar to Gaul, because he is the only logical candidate among his Knights to send. Indeed with the collapse of Camulod after Arthur's death, his service in Gaul ensures that the legend of Arthur and the Knights Companion would survive. Where else would the mythology of King Arthur and His Knights and his beloved Queen survive? I particularly appreciated the treatment that the author gave to the so-called love triangle of the High King, his queen, and Clothar. I never could understand how a Knight sworn to fealty to his High King could so ultimately betray him, and yet be forgiven and rewarded with Queen's hand in marriage. That part of the Hollywood and other author's Camelot stories always troubled me greatly. So I thank Jack Whyte for his version of how the story could have been. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Jack Whyte makes the point many times throughout the series that stories are embellished with each retelling of a story. Remember Clothar's extreme frustration when he finally meets Merlyn and tells him all the variant and wild stories he heard of the High King's first battle against the mass invasion and his efforts to sift the truth from the fanciful narratives. At the end, Clothar doesn't have Merlyn to tell him what happened in Britain, so he repeats the tales and knows that there are seeds of truth in each tale that he repeats. It would be illogical for the narrative to end in any other way. This is a repeating theme throughout the series, separating the truth from the fiction and it prepares the reader for the way the series ends. Examples of this abound throughout the series: Ambrosius pretending to Merlyn, Merlyn the sorcerer appearing two places at once is just one, Clothar trying to understand the divine gift of Excalibur etc. Jack Whyte grounds his series in reality and history of the times, in the superstitious awe of a population of humanity struggling to create a civilization out of anarchy.

The politics of the time, and the creation of a High King, endorsed by the Christian Church, paved the way for future Kings and Queens of Britain, to where the Church held great power in Britain. To the extent that King James in an effort to supersede the Church in Rome had the Bible rewritten and named "King James Bible" which is still in use today. King James wanted more power from the Church in Rome. Jack Whyte laid a foundation in history for such a relationship between political leaders and religion, to develop in the tug-of-war for power that continued for the succeeding generations of future monarchs of Britain.

The reviewers want more stories of the Knights Companion. I do too.
How about it Jack? "Uther" stands alone from the series, it didn't have to be written, but it answered many questions that Merlyn did not have answers to, and added greatly to the Camulod series. Perhaps if all the fans beg nicely, Jack Whyte will consider giving us a series of Camulod books based on the personal stories of the Knights Companions. Please Jack??!!?!?!?!!!!!