The Hounds of Avalon (Dark Age, Book 3) [Hardcover]

Mark Chadbourn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 21, 2005

The Hounds of Avalon are coming ...These are the twilight days, when eternal winter falls and the gods destroy themselves in civil war; when an invasion force of ghastly power threatens to eradicate all life. Humanity's last chance lies with two friends, as different as night and day, bound together by an awesome destiny. Hunter: a warrior, a rake, an assassin; Hal: a lowly records clerk in a Government office. They must pierce a mystery surrounding the myths of King Arthur to find the dreaming hero who will ride out of the mists of legend to save the world. But time is running out, for when the Hounds of Avalon appear, all hope is lost ...HOUNDS OF AVALON is the latest instalment in Mark Chadbourn's brilliant new sequence: exciting, evocative, terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Chadbourn closes his second trilogy of a Britain changed by the return of magic (after 2010's The Queen of Sinister) with battles against an army of undead and a hidden quest for a sleeping king. Amid a cheerful jumble of myths and conspiracy theories, Chadbourn's five chosen heroes race ahead of Fimbulwinter, the Norse apocalyptic deep freeze, to recover sacred artifacts and recruit Celtic gods. Not helping are the remnants of the U.K. government, holed up in Oxford and plotting nuclear strikes on mythic figures. Chadbourn nicely portrays the struggles of people given an opportunity for greatness for reasons outside of their control, but the abrupt ending to their story does little to improve this conglomeration of mysticism and quantum physics wrapped in a fluffy New Age coating.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Pushes the usual fantasy envelope and voyages into some serioulsy unexpected directions. Written with plenty of energy and vigour, Chadbourn's original take on the fantasy epic packs in plenty of action and incident." -- Saxon Bullock SFX "The myths and legends are intricately woven together. A good read" Dreamwatch --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (April 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575072776
• ISBN-13: 978-0575072770
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,872,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A two-time winner of the prestigious British Fantasy Award, Mark has published his epic, imaginative novels in many countries around the world. He grew up in the mining community of the English Midlands, and was the first person in his family to go to university. After studying Economic History at Leeds, he became a successful journalist, writing for several of the UK's renowned national newspapers as well as contributing to magazines and TV.

When his first short story won Fear magazine's Best New Author award, he was snapped up by an agent and subsequently published his first novel, Underground, a supernatural thriller set in the coalfields of his youth. Quitting journalism to become a full-time author, he has written stories which have transcended genre boundaries, but is perhaps best known in the fantasy field.

Mark has also forged a parallel career as a screenwriter with many hours of produced work for British television. He is a senior writer for BBC Drama, and is also developing new shows for the UK and US.

An expert on British folklore and mythology, he has held several varied and colourful jobs, including independent record company boss, band manager, production line worker, engineer's 'mate', and media consultant.

Having travelled extensively around the world, he has now settled in a rambling house in the middle of a forest not far from where he was born.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great Dark Age fantasy, July 28, 2010

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hounds of Avalon (Dark Age, Book 3) (Paperback)

Since the Fall devastated earth with the return to magic as the prime power source, governments are collapsing around the world and with their breakdowns civilization as we know it no longer exists. Optimistically the future is bleak; realistically there is no future. That assessment was even before the pandemic plague struck.

As mankind is on the precipice of extinction, the potential for survival has diminished much further for the Void has emerged. The Void lives for all other essences even its armies to die. Desperately trying to regroup and find a resolution to prevent the Void from nullifying all life, the British government leaders try a Hail Mary ploy by going after one of the Brothers and Sisters of the Dragons. They abduct Mallory to use as their counter weapon against the forces of the Void. However, in their naivety they leave behind a critically wounded and perhaps dying Sophie; weakening the already waning strength of the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons. With insider help, Mallory escapes and joins his brethren in a last stand against first the Void's invincible armies and if miraculously successful and still somehow alive then they will battle against the Void; human existence is at stake.

The final The Dark Age fantasy is a great ending to a complicated mythos as the world appears to be blinking out. The story line is fast-paced from the onset while the focus is somewhat different from that of its predecessors (see Devil in Green and Queen of Sinister) as the reader obtains a deeper look at pillars of civilization like government imploding. The Void is a terrific unique end of life essence as it devours the world with only the Dragon siblings sort of like a team of David (or the fantastic Four against Galactus) the only slim prayer. To appreciate fully the Chadbourne Dark Age, readers need to start at the beginning; it is worth the journey.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Super Reader, August 6, 2007

By 

Blue Tyson "- Research Finished" (Legion clubhouse) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hounds of Avalon (Dark Age 3) (Paperback)

This is his sixth book set in this version of our world, I have read the first four, but not the fifth, as yet - one of the characters from the fifth appears in this novel - and it seems her story is the fifth novel, but might not be that interesting.

Anyway, this was good, and more in the vein of the third novel of his 'first' trilogy. However, the ending perhaps cheesily sets up yet another likely to be trilogy about what happened to Church from the first 3 novels, when he went back into the past. That was a bit annoying. Presumably that will hopefully end the whole thing back in the present time.