Customer Reviews

The House Of Pendragon, Book I: The Firebrand

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
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2 star:		(2)
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by Chere

THE HOUSE OF PENDRAGON: FIREBRAND begins right after the battle of Camlann. Both Arthur and Modred are dead. Lin, Arthur's daughter, has no idea what she is going to do now, with both her father and her half-brother dead. There are only five Knights of the Round Table left; her, Bedwyr, Cai, Gaheris and Lancelot. Lin has her father's ring. He wanted her to take over the kingdom after his death. She knows, with Arthur's death, there no longer is a kingdom, so Lin decides to go into exile. Her foster brother, Dafydd, and Gaheris go with her.

Lin eventually marries Gaheris and they have children, with another on the way. Her firstborn was a boy and they named him Arthur, but call him Bear. Their journey has now come full circle and Lin and her brood are at Camelot, which is now deserted. Dafydd and Gaheris entertain the girls while Lin and Bear enter Camelot. Lin has decided it's time to tell her son about his forefathers.

She starts the tale with the death of her mother, a slave belonging to Queen Morgause. One cold night, she died while the slaves were sleeping. The next morning, the overseer had her body removed and set Dafydd and Lin to working. One of Lin's duties was to slop the pigs, which she really didn't mind doing as she could watch the Princes of Orkney practice on the training field. Lin always felt sorry for the youngest of Queen Morgause's brood, Prince Modred. His older brothers always picked on him. On one such trip to the pigs, she heard a yelling and screaming from the privy. There was a board lodged under the door to prevent it from being opened from the inside and Prince Modred was screaming to be let loose. Lin managed to get the door open and Modred immediately began taking out his rage and anger on her. After all, she was only a slave.

And so it began, the conflict between Modred and Lin. The more Modred tried to beat Lin into submission, the more Lin resisted.

THE HOUSE OF PENDRAGON: FIREBRAND is a very unique look at Arthurian legend. This story by Debra A. Kemp is the first I have read wherein Arthur and his queen have a daughter. It's also a very realistic look at the inhumanity of slavery and how life really was for a slave back in Arthur's time period. It's also an amazing look at the courage and conviction of one young girl and how she refuses to submit to being a slave. It was a brutal time period on Orkney. I was taken back to the time of Arthur from the very beginning of the story. The characters all fit with Arthurian legend. This is not a light, or a very easy read, but it is one I cannot recommend highly enough. I can't wait for the next installment in THE HOUSE OF PENDRAGON.

This is an amazing story of a young girl who struggles with her own personal demons and her heart-wrenching journey into slavery. Having a young daughter of my own I was drawn in to Lin's character feeling each setback and struggle along with her. A page turner. A compelling story. A great read. I highly recommend it for anyone who has ever felt alone as they battle against the world.

This is the story of Lin, slave of Queen Morgause, in Dunn na Carraice in the Orkney Islands. She is a proud girl determined not to bow to the slavemasters and Modred who takes special delight in tormenting her in horrible ways. The realism is very stark and brutal, but there are also moments of gentlenss and tenderness from her "brother" Dafydd in their daily, drab, overworked lives. Is she really just Dafydd's younger, brave sister? Or is she something more that no one could ever have imagined? Some of Lin's strengths are also her weaknesses, but her indominable spirit eventually triumphs for both her and Dafydd.

This was an extraordinary read! I can't recommend it highly enough! The stark reality of slave life is portrayed heartbreakingly but also with dignity and compassion. Lin's determination to not lose her humanity or soul to those in power over her is incredibly amazing and admirable. This is the beginning book of a trilogy, the second will be titled The House of Pendragon, Book II: The Awakening, and a portion of it may be viewed at www.bardsongpress.com

The reveiws of this book are pretty thorough, but I just wanted to add a few things.

First: This book is short. I was surprised at the length- under 300 pages-I almost felt that this book might have been combined with the next one and each could have been called 'Part One' or 'Part Two'. But, even though it lacks in length, it really delivers in story and tone. No disappointment here at all at what I found in these pages.

Second: This book is brutal. It is not for kids as it feautres detailed descriptions of rapes (of a 12 year old!!), miscarriages, beatings, murders and various humiliations. However, I was left believing that these experiences and the way the victims dealt with their abuse may reflect how real slaves felt and what their lives were really like. Which leads me to my last point...

Thrid: This book really does give a fresh vision of the Arthurian ledgend and therein, I believe, is its real value. Usually, when one reads of Arthur and Camelot, we are reading of kings, princes and wizards. The powerful and influential. Although Arthur himself is sometimes protrayed as an anonomous fosterling who rises from nothing into kingship, we rarely get inside the heads of the poor, the disposable, the slave. I found this point of view so interesting.

This a a great read on its own and a fantastic addition to the true fan's experience of Arthur and his world.

The author does a good job painting the picture of sibling love and hate. As the story unfolds, the reader is drawn into this new slant on the Artherian legend and the possibilities these stories hold. I was left with a desire to know what happens next to the strong, but flawed lead character.

I bought this book on the strength of the 3 reviews posted on the first page of the book entry, all of which gave it very high marks. There is some good writing in the genre of fantasy/historical fiction, and I am always in search of it. This wasn't it.

I guess the plot twist of Arthur actually having a (gasp) daughter was supposed to be enough. The characters are not even remotely believable and the action is strained to the point of histrionics and repetitive to boot.

I have to confess that I quit reading it a little more than halfway through, which is almost unheard of for me. So if the last part morphed into reasonably engaging literature, it's my loss. But I won't be buying the other two.

What if King Arthur had a daughter who was hidden from him and forced to become a slave? Is nobility something you learn or is it something that you are born with. This beauitful tale woven by Ms. Kemp is a treasure and a must have. I for one can't wait for the next book to come out to add to my collection!

Lin is a slave girl whose family belongs to Queen Morgause and her sons. The slaves are treated cruelly, with frequent beatings, hard labor, little food, and the constant threat of being torn from loved ones and sold. Most of the slaves are resigned to their pitiful lives, but something in Lin prevents her from meekly accepting her lot.

She will not bow to her royal owners nor accept the authority of the harsh overseer, even though it means being whipped.

The difference in Lin has not escaped the notice of Queen Morgause's son, Modred. He delights in tormenting Lin, trying to break her iron will. Lin cannot understand why the cruel young prince has so much interest in her and why he won't just kill her as punishment for her defiance.

THE FIREBRAND is the first book in a series about a young girl who learns that she is much more than just an orphaned slave. This book's approach to the legends of King Arthur makes use of the perspective of a slave who has never seen the noble halls of Camelot. It shows how the dream of Camelot affects even people living far away in unspeakable oppression. This makes for an interesting approach to the legends.

THE FIREBRAND is an enjoyable book, whether the reader is familiar with Arthurian legends or not.

The avid reader of books about King Arthur and his knights will recognize names and places mentioned in this title and can fit them into an already familiar tapestry of stories and legends. Those who are unfamiliar with Arthurian lore should also enjoy this book. One need not be a fan of King Arthur to appreciate the story of a slave girl who longs for a better life. Anyone can feel for Lin's many sorrows and rejoice in her precious few triumphs. This book is also full of engaging, well-rounded characters who the reader cannot help but care about, which makes it a page-turner.

This book might not be appropriate for younger readers because it contains adult themes, including descriptions of rape and its aftermath, as well as some coarse language. The biggest problem with the book was that it strings readers along for a very long time with the hope of a final confrontation. Lin is defiant, so she's beaten. When she recovers, she is defiant again and is punished again, only worse. This frustrating pattern repeats itself over and over, while the reader waits for Lin to finally get fed up and fight back in earnest.

However, this is an entertaining book for both fans of Arthurian legends and readers of historical and fantasy fiction. It begins a series in which Lin learns of her true background and faces her destiny. Judging by Book #1 in THE HOUSE OF PENDRAGON series, this should prove to be quite a story.

Reviewed by: K. Osborn Sullivan

In the last half-century, a flood of Arthurian novels have hit the book market. What sets "The Firebrand" apart from all the other books about King Arthur is that this one is told from the perspective of his daughter. King Arthur had a daughter? Well, according to Debra Kemp he did, and that daughter, Lin, is a feisty, strong, female character.

For those interested in the Arthurian Modern Fiction genre, Arthurian novels can generally be divided up into two camps: the fantasy ones where the focus is largely on magic and sorcery, and the historical realism camp that really started with Rosemary Sutcliffe's "Sword at Sunset", trying to recreate the historical King Arthur. Kemp's novels fit into the latter category. There is no use of magic in "The Firebrand". Nor is the focus so much on the historical world of Camelot, but upon the realism of the times. There are references to the Romans having departed Britain a few generations earlier and to the Saxons who threaten Britain's shores. Doubtless, later in the series as the Saxons become a threat, more of these historical elements will appear. The novel's realism centers on the difficulties of life in the sixth century, specifically for slaves, as seen through the eyes of King Arthur's daughter, Lin.

Kemp is not the first person to create a daughter for King Arthur, but her treatment is the most thorough. Some of the suspense of the novel is lost because we know from the back cover, and the frame of the novel, that Lin is King Arthur's daughter, although she does not know this herself. Lin was kidnapped at an early age by Arthur's sister, Morgause, and then it was believed the boat she was on enroute to the Orkney Isles had sunk and she had died. Actually, Morgause had taken her to Orkney and made her a slave. Lin grows up believing she is the daughter of a slave woman, and except for the kindness of her foster-brother David and a few of the other slaves, she knows a life of relentless hardship. When Prince Modred decides specifically to torture her and make her his plaything, her life becomes nearly unbearable, yet Lin is of iron nature, so she refuses to give up until finally she learns the truth of her heritage.

What I actually find most interesting about this novel is the frame that surrounds it. Kemp begins with Lin speaking just after the Battle of Camlann and the death of Arthur and Modred. There is no fantasy here that Arthur will come again, but rather Lin pretends Arthur will return to keep up the hope of the people. Then the book shifts forward a number of years; Lin has been raising her family, not revealing to her own children that they are the grandchildren of the Pendragon. She has journeyed back to Camelot now and is considering taking back reign over the kingdom. It is then that she tells her oldest son her story, of her days as a slave in Orkney and how she found out she is King Arthur's daughter.

Many modern novelists have played with the idea of King Arthur having children beyond Modred. Despite the traditionally melancholic ending to the Arthurian legends, people do not want the story to end and this creation of children is a sign of that desire for the dream of Camelot to live on. The frame of "The Firebrand" makes me curious whether in future novels Kemp will show Lin's life in more detail after the Battle of Camlann--will Lin establish a united kingdom again? Will the story of Camelot have a new ending?

"The Firebrand" provides a fresh voice and perspective on an old story that continually fascinates readers. I look forward to the future installments of the series.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, author of "Iron Pioneers" and "The Queen City", available on Amazon

This novel blends fiction, history and legend into a story that brings to life a new aspect of the legends of Arthur and the Round Table.

The story is told through Lin, who along with her brother Dafydd was born into slavery. The book is of her story, coming of age in a cruel world; of being abused and violated by the kings and queens she was born to serve. Yet through the story, Lin never loses her spirits. She, unlike the other slaves, questions her destiny. She can't accept her life, and she doesn't understand why the others are so passive about it. I came to admire her spirit and spunk; her actions are rebellious and never submissive. She stands up for what she believes in.

Through time we learn all of Lin's story, and how it ties her to the legendary King Arthur. The story is a different twist on the Arthurian legends, and one that I enjoyed the entire way through. I couldn't put it down. It's engrossing, entertaining and very well written.

Two thumbs up.