51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glorious telling of pre-Arthurian legend..., September 6, 2000
Stephen Lawhead added his own twists to Arthurian legend, in a Christianity-friendly, mythic-realism retelling of the years leading up to the tales of Arthur and his knights that we know and love. "Taliesin" takes place before the time of Merlin, starring Merlin's parents.
Charis is a pampered young princess of Atlantis, a seemingly idyllic civilization reminiscent of Greece. The only jarring note is a blind, seemingly mad prophet who predicts doom will soon fall upon Atlantis, and that the island will sink into the sea. Charis initially doesn't believe him, but upon the sudden, emotionally-scarring death of her mother, she leaves her family and becomes a bull dancer in honor of one of the Atlantean gods. (The scenes where she dances around and over the bull are breathtaking)
But a serious injury prompts her and her well-trained team to retire, and she returns home to find her father Avallach seriously ill, and married to his sly-eyed nurse. Charis now has a younger sister, Morgian, a creepy child heavily influenced by the family advisor, whose initially pleasant personality is sinking deeper into melancholy and darkness. And Charis begins to believe: Atlantis is going to sink.
Meanwhile, as Charis struggles on Atlantis, a famously unlucky young man in Britain finds a baby caught in a fishnet; he hails this as the beginning of his good luck. When he finds a disgraced wet-nurse for baby Taliesin, he falls in love and marries her; his luck continues. Taliesin grows to manhood, intelligent and wise -- and gifted with strange and wonderful powers.
Charis barely escapes Atlantis with her family, arriving on the strange shores of Britain. Though Taliesin's people are hospitable enough, Avallach, Charis and the other "children of Atlantis" are sadly out of place; refined and lovely, in a rough and cold land. Charis is embittered by her many struggles, believing neither in Taliesin's God or in the Atlantean gods. But after he meets her floating in a lake (thus gaining her the title of "Lady of the Lake") Taliesin falls in love with and eventually converts and marries Charis. Though their time together is far too short, they produce one of the greatest men in history...
I'm not entirely certain why it's okay to paganize Arthurian characters, as in "Mists of Avalon," but it's NOT okay to Christanize them. Why is it that when Christians are shown as better than pagans, it's "sugary" and untrue; but when non-Christians are shown as better than Christians, it's a bold statement and worthy of endless applause?
As for historical complaints: it's fiction, for crying out loud! No one knows the "real" story of Arthur, lost in the mists of time. We don't even know if he was a single person, or a collection of mythical and real kings mishmashed together. It's up to authors to interpret and reinterpret. Lawhead never pretends for a moment to be telling anything but a good story. We don't care if there are potatoes and fir trees. It doesn't wreck the book.
Writing style is good and descriptive, giving us accurate ideas of the light-filled, rotten-at-the-core Atlantis and the darker, simpler Britain. There is, aside from blood and death and extreme emotional intensity, nothing objectionable about this book in profanity and sex (none of either).
Charis is probably one of the best female fictional characters I've ever seen. She's strong and insightful, is willing to take matters into her own hands, and doesn't bow to anyone. It's through her resolve and courage that any people escaped from Atlantis; at the same time, she's afraid and embittered. It takes the sweet, relatively unspoiled Taliesin to break through her shell; Taliesin himself is taken from an old legend, and here reformatted into Merlin's father. Somehow we get more of Charis than Taliesin; though the scene where he brings Merlin back to life is simply breathtaking.
This is the start of a beautiful saga, written wonderfully and with great characters. Be sure to read it. Now, on to "Merlin."
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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lawhead's Arthur trilogy has six books?!, May 24, 2003
Lawhead wrote his famous trilogy of Christian fantasy novels on the Arthurian legend:
1 _Taliesin_, 2 _Merlin_ 3 _Arthur_.
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The problem was it had taken so long for Lawhead to get Arthur on the throne, there was too little space now for anything more, except his downfall.
So by popular demand, two volumes were added in the middle of the saga at the time while Arthur reigned in full glory as Britain's high King.
These welcome additional volumes were 4 _Pendragon_ (story of the invading Black Boar- i.e. the Vandal horde) and 5 _Grail_ (story of the revolt against Arthur by one of his own knights in league with hard-hearted witch Morgian).
So here's the revised order to read them to keep the story straight: 1Taliesin, 2Merlin, 3Arthur partI [Pelleas], 3Arthur partII [Bedwys], 4Pendragon, 5Grail, 3Arthur partIII [Aneirin].
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Now the problem was a rather sad situation: at the final end, Arthur is missing, presumed dead, and as always in these retelling of the Arthur legend, there is the vague hint that one day when Britain's need is great, we will see the return of the King.
Hence: one last volume, set in our own perilous future: volume 6 _Avalon_.
Enjoy a wonderful journey!
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Pendragon Saga!!, July 31, 2001
The tales are King Arthur are magnificently told and fashioned into 5 books of the Pendragon Cycle: 'Taliesin', 'Merlin', 'Arthur', 'Pendragon', and 'Grail'.
Lawhead does an excellent job in this first book of this series of books. The first one tells the story of Charis, an Atlantean princess who escapes the devastation of her homeland, the once peaceful kingdom Atlantis. In her refuge, she journeys to the ancient lands of Wales and Britain. There she meets her future love, Taliesin, mystical seer and druid prince. It's between these two lovers that two worlds join together in a land full of chaos and the fate of it's future hangs in the balance. From this union the birth and miracles of Merlin, the fabled magician are manifested. This brings alive the legend of Pendragon, Uther and King Arthur.
Lawhead, often called the 'Celtic Tolkien' brings to life in every detail of it's ancient history and the characters. You experience it with vibrant realness, resonance and passion. This would be an excellent addition to any Arthurian literature and anyone studying ancient history and mythology. Each book is a remarkable tapestry of eloquent and descriptive stories of the Arthurian epic, mysticism and the age of chivalry. The old tale is given a new light that entertains and dazzles. If you like ancient Celtic history and fantasy this is an absolute recommendation!
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