Posted in Recent Reads

Pendragon by Stephen Lawhead.  - I actually finished reading this at least a month ago, but forgot to write about it!  This is the fourth book in the Pendragon Cycle, but it isn't a continuation of the story.  Rather, it is a retelling of the events in the books Merlin and Arthur, but completely from Merlin's viewpoint.  There are details and events that aren't included in these previous installments in the cycle, and yet in many ways, it feels like reading a different story entirely.  At some points I felt unsure that the timeline of Pendragon really did match up with the events already narrated, but I didn't bother to get out my copy of Arthur to check.  (And I have been known to do that very thing - for instance, when I read Mary Reilly I consulted a copy of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde several times to see that the two stories matched.)  Having read both Book Three and now Book Four of the Pendragon Cycle, I have twice reached the point in the Arthurian story where Arthur's injury appears to be fatal and he is taken to Avallon in hopes of his recovery there.  Familiarity with the legends tells me that Arthur must regain his health and return to rule in the Kingdom of Summer, and so I'm anxious to find out how Lawhead will tell that rest of the story.  In order to find out, I will have to find a copy of the fifth and final book in the cycle, Grail.