Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable, well researched book with an engaging plot.
Review: For a writer having Stonehenge as a central theme could be a double-edged sword. The history of Stonehenge lies shrouded in mystery, some give it almost mystical powers and others simple suggest it was designed as a meeting place or the venue for ancient parties! Having such a vast blank page could provide an author with either a rich vein to use as a plot or it could lead to a novel containing undisciplined guesswork. Due to both his skills as a writer and the time he invests in research, Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge belongs to the former category. The plot and story line explores the motivational force behind the construction of the monument of Stonehenge. Not only is it strong in it's sense of history, Stonehenge offers a multi-layered approach to the development of characters and their lives. Cornwell's writing is here particularly strong and evocative. This book, although well researched is fiction and it's important to hold onto that fact. However, Cornwell writes with such conviction that at times one could believe that his account of the building of Stonehenge is factual in nature. My only criticisms were perhaps a tendency for Cornwell to over-elaborate and the passing of time-scales in one or two lines. This book is does not have the feel of Sharpe or Starbuck and those readers who expect that style of writing will I feel be disappointed. Stonehenge builds the story line rather than plunges into it. Both forms are valid but with Stonehenge it would be unwise to expect a thrill a minute al la Richard Sharpe. An enjoyable, well researched book with an engaging plot.
Rating:
Summary: A Neolithic swashbuckler!
Review: The only thing harder to research than a historical novel is a pre-historical one. Cornwell has made a serious effort to understand the how the Neolithic looked in southern Britain, then fit plot and characters into that landscape. It's an exciting story, full of duplicity, heroics, deeply held feelings and almost convincing people. Centred, as the title suggests, on the great stone monument on Salisbury Plain, he builds a narrative suggesting the motivation and labour involved in building this ancient site. He uses two trinities to develop his story. One trinity is comprised of brothers who represent material, mysticism and morality. The other is three who, by stretching your imagination, might be Mother, Maiden and Crone of the slassical witchcraft Sisterhood, although those identities shift drastically as the story progresses. The clash of greedy warlords with messianic figures is like something out of Sir Walter Scott. Cornwell's technique makes thrilling reading while upholding modern standards of justice and rewards for the good. The good, of course, don't come through unblemished or painlessly, but they survive. All the excitement and maneuvering raise this book a step above the modern fantasy novel, but the step is a small one. If you're looking for adventure with an unusual twist, this is the book for you. You will be taken back in time, through some spatial adjustment, but most importantly, view a society very different from the one you know. Prepare yourself for a harsh existence while remembering that "progress" is a word with many definitions. Perhaps there's some benefit in reading the "Historical note" at the back first, then delving into Cornwell's sources, before returning to this fictional account. All of his resources are at least as readable as this book, and infinitely more informative, if not as imaginative. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating: 
Summary: A very entertaining hypothesis
Review: I think I read this book in one sitting. This book is delightfully entertaining and very detailed. It is obvious that Cornwell did his homework and researched this topic rather extensively before writing anything. It is true that he has taken some liberties in adding his own opinions, but so do most historians. The plot is captivating and Cornwell's use of words and description make the story come alive in a way that most other stories do not. There were certain points in the story where I actually could feel the pain of the characters - it was scary... not many stories have that effect on me. I highly reccommend this book to anyone who enjoys an intellectually stimulating and exciting book.
Rating:
Summary: Long but necessarily so
Review: I actually liked this book, despite what I felt were rather poor reviews by some other readers. I have read the Warlord Series by Cornwell and although I hated the first book, the other two were thrilling. I ventured into this leary of Cornwell's tendency to overdo the scenery descriptions and his habit of repeating information as if the reader is too dense to have absorbed it the first 10 times. Well, Cromwell held true to these bad habits, but the story moved along reasonably well and kept me interested. I liked the character of Saban right from the start and was eager to find out what happened to this man who Cromwell fictionally credits for the building of Stonehenge although he was truly a simple victim of circumstance. The other characters are also interesting and it is a nice dramatic look at what life may have been like 3000BC. I particularly liked the author's historical notes at the end of the book that stressed the fictionalized account of the building and mentions the story locations by their modern day names. I have been to this area and I was then able to truly visualize the situations. I would only have suggeseted a map at the front of the book as opposed to the enlightenment of this detail at the end of the story. My only other criticism of the story is that a lot of stone erecting takes place before we finally get around to the overly detailed erection of Stonehenge. However, it was interesting in theory and I would imagine that much of this same trial and error really happened before they were able to create Stonehenge. All in all, an interesting book if you want a good historical FICTION. Anyone reading this for history is out of luck - there just isn't anything on which to base an historical work about this monument available for an author to use as a resource
Rating:
Summary: A richly imagined and charactered historical novel.
Review: Stonehenge [2000 B.C.] by Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell's particular literary talent lies in his marvelously rich imagination and ability to extrapolate relevant, intelligent, and highly entertaining stories from the merest and scantest of archeological and historical data. In this novel, he vividly imagines the people who built Stonehenge well before the time of Christ. His characters are always very realistic and well relatable to 21st Century readers. Whether writing of the sea in his Sharpe series or dealing with Arthurian material in his Warlord Chronicles, all with grand stage settings and unforgettable background events, the lives of ordinary people become as true and relevant as the latest breaking news. This present book deals with three brothers as different as brothers can be, but united in their vision of what the great temple we know as Stonehenge should be. Cornwell includes a lot of creative pagan mythology here and the influence of such scholars as Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung can readily be discerned. But don't be misled; this is still an action-packed page-turner as are all of Cornwell's books. Great for those exhausting dog days of August.
Rating:
Summary: A great read.
Review: I bought this book after reading a copy from the library. Its a great addition to any book collection. The story is set during the bronze age, such an archaic and mysterious time. The story is centered around the construction of stonehenge, and though no one knows why it was created, the author puts forward a great fictional explination. The story is fascinating, as with all of Bernard Cornwells books you get a great deal of knowledge from each chapter and you get a real sense of what life is like for the characters portrayed in the book. The late Stone Age - Early bronze age is a time not much is known about. From a few archeological discoveries historians have pieced together a rough idea of how life was for those early humans and Bernard Cornwell takes that one step further in this great book, Stonehenge.
Rating: 
Summary: Stereotypical tale of lust, greed, and construction (?)
Review: This is the story of the construction of Stonehenge itself, as Bernard Cornwell imagines it. It centers on a family of a father and three boys. The father is wise and just, and of course wishes to live with his neighbors in peace, but events have a way of going in different directions. Eventually the father passes from the story, and his three sons struggle for power among themselves, and compete with their neighbors for it too. The three sons might be referred to as the killer, the builder, and the priest, though all three characters do their fair share of killing. The aforementioned killer is evil, and wishes to build the temple at Stonehenge (the name is never used in the story) in order to call on the gods to make him powerful, so he can conquer his neighbors. The priest is something of a lunatic, born crippled, who rants, has visions, and drives everyone else with a relentless dream of finishing the temple in a particular fashion at a particular time. The builder is the story's protagonist, a simple man who wants only to be left alone with his family, in peace. The book has several problems, not the least of which is the aforementioned frame of the story. It struck me as a version of several plots from Shakespeare and other classic literature, dressed up with ancient warrior tattoos and these rocks they push around. Many people have commented about the length of the story, though I don't think that's entirely fair: the book weighs in at 434 pages, of which the last few are an afterword. The problem isn't length, exactly, it's that the plot takes a long while to get anywhere. Even more annoying than that is the issue of religion. The priests apparently decide that they want something, and then tell the people that the gods have decreed it. This makes for many irritating characters and events, and you never really get away from them. While I enjoyed this book, I think (know) that I have and will enjoy Mr. Cornwell's Sharpe series a great deal more.
Rating: 
Summary: Stonehenge
Review: I started this book with great anticipation as I like novels about the pre-historic era-and I like Mr. Cornwell's writing. However, I was extremely disappointed. It seemed very contrived to me, very long, very boring. I did finish it-I kept thinking it would get better. It didn't. I enjoyed the warlord series, the starbuck series and the sharpe series. All excellent. This one? Don't bother.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing!
Review: I really enjoyed this. The author uses a lot of details from the actual archaeological record of Stonehenge and the surrounding area and builds up a fictional tale of how it all could have happened. There is a lot of icky violence (primitive warfare and oogy religious stuff) but I'd recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Too long!
Review: I thought the book was good but it went in great lengths and I felt that there was little character development.
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