The Skystone : The Dream of Eagles Vol. 1 (Camulod Chronicles)

Rating:
Summary: More historical fiction than fantasy
Review: I picked up this book in the fantasy section, but it seems misplaced. I become King Arthur-fatiqued long ago, but this book captured my attention with a much different take on the legend. Whyte has written this book around the question "What true events could explain what has evolved into the popular legend of Arthur?"

The breakdown of the Roman occupation of Britain is extremely interesting, and the book is worth reading for this alone. Since none of the characters in this book figure into the Arthurian legend, the story stands by itself. If you read the next few volumes, the myth will begin to unfold.

This book is Whyte's most original and my favorite. For anyone interested in a novel of early Britain, I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Bad writing, polemical
Review: What a disappointment! I requested this book for Christmas, but after about 125 pages I pitched it. In addition to bad writing, it became clear the author had a political agenda in writing it. Not that injecting personal points of view is inappropriate; T.H. White does it brilliantly in his Once and Future King and Book of Merlin. It's just that the worldview Jack Whyte advocates is adolescent, ignorant and simplistic. I won't know how Whyte will treat the complex mythopoeic stories of Merlin and Arthur; I hope with a lot more depth and nuance than he began his series.

Rating:
Summary: TMI (to much information)
Review: When I pick a book, I usually find it by walking amlessly around a book store or library. This book was no exception. I read a viriety of different books, and I must say this was one of the better books that I've read.

Skystone is a good read, all-in-all. There are about 200 pages of usless descriptions as far as I'm concerned, but for the most part this is a really interesting read.

This book also has great action. There are quite a few bloody and gory chapters (and even more sexually-explicit ones), and I think just about anyone with some time on their hands (and who doesn't mind a bit of a long read) would like this book.