The Singing Sword : The Dream of Eagles, Volume 2

Rating:
Summary: This is a good one.
Review: A well written book and extremely entertaining. I Read it out of order not realizing it was a series, but now will order the rest of the books. Not a fantasy book - there is no magic which makes it more believable than other books on the same subject. The early books of the series are entertaining and provide an explanation how all the things in the Arthur legend came about. This book starts out at least one generation before Arthur is born. Just because Arthur is not around though doesn't take anything away from this read.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book in the series...
Review: Another excellent work by Jack Whyte detailing the time before Arthur and the creation the mythical Excalibur! I can't wait to get into the third book and see what happens next.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book in the series...
Review: Another excellent work by Jack Whyte detailing the time before Arthur and the creation the mythical Excalibur! I can't wait to get into the third book and see what happens next.

Rating:
Summary: Ever hear of a SPATHA???
Review: As a story, this book is pretty entertaining. The events in and of themselves are exciting and hold the reader's attention. But there is little flow within the plot- events are isolated and unconnected in a patchwork fashion, and there is no buildup of the story to any forseeable conclusion. Still, I would give the book four stars if not for the most glaring error- one of the fundamental tenets of the book is that mounted cavalry have no weapons with which to fight effectively, and the author makes it some cathartic epiphany when they 'invent' the longsword, assuming that the Romans were so stupid that in over a thousand years' experience in warfare they never thought to make longer blades for cavalry officers. When in fact the cavalry longsword, or spatha, had been in use almost as long as the short gladius (not gladium!!!) May seem a minor point, but as a sword buff, it really annoyed me. An entertaining read, but the historically educated beware!

Rating:
Summary: Ever hear of a SPATHA???
Review: As a story, this book is pretty entertaining. The events in and of themselves are exciting and hold the reader's attention. But there is little flow within the plot- events are isolated and unconnected in a patchwork fashion, and there is no buildup of the story to any forseeable conclusion. Still, I would give the book four stars if not for the most glaring error- one of the fundamental tenets of the book is that mounted cavalry have no weapons with which to fight effectively, and the author makes it some cathartic epiphany when they 'invent' the longsword, assuming that the Romans were so stupid that in over a thousand years' experience in warfare they never thought to make longer blades for cavalry officers. When in fact the cavalry longsword, or spatha, had been in use almost as long as the short gladius (not gladium!!!) May seem a minor point, but as a sword buff, it really annoyed me. An entertaining read, but the historically educated beware!

Rating:
Summary: Another winner
Review: I loved this 2nd book of the CAMULOD series just as much,if not more,than the first.These people are so real that they seem like members of your own family. Again,the pace is breathtaking and being there at the very beginning of the building of Camelot,adds to the excitement of what you know is coming in the future.Now for number 3!!!

Rating:
Summary: A very good, readable book which mixes fact and fiction well
Review: I loved this book because it added a great deal to my knowledge of a little known period of history. Great book!

Rating:
Summary: I returned the book after 3 days & 50 pages.....
Review: I must be getting old since I've never done this sort of thing before, but I was so frustrated after about 50 pages of this book that I brought it back to the store. Expecting a solid historical novel set in the declining days of Roman Britain, I found that it started off smartly enough...lots of action tautly presented (apparently essential in today's market if you want to see your stuff published). But the tale didn't hold together. Told from the protagtonist Publius Varus' point of view, the story sputters along as our hero leads an expedition into the British hinterlands to trade for iron (becoming ever scarcer as the Roman occupation winds down), stops to slaughter some invading Celts and burn their ship, rushes back to sit by the fire with his superior Caius Britannicus (of solid, old Roman stock & an old friend) kvetching about the aging process, etc., dallying gratuitously with the lascivious wife of another friend (who finally kills her in a rage along with everyone else in his household and himself), and listening to his own fine upstanding mate bemoan the moral deterioration in their little Roman colony as a harbinger of terrible things to come! All in the first 50 pages or so -- I couldn't take much more of it and shut the book, rushing it back to the store to reclaim my cash. Haven't given up on historical novels but this one was clearly a dud. If it's this bad in the beginning what can you hope for as the tale progresses? I continue to wonder how some of this stuff gets published. (By the way, I gave it a "2" rather than a "1" only because it was written in a professional and workmanlike way, even if it wasn't much of a tale. I reserve the lowest grade for those books, like Coldsmith's Runestone which are so badly written they are laughable!) ---- Stuart W. Mirsk

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately this one didn't work for me!
Review: I must be getting old since I've never done this sort of thing before, but I was so frustrated after about 70 pages of this book that I brought it back to the store. Expecting a solid historical novel set in the declining days of Roman Britain, I found that it started off smartly enough . . . lots of action tautly presented (apparently essential in today's market if you want to see your stuff published). But the tale just didn't catch fire. Told from the protagtonist Publius Varrus' point of view, the story sputters along as our hero leads an expedition into the British hinterlands to trade for iron (becoming ever scarcer as the Roman occupation winds down), stops to slaughter some invading Celts and burn their ship, rushes back to sit by the fire with his superior Caius Britannicus (of solid, old Roman stock and an old friend) to decry the aging process, etc., then dallying gratuitously with the lascivious wife of another friend (who finally kills her in a rage, along with everyone else in his household and himself), and listening to his own fine upstanding mate bemoan the moral deterioration in their little Roman colony as a harbinger of terrible things to come! All in the first 70 pages or so -- I couldn't take much more of it and shut the book, rushing it back to the store to reclaim my cash. Haven't given up on historical novels but this one clearly didn't work for me. Perhaps I am just growing less patient as my own aging process sets in. Still many others here liked the book so perhaps I just didn't stay with it long enough to give it a fair chance. The truth is my eyes aren't what they used to be so I don't want to waste them reading things which don't take off in some fashion for me. And this one just didn't. -- SWM

Rating:
Summary: And now a less bombastic take.
Review: I must first mention that I personally rate this book at four 1/2 stars(The Skystone being 5 stars). However,I will officially rate this book at five so I can offset the off base incomprehension in this forum. There is an unnervingly realistic human aspect to this story which many people do not find confortable to confront. When in denial of human fraility, it is easy to dismiss a story when the main character you are pulling for gives into a wretched temptation or goes along with activities that are contradictory to there moral inclination. I believe that Mr. Whyte's story is more then realistic historical fiction. It also is realistic human fiction. When a story conveys that kind of realism on both fronts, it makes for excellent reading. That is what sets these chronicles apart from most other Authurian fiction. Highly recommended.