Rating: 
Summary: Gritty Realism without the magic
Review: As a prospective Master's student in English literature, and a medievalist, I read "The Skystone" and found it an interesting alternative to the fantasy re-writings of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table. It starts on a special note, with the times prior to the coming of Arthur, which reminds you of the apocalypse that Arthur seems to initiate as a saviour-like figure in Celtic and post-Roman history. I found the angle from which it is narrated--the world-weary voice of Publius Varrus as he recounts and re-writes the past--a particularly interesting attempt to start off, where the book becomes another of the treatises that writers use to make a defence against amnesia and to affirm the selective process through which memory moves. The book is lacking in the neo-paganism of Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon", and the fusion of quantum science, Norse mythology and a comparative approach towards religions that marks A.A Attanasio's fiction on Arthur, starting with "The Dragon and the Unicorn". But it makes up for it through its emotional depth of character, especially in Publius Varrus's ability to accommodate various experiences and ambivalent emotions in his narrations. One does ask if the issues of historical truth and representation hamper our appreciation of the novel itself, but we are aware of the risks that writers are taking upon themselves in revising history, and so, that issue may be peripheral.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a classic
Review: Jack Whyte has mixed legend with history to bring the best tales of the Arthurian myths. The Skystone introduces the reader to Publius Varrus and Caius Britannicus, the founders of Camulod and Arthur's great grandfathers. The book is written from the eyes of a Roman soldier, Varrus, at the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. Varrus meets Caius saving Caius' life while on duty in Africa. Varrus discovers Caius is to be his commander in Briton. A strong bond of friendship grows between the soldiers and Caius shares his dream with Varrus of starting his own colony in Briton. The end is coming, and once the Romans pull out of Briton, it's each man for himself to defend against the Saxons, Hiberians, and Scotii. Jack Whyte has filled this book with plenty of military tactics, battles, politics and religion at the end of the 4th century to keep this book "real". He also introduces us to the birth of new weapons and defenses. This was the book I've been looking for ages to read. Fabulous!
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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!!
Review: When I first saw this book my initial reaction was "Not another take on the King Arthur myth!" Now that I've read it, I must say, this isn't just another take on the myth. This is the Arthur Myth in a whole new light. Jack Whyte presents Caius Brittanicus and Publius Varrus, the Roman forbearers of King Arthur and founders of Camulod. the novel starts off with the penetration of Hadrians wall by the Barbarian Hordes and takes us up to the end of the 4th Century. In it you will meet Picus Brittanicus, father of Merlin, and learn how Excalibur came to be. The characters are totally believeable and real. Each one has his/her faults as well as his/her strong points. What I loved about this book is the fact that Whyte took his time and painstakingly recreated the Roman World. His description of the battles, the Roman Army, Roman life... It was all fantastic. This is more of a historical fiction than a fantasy novel, so if you are looking for wizards and warlocks, you will be disappointed. I must say that some parts of this novel, and certainly in the ones that follow, contain "adult" themes. You might want to consider this before allowing young adults to read it. Finally, the true measure of the first novel in a series is it's ability to get you excited about the next installment. As soon as I finished book one I immediately picked up book2, so it's a hit!
Rating:
Summary: An intriguing entry in the Arthurian legend cannon
Review: This is a wonderful novel that satisfied both my interest in history and Arthurian legend. At first one would not expect the back story of Camelot (or Camulod) to be as intriguing as tales of the knights of the Round Table. However, this tale of life in Britain during the fall of Rome, and it's believable cast of wonderful characters, sets a solid base for the future rise of the heroes Uther and Arthur. I was excited to find such realism in setting and the feelings of the characters. Whyte does an excellent job describing both the excitement and monotony in everyday life of soldiers, women, peasants and noblemen in the Middle Ages. This realism, which allows the reader to not only become drawn in but relate to the characters in ways that does not often happen in fantasy novels, makes the whole adventure of the book seem much more, not less, legendary. This book came to me highly recommended, and I recommend it in turn. Read this book before others in the series if you are serious about continuity. One warning, though: after reading this you may find you are unable to stop reading this series until you have reached the last book.
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: Excellent
Review: A great read for any fan of Arthurian legend!! The book intertwines the history of Roman occupied Britain with the legend of Excalibur and Arthur seamlessly. It's an engaging tale that I got easily wrapped up in. You learn so much about the characters through the wonderful writing. I didn't want to put it down until I got to the end, and then I just picked up the next book in the series and kept on reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Big Disapointment
Review: I picked this up looking for a good summer read, and hoping to catch on to a new series. The premise looked promising,as well, and I will read anything with Romans in it. Well, while the premise is great, I felt I was reading 500 pages of story setup, with characters who sounded more like 20th century intellectuals than the people of the place and times. Story segments that could have been suspenseful where revealed over way to many Dinner conversations. My Dinner with Britanicus in Londinium would have been a better title. Still, the setup is fascinating enough that I will give the series another chance and get the sequel. Maybe the setup will be worth it. For now, I am just happy I borrowed this one, rather than bought it.
Rating:
Summary: BAD!
Review: USA
I find the praise for this book contained in many of these reviews to be absolutely inexplicable. I don't care whether it was historically accurate--Arthur is a legend, after all. I actually like sex and violence, so I have no problem with that. What I don't like are cardboard characters, lame story-lines, hackneyed plots. To me it doesn't matter whether Whyte knows how swords were made in late Roman Britain. What matters is that he should convince me that he knows. He fails utterly. This is a hodgepodge of lame action sequences and a tedious Horatio Alger story--the veteran protagonist conveniently discovers whatever he needs buried somewhere whenever he needs it...mixed with a bit of weird survivalist myth which presumably foreshadows the dark ages to come. The central love relationship of the book is so simplistic and poorly imagined as to be insulting to the reader. What kind of writing are this books fans used to reading? Weekly World News? I'm not saying that this couldn't make decent entertainment for early teens, but compared to solid and entertaining Arthurian stuff like Bradley's Mists of Avalon or Attanasio's series or Gillian Bradshaw's series? Or several others? In no way does Whyte breathe life into the characters or the era which he so thinly imagines. About the only thing you can say good about this book is that you can get through it in a few hours, typical of books with such poor derivative prose and hackneyed story lines. A good thing it's a quick read--about the only thing about Arthur that's even hinted at in this book is the ORE which may be used to make Excalibur. Great suggestion that because Whyte skips magic--funny since magic always seemed kind of important in Arthur legends--this should be treated as historical fiction. Big deal. He's just as pathetic in comparison to great historical fiction like Patrick O'Brien, Dorothy Dunnett, or Alfred Duggan as he is in comparison to great or even just decent fantasy writers(Duggan actually did a much more sophisticated and thoroughly imagined real-historical-Arthur novel). If you are over 13 and/or read a book a month, you should stay away from this shlock.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read Interpretation
Review: My father bought me this book when it was published back in 96 and it delighted me at the time. Ever since it has burgeoned into an entirely credible explanation of the Aurthur myth. Indeed, the mutation of the Roman town of Camulodunum to Camulod, to Camelot is, despite it fictional setting, one of the potentially better explanations for the historical fact that I have ever heard ventured.
Historical plausibility aside, Jack Whyte's Skystone is one of the finest Arthurian historical series available. His attention to historical detail weaves superbly in with the legend and romance of Arthurian chivalry espoused by Thomas Malory to produce a story that is as thrilling as it is magical.
The Skystone is the story of two Romans - the grizzled Publius Varrus and his ex-commander - Caiu Britannicus who remain in Britain in the 4th century A.D. as the Roman legions withdraw with Stilicho towards the heart of the troubled empire. Against this ucertain and turbulent backdrop these two erstwwhile bastions of nobility found a colony called Camulod to safekeep the Ramon-British peoples from the threatening presence on the Gaulish and Nordic mainlands. Varrus tells his story as a detailed reminiscence, culminating in the foundation of Camulod and the discovery of the skystone - a meteorite - from which he crafts both a dagger and a sword - to become the famous Exaclibur in later installments. Throughout we see a people struggling for survival, with great organisational skills, heart and courage as they attempt to reconcile the ordered Roman way of life with the newly reimposed celtic lifestyle. A firm rock in a sea of change, into which a sword is placed that symbolises hope for the future generations.
Jack Whyte has lent a wholly plausible historical air to the Arthur legends to the degree that it could become a history as it offers more reason over established historical scholarship. Fictional it may be, but entirely credible it remains. This is one interpretation that should be read.
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