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Summary: A Different Take on the Arthurian Legend
Review: Upon the completion of Jack Whyte's "The Skystone" I was amazed by the originality of the story. Many authors take the Arthurian story and just tell it again in their own words. This is not the case for jack Whyte's epic. In fact, Whyte here starts his own Arthurian story as he starts from before King Arthur's time, in a time where the Romans are about to lose their control of Britian. Whyte's story is compelling and complicated and weaves like a luch epic. The novel, which is the first in the epic series the Camulod Chronicles, by the way, is told in the first person through the eyes of Publius Varrus. Varrus is a Roman soldier and "The Skystone" tells his story during an important historical time for Britain. The book opens up with a raid against the British, and Varuus befriends military general Brittanicus. With a group of soldiers they are on the run and get into many brawls. Varrus then takes his own path and goes to his hometown to take over his family business of metal working. Varrus is then on the move again and eventually falls in love with a woman. From the beginning to the end "The Skystone" entertains. The greatest aspect of this whole novel is the realism of the events. Similar things did take place back during the ages when Rome was in control of much of Europe and this historical novel, or historical fantasy if you will, holds up to the first part of it's name in being historical. The reader will learn much on the Roman army and how it functioned and much about Britian during this fascinating time in history. The major thing that I didn't like about the book were the characters. I found most of the characters to be one dimensional, and while likeable, I couldn't care for any of them. Even though we are put into Publius Varrus' shoes, as the book is told in first person, there is still not any substance in which to develop any "bonding" with the character, and the other characters as well, for that matter. This is the reason that I detracted one star from this otherwise great novel. This book is an Arthurian novel but doesn't even introduce anybody like Arthur or Merlin. This is the tale of Varrus, who is a grandfather of Arthur, and this is the beginning of how he and his men make the Britain that is the medieval setting of King Arthur's court. One interesting thing that Whyte touches upon is the Lady of the Lake. Whyte's view of this figure of Arthurian fiction is a very interesting one.
Despite its flaws "The Skystone" is a master of the historical novel. Jack Whyte weaves an interesting tale full of politics, intrigue, and a bit of adventure to keep you happily turning pages. This is a must for any fan of Arthurian fiction. Happy Reading!
Rating: 
Summary: A fabulous read--ranks with the best of genre. A MUST READ.
Review: Great book, new twists on the genre with a view on the end of the Roman era that's a refreshing twist---great lead in's for the 3 generations preceeding Arthur's time. I was hesitant at first, but was entranced after reading half-way thru Book 1 (the Skystone) so much so that I bought the other books in the series, up through UTHER. Ranks with the best of Mary Stewart or Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle series. Jack Whyte paints a vivid picture of the life, times, and influences of the fall of the Roman occupation and emergence of the 'Britons.' A great read. Get the whole series--you'll read through these quickly!
Rating:
Summary: great series - leaves you wanting more
Review: I have recently finished the entire Camulod Chronicles in a matter of a few weeks after picking up one of the books by chance. While, as with any books of much length (these are 450 pages and up), there were a few spots that dragged, on the whole, I found the entire series not only entertaining, but educational as well. My only comment is now that I am done with the series, I don't know what to do with myself. A definite must read for anyone with an interest in Arthurian legends. I enjoyed the different take on a familiar story.
Rating: 
Summary: Skystone Disappointing
Review: I am a long-time fan of fiction relating to King Arthur. However, I was very disappointed with Whyte's work. The sexual content is gratuitous; it did not relate to the plot in any way. The explicit descriptions of Varrus' frequent sexual encounters read like a male smut novel, Whyte's own fantasies. The female characters were flat. Luceiia did not live up to the foreshadowing of a strong, independent woman. As soon as Varrus saw her, the descriptions consisted of his lust for her physical beauty, and after the two slept together, Luceiia quickly faded into the background.
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Summary: Arthurian Values?
Review: I just finished reading The Skystone and purchased the rest of the series, which is an endorsement of Jack Whyte's story telling ability. The Arthurian legend inspired many western values such as the importance of individual spiritual quests and the personal integrity and heroism they require in the face of injustice and societal upheaval. But that does not mean I was pleased with everything in the book. Most weaknesses are enumerated by the other customer reviews. I don't want to repeat those, but would like to highlight one I found disturbing. Claudius Seneca, the arch villain, respresents all that has gone wrong with the Roman Empire. He is wealthy from inheritance, a stunning physical specimen and at the same time cruel, narcissistic, and careless in the use of personal and political power. But what makes him even darker to Publius Varrus and I suspect the author, is that Claudius is a homosexual. In fact the story implies his sexual orientation and Rome's tolerance of it as the root cause of the Roman Empire's downfall. The character is never presented without a reference to his sexual orientation and that is always done in disgust. To compound this problem, Publius Varrus gets rid of Claudius in a lynching as vicious as anyting out of African-American history or current American-Gay history. Publius to my mind descends to the level of Claudius. This act of revenge is presented as an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But it really returns unspeakable cruelty for unspeakable cruelty. Is that justice? Is that the message of the Arthurian myths? Remember, Publius (does his name mean "the public"), is the hero of this story and King Arthur's grandfather. It makes you wonder where Arthur got his ideals. My point is that gays do not have a corner on the market for cruelty, egotism and abuse of power. These qualities are not functions of sexual orientation. I wonder if Claudius had been a heterosexual, would the lynching have been as presentable or as acceptable to the author and reader? All this leaves me wondering if Jack Whyte is spewing personal venom with regard to modern gays. Nonetheless, I liked the book. But I will be watching to see if this theme recurs.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT Potential - poor delivery with gratuitous sex
Review: Like so many modern works of fiction, this book starts out with a good premise and has the capability of capturing the reader and hooking him or her into a long pleasant series. The characters tell a tale of the transition and fall of the Roman empire and of the birth of the British nation. So far, so good. However, there are two extended passages of graphic descriptions of sexcapades that render the entire work unsuitable for the early teen audience that could have become fascinated by the exposition of the main topic. I would NOT recommend this to my thirteen year old daughter nor to my sixteen year old son because of these largely unnecessary, totally inappropriate, and unfortunately all too descriptive sections which MAKE NO CONTRIBUTION TO THE BOOK. This book is a reflection of the sad state of modern art wherein authors and directors feel compelled to include graphic details that distract from rather than improve their plot lines. Don't waste your time.
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Summary: Amazing Historical Fiction Series
Review: The Camulod Chronicles are amazing. This series is one of the most best I have ever read. Jack Whyte ties together the end of the Roman era with beginning of the dark ages in rich detail-- covering such things as the evolution from the short sword to the broad sword and the transformation from infantry to heavy calvary. While related to and providing the foundation for the King Arthur legend, these books tell their own story and are historically based. There are no wizards, dragons or anything magical -- everything has a rational historical basis. What the book details is invading hordes of saxons, wild bands of long bow carrying celts, ax wielding scots and at the center of it all a community, Camulod, based on roman ideals striving to survive in England after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Excellent reading, you can't put them down once you start. I finished the whole series in two months.
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Summary: Please try Mists of Avalon or anything else...
Review: 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.
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Summary: two parts historical fiction, one part myth and more to come
Review: I fell upon this book completely by surprise. Arthur stories are great. I have read up to book 4. This series I particularly like how the author has grounded the arthur myths and beginnings in history. No over-the-top magic to be found, but that's what makes it great. The series actually starts a few generations before Arthur. Though the books currently end with Arthur taking the throne, Jack Whyte has stated that he is continuing work on the series till its rightful end. Plenty goodies to be told and retold.
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Summary: A creative view of Camelot
Review: By the latter half of the fourth century, anyone with a fraction of intelligence could see the pending apocalypse as the Roman Empire is collapsing. Places on the outer rim are becoming increasingly dangerous as civilization nears collapse. Many of the nobles flee for the sanctuary of Rome, but those who remain behind in places like Britain struggle to survive.
Gaius Publius Varrus recognizes the imminent collapse and worries about the future of Britain. With his closest friend General Caius Cornelius Britannicus, Publius decides it is time for Britain to begin its own heritage that breaks away from Rome into something greater before his land descends into an age of darkness. Honor over betrayal and justice over unfairness is his goal symbolized by the forging of a special sword made from the rock that fell from the heavens so that his great-grandchildren can thrive in a wondrous world.
THE SKYSTONE, book one of Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles, is a fabulous pre-Arthurian tale that reads more like a historical fiction due to the inclusion of the mundane everyday life especially that of the soldier. Done in a first person narrative that is told in retrospect by Publius looking back over seven decades, the engaging story line is loaded with historical tidbits that make this book a must read for the Camelot crowd and the ancient historical buffs. Though the women are not quite as developed as the men, readers will want to obtain book 2 THE SINGING SWORD that continues to chronicle the pre-legend days of yore. Harriet Klausner
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