The Eagles' Brood by Jack Whyte

Books Completed: 32
Completion Date: February 25, 2007
Publication Year: 1994
Pages: 639
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 3 to A Dream of Eagles cycle or The Camulod Chronicles

Born of the chaos of the Dark Ages, the Dream of Eagles produced a king, a country and an everlasting legend—Camelot

Most know him as Merlyn; all call him Commander. Caius Merlyn Britannicus is responsible for the safety of the colony known as Camulod, and for the welfare of the colonists who look to him for guidance, leadership, justice and salvation. Uther Pendragon, the man who will father the legendary Arthur, is the cousin Merlyn has known and loved since their births—four hours apart on the same day, the year the legions left Britain. As different as can be, they are inseparable: two faces of the same coin. In a world torn apart by warfare and upheaval, each is the other’s certainty until a vicious crime—one that strikes at the roots of Merlyn’s own life—drives a wedge between them.

To read my review for this on Twisted Kingdom, click here.
This is the third book I have read by this author. To view the reviews for the other two books click here and here

Authors Gender:
Male: 6
Female: 26

Book Two in the Chunkster Challenge and Book Five in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge.

The Singing Sword - Jack Whyte [August/06]

This is the second book in the fantastic Jack Whyte series.

From the back of the book:

It is 395 A.D., and as the Roman armies withdraw from Britain, anarchy threatens the colony that will one day be known as Camelot. Creating their own army and joining with the Celtic people of King Ullic Pendragon, the colonists emerge as a new breed of Britons, ready to forge the government that will be the Round Table and its Knights and to prepare the groundwork for the future coronation of Arthur, first Hight King of Britain.

With all the drama, passion and violence of England's most vibrant history, THE SINGING SWORD continues Jack Whyte's bestselling chronicle of the dream that gave birth to an enduring legend.

I think most people think I am crazy when I tell them I am in love with Jack Whyte. It is his writing I love of course. It is very rare that I can read a book by the same author in a row. It is taking all my will-power to wait until next month to start the next one.

Lots of people look at Jack Whyte as a male-orientated author. I will start off firstly by saying, if you are looking for a romance novel you are not going to find one here. There are a couple brief scenes where their is some action, but I don't think it is enough to attract someone that is looking for a great deal of romance. The majority of the cast of characters are men, which normally would turn me off from the book entirely, because I like to know that women are important. The woman in the novel, as well as book one, though, make it all worthwhile.

The narrator is once again Plautus. He started out with limited beginnings, but then he met Caius, the man who put this new community into action, and suddenly he was someone. I was so impressed with this book because the characters seem so real to me. When something would happen to Plautus, I could feel for the suffering of his wife, Luceiia. She was a strong character, but her husband seemed to bring trouble to himself wherever he went. Plautus, though, would do anything for the safety of this community they call home. I thought he was a wonderful narrator for both novels, but since he is getting older, I am assuming someone else will take the reins in the book 3.

There are so many things that happen in this book that I just can't talk about, because this novel lays so much framework for the story of Camelot and the young king that will one day rule it. You will notice from the blurb I posted above that the Pendragon's are already in position. In this novel, Ullic Pendragon's son marries Plautus's daughter. Then, on practically the same day, Ullic's sister marries Caius's son. So, the union has been struck, the name is in existence, soon will be the time for Arthur to be born. The groundwork has been laid in this novel, as things were explained you could see their bearing on the Arthurian stories you already know.

I think this series is very well-written. It catches my attention and holds on to it for large periods of time. I find myself drawn into this world and that is a good thing because series also end up boring me, I hope that this never happens with this one. I have my fingers crossed that I make it to the end with the same level of wow I start it with. I just can't say enough good things about this series.

4.5/5

The Skystone - Jack Whyte [July/06]

Jack Whyte is Canadian and rather well known around the globe for his novels that tell the story leading up to and about the legendary King Arthur. This novel is the first book in his A Dream of Eagles series.

Born of the nightmare chaos of the Dark Ages, the Dream of Eagles produced a King, a country, and an everlasting legend - Camelot.

Publius Varrus is a veteran Roman officer and a maker of swords. In the early fifth century, amidst the violent struggles between the people of Britain and the invading Saxons, Picts and Scots, he and his former general, Caius Britannicus, forge the government and military system that will become known as the Round Table, and initiate a chain of events that will lead to the coronation of the High King we know today as Arthur.

Rich in historical detail, brimming with drama, intrigue and passion, The Skystone gives new resonance to an enduring and powerful legend.

Many people might have noticed that I have a very strong desire to support my local authors. I don't even remember where this book came from, judging by the shape I would think a yard sale or flea market. It has been in the to be read pile for a while. I think I thought there was no possible way that I could buy one random book by him and have it be book 1, but low and behold, my one random book is book 1.

I have always had a fascination with the story of Arthur, since I was very little. I heard someone talking about this series the other day, and I decided that it was about time that I give it a try. I really liked it, and you know what, I don't know why. It happens before Arthur even enters the stage, and when I really think about it, not a lot happened in it, but I loved it. I haven't been reading as much as I would like to be, so this was an accomplishment for me this month.

Anyways, the novel follows Publius Varrus. Arthur has not even been born yet, the wars with the Saxons that would mark most of Arthur's life are just getting started, and the Roman Empire is only now starting to feel the breaks. These are the things that Arthur was supposed to fix, even if it didn't happen exactly that way. Publius is an interesting character. You have to take in the time period to get to like him because there are moments in that book that I just can't stand him. He is appropriate for the early fifth century, but one can not always let men and their ways of dealing with things slide.

One of the things I must applaud Whyte for is his two female main characters that are associated with Publius. They are both strong, independant women for their time. That was a risky thing for Whyte to do. Publius's eventual wife even owns her own lands and businesses, which she inherited from an aunt. This was a very rare thing for the time, and it made the novel more compelling. Even when I try to take history into consideration I can not get passed the fact that women are not meant to be treated the way they can be treated at this time. Subordinate to men, it is just my 21st-century thinking that is at times hard to push aside. So, I was impressed with Whyte for not having meek women characters.

This novel touches on the wars that the Romans were having against the Saxons and Picts. It talks about battle strategies and other war-time things that were prevalant at the time. It is so interesting to think that the settlement that Publius and his friends are putting together in this novel is the stepping stones for what will one day be Camelot. The place that everyone has at least heard of, if not having read various Arthurian retellings. But why this book compelled me to read it so much, I don't know. I was so hooked I was reading it slowly, not because it was bad, but because the book store here didn't have book 2 so I wanted to finish it near the arrival of the copy I ordered in.

This book is also a testament to what life was like in the 5th century without technology. Publius is a blacksmith, and he explains the process of making swords and things in such a way that I was actually interested. And then there are his Skystones, what we know as meteroites. I just love how the men back then spend their time trying to understand where these rocks come from and how it is possible with them thinking that they are the only planet and that heaven is the only thing you find when you go up. I really felt like I was inside the mind of a man from this time period. You will find, though, that somethings will never change, but even still, Jack Whyte wrote an excellent start to what I hope is going to be an interesting series of novels.

5/5