Pendragon Cycle – serie

Aurelia:Last witness of an elder time, handmaid of the age to come.It was a time of the end of empire. The world was in turmoil. The Romans were abandoning Britain, leaving the remaining servants of empire to try to stem the tide of chaos. Aurelia was one such, the child of a prefect, and wife of another. The entire world had changed around her. How could she raise her sons to thrive in such a world?Everywhere, it seemed, the old, well-ordered realm she had been born into was passing away to be replaced by…what?It was that question her sons, Aurelian and Arthur, with the help of Merlin, were to answer.…

They called him unfit to rule, a lowborn, callow boy, Uther’s bastard. But his coming had been foretold in the songs of the bard Taliesin. And he had learned powerful secrets at the knee of the mystical sage Merlin.In order to bring about the Summer Kingdom—the reign of peace and prosperity foreseen by Taliesin—Arthur must first unite the petty British kings under his banner as High King and Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty. A period of intense warfare and considerable treachery follows with Arthur narrowly prevailing, greatly aided by Merlin’s guidance and counsel. But that is only the beginning…Wave upon wave of barbarian troops, traitorously assisted by some of the defeated British kings, batter Arthur’s depleted forces. Once again, following an epic struggle against terrible odds, the High King prevails. Peace reigns, the Summer Kingdom flowers, but only for a season.Soon Arthur will face his greatest test—a deadly trap set by the sorceress Morgian with his beloved Queen Gwenhwyvar as the bait…

Last witness of an elder time, handmaid of the age to come. It was a time of the end of empire. The world was in turmoil. The Romans were abandoning Britain, leaving the remaining servants of empire to try to stem the tide of chaos. Aurelia was one such, the child of a Magistrate, and wife of a Legate. The entire world was changing around her. How could she raise her sons to thrive in such a world? Everywhere, it seemed, the old, well-ordered realm she had been born into was passing away to be replaced by . . . what? It was that question her sons, Aurelius and Uther—with the help of Merlin—were born to answer.

"Reminiscent of C. S. Lewis . . . Highly recommended." —Library JournalA magnificent epic of cataclysmic upheaval and heroic love in a breathless age of mythic wondersIt was a time of legend, when the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. While, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for two thousand years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis.From the award-winning author of THE DRAGON KING TRILOGY comes a majestic tale of breathtaking scope and haunting beauty. It is the remarkable adventure of Charis—the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land—and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. A story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds amid the fires of chaos, and spawns the miracles of Merlin . . . and Arthur the king!

"Though Lawhead brilliantly creates an authentic and vivid Arthurian Britain, he never forsakes the sense of wonder that has graced the legend throughout the ages."—Publishers WeeklyAt the dawn of his reign, a young king confronts his destiny—and must prove his greatness . . . or lose a realm.Arthur is King—but treachery runs rampant throughout the beleaguered Isle of the Mighty. Darkest evil descends upon Britain’s shores in many guises. Fragile alliances fray and tear, threatening all the noble liege has won with his wisdom and his blood. His most trusted counselor—the warrior, bard and kingmaker whom legend will name Merlin—is himself to be tested on a mystical journey back through his own extraordinary past. So in a black time of plague and pestilence, it is Arthur who must stand alone against a great and terrible adversary. For only this way can he truly win immortality—and the name to treasure above all others.

"Suspenseful . . . soulful, philosophical . . . engagingly drawn . . . Arthurian Britain is invoked with robust verisimilitude." –Publishers WeeklyA great king faces the ultimate challenge: a dangerous quest through realms of magic and the undead toward a confrontation with his destinyDrought, plague, and war have left the Isle of the Mighty battered and its heart, the beloved Arthur, grievously injured—until a secret relic is brought before the dying King; a Holy Grail that heals his wounds and restores his vigor.But soon evil enters the royal court in the guise of a beautiful maiden; a soulless, malevolent force capable of seducing the King’s loyal champion, confounding the sage whom some call Merlin, and carrying the sacred Grail—and Arthur’s adored Queen—off into the dark unknown.

As the Kingdom of Atlantis is extinguished forever, three ships emerge to bear King Avallach and his daughter Charis to the Isle of Glass, where Celtic chieftans struggle for survival—and power—as the last vestiges of Rome’s power dwindle.In this myth-born land, one heroic figure towers over all, the Prince Taliesin. Together with Princess Charis, Taliesin will spawn the Kingdom of Sumer, a kingdom of Legend, of Merlin and of Arthur…

Merlin, like his father, the Bard Taliesin, has a great mission. But his is the more difficult. Where Taliesin imagined the Kingdom of Summer in song, it falls to Merlin to bring it into existence.Through a series of grave trials that tax his spirit and nearly destroy his body and mind, Merlin discovers how to bring the Kingdom of Summer into being. What’s more, Merlin is being readied for his life’s work: to prepare the coming of the Pendragon, Britain's great ruler, Lord of the Summer Kingdom, and Lion of Logres.

Arthur is the third book of The Pendragon Cycle: a magnificent epic set against the backdrop of Roman Britain and the legends of Arthur and lost Atlantis. "It is the eve of Christ Mass, and the noblemen have come to Londinium to hold council - to essay who among them might become High King. Fifteen years have come and gone since the sword was first placed there. A young man stands grim-faced, gazing at the sword thrust deep into the stone... hesitant, uncertain. 'Take it, Arthur,' Merlin tells him..." So the story begins - a tale of high hope and bitter endeavour, of loyalty and treachery, of spiritual quest and the winning of a kingdom - a story whose end, as its beginning, is shrouded in mystery.