Avalon: The Return of King Arthur

England is in turmoil. The ineffective king, Edward the Ninth, has committed suicide. Prime Minister Thomas Waring is one referendum away from abolishing the monarcy. And James Arthur Stuart, a Scottish commoner and former army officer, is about to find out that he is the rightful heir to the throne. "Avalon", the final book in Stephen Lawhead's 'Pendragon Cycle', is a fitting conclusion to the Arthurian legend of a king who was, and will be again. When James Arthur Stuart finds out he is heir to the throne, he is dumbfounded to say the least; and when he is told that he is the legendary King Arthur reborn, he finds himself remembering his previous life in spite of his doubts. It is his task, along with his advisor M. Embries, better known as Merlin, to reignite the British peoples desire for a monarcy and defeat the power-hungry Waring at dangerous cost. Set in a modern/near-future time, "Avalon" is a departure from the rest of the series. Yet Lawhead brings the same intensity to detail and legend to the last book of the series. Mixed into James' life is a cast of characters from Arthurian legend, and the circumstances of his life fall uniquely in line with that of Arthur's own upbringing. While the plots of the previous five books have played out on battlefields full of blood and gore, "Avalon" is played out in the field of politics, an all too telling look at a probable reality. Lawhead has done a tremendous job at bringing the Arthurian legends to new life. While there are moments in "Avalon" that are trite and push the limits of reality, the story is a fitting piece of the legendary puzzle. Although it already pushes 500 pages, the ending seems to come too quickly for all the previous buildup, and leaves readers wishing for just a little more.

Since I was a small boy, I've been fascinated by the Arthurian legend. In recent years, I've become acutely aware of the Christian underpinnings of the legend. I've also come to realize that historic Christianity is unabashedly monarchist (Christ is, after all, 'King of Kings', not 'First Citizen of all Republics', and St. Peter refers to Christians as 'a Royal Priesthood'). This book rolls all that into one. It is the book that I've waited 35 years to read, and I did it in less than 24 hours. It's that good. My wife, who never reads novels, loved it.Interestingly, since reading it, I noticed a news story about a minor scandal involving one of the British Royals, and the response of one PM, calling for the abolition of the Monarchy, could easily have been lifted from the pages of 'Avalon'.Buy it. Buy the other books in Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle('Taliesin', 'Merlin', 'Arthur', 'Pendragon', 'Grail'). Let the Kingdom of Summer begin!

I began reading the Pendragon Cycle in Junior High (gee, guess that shows how young I am, huh?), and absolutely fell in love. Now a Junior in college I was thrilled to see Lawhead bring the story to its conclusion(?) in present day England. What a wonderful story come full-circle! Although, I must agree, Moira was not quite the evil villianess I have seen in previous Lawhead tales. Some slight disappointment there. But how about the return of good old Embries? How classic to make him a timeless compainion to Arthur. He has been my favorite character all along. If you are a Lawhead fan, I have told you nothing new. However, if you've never read Lawhead before, or if you've never read the Pendragon Cycle before, I reccomend starting at the beginning with Taliesin. The story line will be much more intriguing if you know the history. Oh...and if you plan on reading the whole series, stop by Stephen's website for what order to read them in, they weren't written chronologically. And it's just a fun site.

This book is my new favorite book. I could not put the book down the entire time I was reading it. It made me want to read THE PENDRAGON CYCLE all over again- so many similarities and references are made with in the novel.