Uther
Book Seven: Dream of Eagles
-
-
4.3 • 9 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
A hot-headed young warrior must decide whether to follow the longings of his own heart or rise to the challenge of leading his people. Will he be the greatest king the Cambrians have ever known, or will he fall prey to the darkness in his own soul?
Such are the questions answered in Uther, the story of Uther Pendragon, cousin to the sorcerer Merlyn and father to Arthur, the future King of Britain. In his boyhood, Uther divides his time between two radically different worlds. Within the solid walls of Camulod, he enjoys the luxuries of a civilized community and trains in the Roman military style to realize his heroic dream—commanding Camulod's cavalry. But still he is pulled back to his father's people and the dark land of his birth, the harsh, primitive world of the Pendragon of Cambria. At the death of his father, King Uric, a new king must be elected from among the chiefs, and Uther must reconcile himself to the fate that awaits him.
For fans of Jack Whyte's popular Dream of Eagles series, Uther opens the window to the world beyond Camulod and unravels the mystery behind the legend.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The grim medieval setting of the Camulod Chronicles is no congenial spot like its romantic analogue, Arthurian legend's shining Camelot. In this lusty, brawling, ingenious re-creation, seventh in his popular series, Whyte traces the short, valorous life of Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, as a parallel novel to 1997's The Eagles' Brood, the story of Uther's cousin and close childhood friend, Caius Merlyn Britannicus. Whyte deftly stage manages Uther's boyhood, adolescence, early manhood and tragically unlucky kingship, revealing, through a host of well-rounded minor characters drawn from both legend and a seemingly inexhaustible imagination, a man whose courage and honor constantly war against his melancholy core. As a young man, Uther succeeds his father as king of Cambria, while Merlyn assumes leadership of Camulod. For most of his life, Uther battles against verminous King Lot of Cornwall, who brutalizes his arranged-marriage bride, Ygraine of Ireland. Having sworn to lead his primitive Pendragon tribes as their king, Uther still yearns for the dignity, civilized values and warm baths of Camulod. But Uther wins Ygraine's heart, affording ample opportunity for juicy sex scenes, vivid and heroic as the flamboyant sword-swinging, hand-to-hand combat and death-dealing cavalry charges. Whyte's Uther may never regain his promised land, but in this rousing and meticulously researched novel, Uther wins a more glorious prize: he sires Britain's once and future king.