The Singing Sword: The Camulod Chronicles (Camulod Chronicles, 2)

I totally disagree with the comments made by other readers of this novel. It is a completely different twist to most of all the other Arthurian legends I have read. The story line follows on well from the first book. OK his historical issues in the book may not come up to the scale of Steven Saylor, but it still is pretty close to the mark. And why couldn't the colony have been missed in an England that at this time was in total turmoil. With the Legions being withdrawn from all major towns and cities in the country. If you knew your Roman history all but London and parts of Hadrian's wall where left with no or very little in the way of cover by the Legions.It is basically if you have got to grips with the story a lead up to Arthur with the two main characters in the story being Arthur's Great Grandfathers. I have found it well put together and far from a bad novel. The writer puts the story together well and the way he writes, you can visualize the places and the people so well. This is something that I like in a story I read and something that is lacking in lots of books. I have found it so good I have already ordered the next book in the series.

Well worth the read

This is the second in a series of 4 books in The Camelod Chronicles.the Chronicles are another version of Camelot stories, but taken from the stories of the ancestors( Roman and Celt) of Merlin and Uther Pendragon.A very enjoyable read.

Jack Whyte was born and raised in Scotland, but has lived in Canada for the last forty odd years. He is the author of the Camulod series of books and has just had published the first in a trilogy about probably the most famous Order of knights, ever to come through the pages of history, the Knights Templar.The story takes place in the fifth century AD Britain an island that has all but cast off the yoke of the Romans. Occupiers for more than 400 years, they have brought much to the island, their roads have made travel that much more bearable and their buildings and public baths have brought a new and lawful way of life to a people the Roman's once called barbarians.Those who initially resented the Roman's invasion have been moldering in their graves for centuries and in the south of the land the people are mostly Romano-Britains, many of whom mourn the passing of Roman law and authority along with the withdrawal of the Roman egions from Britain's shores.Two Romans in particular, Publius Varrus and Caius Britannicus have made their homes in Britain and are determined to stay and are prepared to fight if necessary for their adopted land. Not everyone is sorry to see the Romans leave and many in the north of Britain see it as an opportunity to advance themselves . . .

liked this a lot

This is volume two of a series that puts the legend of King Arthur into an historical perspective. There are other books or groups of books that have attempted this, most notably Mary Stewart's Merlin Chronicles - but Stewart never painted her picture with as big a brush as Jack Whyte does, and (so far at least) Whyte has done it without a hint of magic or any other type of fantasy.This is not intended as a slap at Stewart; I think her series is fantastic. It's just that I never thought it was possible to tell the story of Arthur and Merlin from a "human" point of view, until now. Whyte has proved that it's possible. So far I've only read the first two books in the series ("The Skystone" and this one), and if the rest of Whyte's novels are as superbly intelligent and well-written as these two I believe that Mary Stewart has some serious competition on her hands.

good like all his books

This book series is the best I've ever read, and am re-reading them 15 years after I initially did.I couldn't find my original book, "The Singing Sword," so I ordered this one, and the text/general formatting (even with the maps) looks like nothing more than a blown up version of the small, compact paperback books/formatting that the rest of the series uses, including book 1, "The Skystone".Is this normal? Were the people who actually put this book together professional publishers? It looks like it on the outside, but inside this looks like something I'd find from KDP select or something from someone who doesn't know anything about formatting. The text is readable, (albeit subtly half-blurred), and even the individual letters themselves seem to lack fullness, if you can imagine what I mean. It's a strain on the eyes and very surprising, if this indeed came from a legitimate, professional publishing company. Even the paper, it's so white it creates its own glare.All of this is due to the fact that the publisher took the small, compact formatting used in all the other books of this series (see Book 1, "The Skystone," and its layout/size as an example).But for Book 2 "The Singing Sword") it's clear it was originally meant for the same small text/formatting/size used in book one (and all the others) but for some reason the size of the book was made bigger (I got the traditional paperback), the text and maps appear magnetized and blown out of proportion.Please tell me, is this normal for Book 2 of this series? Did the actual, legitimate publishing company produce such shoddy work? Is the hardcover any different?Please let me know as I'd like to buy a replacement for this one.Thanks!

Jack Whyte does a superb job in this first book in his version of the Arthur legend. This is the way Arthur really could have come to power. I've read this series (9 books in all) at least 5 times front to back and plan to read them again often at least once per year probably. I can't say enough good things about this author and this series!The narrator of this story is Publius Varrus, and is the first of two books he narrates. They tell of the making of Excalibur and the Lady of the Lake among other elements. This is an historically based telling of the legend. The historical figures do and say the things they did and said in the 3rd century. Amazing read!