It has been foretold: In the hour of Britain’s greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people.
In Portugal, the reprobate King Edward the Ninth has died by his own hand.
In England, the British monarchy teeters on the edge of total destruction.
And in the Scottish Highlands, a mystical emissary named Mr. Embries—better known as “Merlin”—informs a young captain that he is next in line to the throne. For James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be—he is Arthur, the legendary King of Summer, reborn. But the road to England’s salvation is dangerous, with powerful enemies waiting in ambush. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned from the mists of legend. And Merlin’s magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
AVALON
“A rousing postscript to Lawhead’s bardic Pendragon Cycle . . . Playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil.”— Publishers Weekly
From Library Journal
In a near-future Britain, the death of King Edward IX throws the succession into disarray until a young man named James Arthur Stewart discovers his identity as the reborn King Arthur and claims his rightful throne. Aided by his counselor Myrddin Embries, the new king seeks to restore faith in the monarchy as well as a sense of justice to a land beleaguered by despair. The author of the popular "Pendragon Cycle" takes his Arthurian interests one step further as he explores the ramifications of a legend come to life in the modern world. Infused with Christian overtones, Lawhead's latest novel should appeal to fans of Arthurian fantasy. Recommended. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Evocative...intriguing...enthralling...an exciting and thoughtful addition to the ranks of Arthurian fantasy." -- Locus
"Highly recommended." -- Library Journal
"Lawhead manages to give the old tale new meaning and fascination. a fine storyteller, he brings the Arthurian characters to life without sacrificing any of the haunting pleasure of the legends." -- Omaha World Herald --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion. Lawhead makes his home in Austria with his wife.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In this rousing postcript to Lawhead's bardic Pendragon Cycle (Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, Grail), such a monstrous evil stalks near-future Britain that an ancient Welsh prophecy will be fulfilled: the Thames will reverse its course, Avalon will rise again from the cold gray sea and Arthur will return. A series of Royals so rotten that the Brits can't wait to dump the whole stinking lot enables scheming Prime Minister Waring to creepAtrick by political dirty trickAtoward Magna Carta II, the abolition of the monarchy. Far in the Highlands, though, former career officer James Arthur Stuart feels destiny stir within him. He is Arthur, come again to exalt Britain and its grand old valuesAgoodness, compassion, mercy, charity and justice. Accompanied by his enigmatic adviser Embries, his boon drinking buddy Calum McKay and the lissome Jenny, James struggles to come into his own, proving his mettle against modern monsters: skinheads armed with pit bulls, the fickle hydra of the press and the redheaded "total dish" Moira, Arthur's old witchy nemesis who destroyed Camelot. By the time James ousts Moira's insidiously treacherous buffalo-wing- and pizza-chomping politicos, Lawhead makes even aristocracy-phobes want to stand up at the skirl of the pipes and cheer on the eternal virtues James represents. In revisiting nearly every romantic Arthurian clich? and playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
The hour fortold has come at last! Edward the Ninth, reprobate King of England, is dead and a proud an venerable institution is to be buried with him. A new political order--encouraged by an ambitious Prime Minister and supported by a public wearied by a succession of royal scandals--is about to render the old obsolete. With signed abdications of all potential throne claimants already in P.M. Thomas Waring's hands, it is a near-certainty that the British monarchy will not survive the twenty-first century.
But in the Scottish Highlands, a young man makes a remarkable discovery that will change the seemingly unaltered path of his beleaguered nation. For Captain James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be, but rather the scion of an obscure branch of the royal family, raised in ignorance of his true station. Even more astonishing, the monarch-to-be does not merely share the name of the legendary King of Summer--he is, in fact, King Arthur reborn!
Claiming a throune, however, is one thing, while holding it is quite another, as James--now ruling the land as Arthur II--turns to those most beloved and most loyal for support, guidance, and assistance: his adored wife, Jennifer; his best friend, Calum; and his enigmantic and mystical advisor, a certain Mr. Embries.. better known as "Merlin." Their road will be rocky and perilous, and there are powerful enemies arrayed against them--not only Prime Minister Waring and his ruthless political machine, but the forces of an ancient, far more potent , destructive evil. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned--and Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
With Avalon, one of the premier voices in the literature of the fantastic offers us an unparalleled adventure as replete with bravery, treacher, romance, and magic as the beloved tales of the Table Round, yet cast in a setting as recognizably real as that which surrounds us.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
A breathtaking future fantasy: as the British monarchy collapses, Arthur returns to reclaim the throne. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From the Inside Flap
It has been fortold: In the hour of Britain's greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people.
In Portugal, the reprobate King Edward the Ninth has died by his own hand.
In England, a dark scenario conceived by the power-hungry Prime Minister, Thomas Waring, is about to be realized: the total destruction of the British monarchy in the twenty-first century.
And in the Scottish Highlands, a mystical emissary named Mr. Embries--better known as Merlin--informs a young captain that he is next in line to occupy the throne. For James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be--he is Arthur, the legendary King of Summer, reborn. But the road to England's salvation is rocky and dangerous, with powerful waiting to ambush: Waring and his ruthless political machine...and the agents of an ancient, far more potent evil. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned from the mists of legend. And Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
It has been foretold:
In the hour of Britain’s greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people.
In Portugal, the reprobate King Edward the Ninth has died by his own hand.
In England, the British monarchy teeters on the edge of total destruction.
And in the Scottish Highlands, a mystical emissary named Mr. Embries—better known as “Merlin”—informs a young captain that he is next in line to the throne. For James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be—he is Arthur, the legendary King of Summer, reborn. But the road to England’s salvation is dangerous, with powerful enemies waiting in ambush. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned from the mists of legend. And Merlin’s magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
AVALON
“A rousing postscript to Lawhead’s bardic Pendragon Cycle . . . Playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil.”— Publishers Weekly
From Library Journal
In a near-future Britain, the death of King Edward IX throws the succession into disarray until a young man named James Arthur Stewart discovers his identity as the reborn King Arthur and claims his rightful throne. Aided by his counselor Myrddin Embries, the new king seeks to restore faith in the monarchy as well as a sense of justice to a land beleaguered by despair. The author of the popular "Pendragon Cycle" takes his Arthurian interests one step further as he explores the ramifications of a legend come to life in the modern world. Infused with Christian overtones, Lawhead's latest novel should appeal to fans of Arthurian fantasy. Recommended.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"Evocative...intriguing...enthralling...an exciting and thoughtful addition to the ranks of Arthurian fantasy." -- Locus
"Highly recommended." -- Library Journal
"Lawhead manages to give the old tale new meaning and fascination. a fine storyteller, he brings the Arthurian characters to life without sacrificing any of the haunting pleasure of the legends." -- Omaha World Herald --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include Byzantium and the series The Pendragon Cycle, The Celtic Crusades, and The Song of Albion. Lawhead makes his home in Austria with his wife.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
In this rousing postcript to Lawhead's bardic Pendragon Cycle (Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, Grail), such a monstrous evil stalks near-future Britain that an ancient Welsh prophecy will be fulfilled: the Thames will reverse its course, Avalon will rise again from the cold gray sea and Arthur will return. A series of Royals so rotten that the Brits can't wait to dump the whole stinking lot enables scheming Prime Minister Waring to creepAtrick by political dirty trickAtoward Magna Carta II, the abolition of the monarchy. Far in the Highlands, though, former career officer James Arthur Stuart feels destiny stir within him. He is Arthur, come again to exalt Britain and its grand old valuesAgoodness, compassion, mercy, charity and justice. Accompanied by his enigmatic adviser Embries, his boon drinking buddy Calum McKay and the lissome Jenny, James struggles to come into his own, proving his mettle against modern monsters: skinheads armed with pit bulls, the fickle hydra of the press and the redheaded "total dish" Moira, Arthur's old witchy nemesis who destroyed Camelot. By the time James ousts Moira's insidiously treacherous buffalo-wing- and pizza-chomping politicos, Lawhead makes even aristocracy-phobes want to stand up at the skirl of the pipes and cheer on the eternal virtues James represents. In revisiting nearly every romantic Arthurian clich? and playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
The hour fortold has come at last! Edward the Ninth, reprobate King of England, is dead and a proud an venerable institution is to be buried with him. A new political order--encouraged by an ambitious Prime Minister and supported by a public wearied by a succession of royal scandals--is about to render the old obsolete. With signed abdications of all potential throne claimants already in P.M. Thomas Waring's hands, it is a near-certainty that the British monarchy will not survive the twenty-first century.
But in the Scottish Highlands, a young man makes a remarkable discovery that will change the seemingly unaltered path of his beleaguered nation. For Captain James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be, but rather the scion of an obscure branch of the royal family, raised in ignorance of his true station. Even more astonishing, the monarch-to-be does not merely share the name of the legendary King of Summer--he is, in fact, King Arthur reborn!
Claiming a throune, however, is one thing, while holding it is quite another, as James--now ruling the land as Arthur II--turns to those most beloved and most loyal for support, guidance, and assistance: his adored wife, Jennifer; his best friend, Calum; and his enigmantic and mystical advisor, a certain Mr. Embries.. better known as "Merlin." Their road will be rocky and perilous, and there are powerful enemies arrayed against them--not only Prime Minister Waring and his ruthless political machine, but the forces of an ancient, far more potent , destructive evil. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned--and Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
With Avalon, one of the premier voices in the literature of the fantastic offers us an unparalleled adventure as replete with bravery, treacher, romance, and magic as the beloved tales of the Table Round, yet cast in a setting as recognizably real as that which surrounds us.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
Historical/futuristic Arthuriana from the author of Grail, 1997, etc. In the not-too-distant future, Britain's drunken reprobate King Edward IX blows out his brains in a villa on Madeira. He has no heirs, and was secretly helped on his way by Prime Minister Thomas Waring (an anti-monarchist nursing ambitions to become Britain's first president). The mysteriously knowledgeable old Embries, however, insists that Captain James Arthur Stuart is the rightful King of Britain. Despite documentary proof, James is reluctant to go along, until Embries forces him to recall memories of his previous lifeas King Arthur! Embries, of course, is Merlin. James's soon-to-be wife is Guinevere, and so forth. So James, proclaiming himself the true Christian King of Avalon, raises his standard against modern cynicism to battle not only the devious Waring but also the reborn witch Morgan le Fay. Pleasant but far from gripping, with the necessary inference that Lawhead's purpose is more agitprop than storytelling. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
A breathtaking future fantasy: as the British monarchy collapses, Arthur returns to reclaim the throne. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
From the Inside Flap
It has been fortold: In the hour of Britain's greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people.
In Portugal, the reprobate King Edward the Ninth has died by his own hand.
In England, a dark scenario conceived by the power-hungry Prime Minister, Thomas Waring, is about to be realized: the total destruction of the British monarchy in the twenty-first century.
And in the Scottish Highlands, a mystical emissary named Mr. Embries--better known as Merlin--informs a young captain that he is next in line to occupy the throne. For James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be--he is Arthur, the legendary King of Summer, reborn. But the road to England's salvation is rocky and dangerous, with powerful waiting to ambush: Waring and his ruthless political machine...and the agents of an ancient, far more potent evil. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned from the mists of legend. And Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.