The Warlord Chronicles

This is a guest review from my eldest son, Deron:

The Warlord Chronicles is Bernard Cornwell's interpretation of the story of King Arthur. The trilogy is comprised of The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur and is told from the perspective of Derfel Cardan, a man that Britain's greatest druid Merlin plucked as a child from a death pit to become Arthur's most trusted warrior.

Cornwell's is not the romanticized version of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur or T.H. White's The Once and Future King. The historical Arthur is thought to have lived around the year 500, just after the Romans had abandoned Britain and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Cornwell stays true to that time. There are no knights in shining armour, but warlords in old Roman armour. There is no magic, only superstition and coincidence. There are no stone castles, but forts made of wood and earth. Decay is in the air. The Roman cities crumble, and knowledge of their construction and repair fades.

The story begins with Uther Pendragon, King of Dumnonia and the High King of Britain, nearing death. His grandson, Mordred, is his heir; however, Mordred is only a baby. Arthur, a bastard of Uther, takes an oath of loyalty to Mordred and is chosen as Mordred's guardian. Until Mordred is old enough to rule Dumnonia himself, Arthur is effectively the king.

Arthur dreams to unite the various kingdoms of Britain and push out the invading land-hungry Saxons. This is the story of Arthur. Over and over again, just when you think that Arthur's dream is to become a reality, the dream is shattered due to his own weaknesses, his sense of justice, the machinations of kings and those closest to him, the conflict between Christians and pagans, or most often his oath of loyalty to Mordred. Certainly, for a moment there is Camelot, but even then dark clouds are on the horizon.

I highly recommend these books. As usual, Cornwell excels at describing the battles and the single combats. His take on characters is refreshing. For example, Lancelot is considered the greatest warrior in the land, not because of any actual accomplishments, but because of his ability to control his image, manipulate others, and pay the bards to sing his high praises; in truth, he is a coward. I've read many versions of the Arthur story. While it is difficult to rate one version against another as they are often so different, this is one of the best.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Cornwell considers the Warlord Chronicles to be his favorite.