Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #657189 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-14
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

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.

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.

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.

Customer Reviews

The premise enticed me, but . . .
As someone who has been fascinated with the history, symbolism, and ritual of the British monarchy, the premise of Avalon captured my attention, but ultimately, I found it a bit disappointing. Lawhead is dealing with interesting issues, but doesn't develop them in a very compelling way and spends to many words describing things that don't matter much overall. I sensed that much of what fascinates Lawhead about British national identity also fascinates me, but I never got the impression that his knowledge of British history, or of issues in contemporary British culture, was that extensive.

Obviously, the figure of Arthur represents an ideal, and it would have been interesting to see more of the drama of recorded British history somehow woven into the narrative of legendary Arthur coming back to the 21st Century. I was left wondering what figures (royal or otherwise) in British history aroused the author's admiration in terms of standing in the tradition of inspired leadership idealized by Arthur. Given the surname of the main character and a couple of other statements, one gets the impression that Lawhead believes that the royal succession in Britain took a wrong turn with the transition from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover. However, this does not demonstrate any appreciation for the fact that the personal character traits and positive public perceptions of monarchs like George III, Victoria (and her consort Prince Albert), George V, George VI, and Elizabeth II have helped the monarchy to survive to this day. Even though they do not bear the name of Stuart, those monarchs do descend from King James I. Also, does Lawhead see good things in the development of parliametary democracy?

Lawhead doesn't really effectively argue the case for constitutional monarchy so much as he argues for inspired leadership. He implies that the new Arthur represented in James Stuart is going to exercise more political clout than present monarchs, but in this age of democracy, how would that be accepted and what would it look like? How would a religiously pluralistic culture influenced by secular humanism react to the unabashedly Christian coronation ceremony depicted near the book's end? Also, just how far into the 21st Century is the story set? How has E.U. developed? Is the United Kingdom still united?

Historical and cultural issues aside, the main characters suffer from a lack of development. It would have been interesting to see James Stuart struggle with real human weaknesses and how his professed Christian faith gives him hope and perseverence. As someone else noted, Prime Minister Waring is a cardboard villain who is not a formidable antagonist.

So once again, exploring the ideal of Christian kingship in the setting of 21st Century Britain presents compelling ideas, but as someone noted, Avalon is not up to the literary level of a work by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien. If the premise of this novel interested you, I would recommend the non-fiction books "The Abolition of Britain: From Winston Churchill to Princess Diana," by Peter Hitchens, and "God Save the Queen: The Spiritual Dimension of Monarchy" by Ian Bradley.

disappointing
As much as I enjoyed all of Lawheads other Arthurian books, I was left with the feeling that he simply turned this one out too quickly. While the beginning of the book caught my intrest, and kept me reading, as I went along, I began to feel that I was in the middle of a daytime soap opera. The characters were shallow, the situations increasing unbelievable, and the plot ground to a halt about 100 pages before the book did. The ending left me completely flat, and disappointed. There were too many things left unanswered. Why did Waring have such a vituperative hatered of the monarchy, and what happened to him? Such people do not just disappear. Where was the great evil of Morgian-Moira, she was a bit of a joke. And why mention the Lia Fail, and then no more about it again? Merlin was underutilized, no great shakes came from his character at all. James and Jenny were too good to be true, and while you can't help liking them, they were not well developed as real humans, with real human failings. And come on, beaten, stabbed, bitten by pit bulls, twice, save the baby, and a bit of antiseptic and a tetnus shot, and back on the road? Pu-leeze. Not to mention shot, and burned. The only thing left out was a good hanging, maybe that will be in the next book. And where was Excalibur? A central part of the legend forgotten. A king without a sword and all that.
Altogether, I think if Mr. Lawhead had taken more time, added another 100 pages or so, worked the plot to the end, and remembered the background he so magically created for Taliesin - Grail, this could have been a wonderful way to bring the story into modern times. But, it fell flat and failed to deliver the magic of the previous books. I have re-read all the other books at least 4 times, this one will sit on the bottom shelf with the dust bunnies.

Predictable, bland and full of cliches...
I was very disappointed in this book.
Let me start by saying that I have a strong interest in British history, and after reading Marion Zimmer Bradley's "The Mists of Avalon", I was anxious to continue on to other titles.
This book raises an interesting premise-what if the legendary King Arthur returned? Unfortunately, I found this book to have one-dimensional characters, plot resolutions I could see coming from a mile away and utterly unconvincing situations.
The book focuses on James Arthur Stuart, a man who is told by the reincarnated Merlin that he is in fact King Arthur. James holds a strong affection for Jenny (who later is revealed to be a major link in the story) and enjoys a close friendship with childhood companion Cal. Once James is told by modern-day Merlin that he is Great Britain's rightful King, James decided to claim the throne, much to the disgust of Prime Minister Waring, who is behind the recent abolition of the monarchy. He is determined that James (aka Arthur)will never take the throne.
This is the plotline, in a nutshell. The story, alas, is ruined by several things.
1. The characters are stereotypical, cardboard cutouts...no real personality is shown or motivation explained. PM Waring may as well have horns and a tail.(You can tell because he swears a lot) Jenny, James' girlfriend, is, of course, perfect in looks and manner. And James himself is handsome, brave, smart, honest, loving, sincere AND almost singlehandedly takes down a group of Neo-Nazis with pitbulls! Puh-LEEZE.
2. The author is obviously very pro-monarchy...or at least, very anti-politician (not to mention, rabidly anti-journalist). I would almost argue that he has some sort of axe to grind. There are several moments in the book where James/Arthur defends his claim to the throne by saying that the Monarchy was established by God, and besides, Parliament has done an awful job anyway. I know it's just a work of fiction, but there is no sincere discussion in this book of why Britain may be genuinely better off without the monarchy. One passage, where James/Arthur pompously tells the demonized Prime Minister that he is there in office purely out of James/Arthur's kindness is particularly offputting. I frankly found none of the major characters to be particularly likeable or interesting.
3. There are better writers in this genre...and yes, I do mean Marion Zimmer Bradley, to mention one. She writes extensively on early England/Britain with a complexity and clarity that Lawhead doesn't.

Basically, I was disappointed that I bought this book. I can see this being the basis for a "straight-to-DVD" movie, starring obscure B actors.