Pendragon, by Stephen Lawhead

Pendragon is the fourth book of the Pendragon Cycle, and it is in this book that we finally see much of Arthur. The last book was unsatisfying to me because I was expecting to see Arthur as a young child, and becoming High King of Britain. But now we have that chance, and Lawhead succeeds marvelously in showing us a remarkable man. We see some of the early life of Arthur, and how Merlin is instrumental in keeping him alive until he can claim his kingship. We see Arthur gathering his cymbrogi and the roots of some Arthurian legends. We travel to Ireland and meet a few great characters, including Conaire, a boasting cocky Irish king. Gwenhwyvar is a priceless Queen for Arthur, not at all the mild meek female in distress. She is a warrior princess of a noble line, proud to fight side by side with her husband (and sometimes against him).

The Vandali invade Ireland when Arthur is visiting his wife’s home, and he must band together with the feisty Irish kings in hopes of defeating the barbarians. For if (and it is only a matter of time) the Vandali turn to Britain, he has not much hope that he can defeat them. And another danger has come to threaten Britain in this terrible hour: plague, the yellow ravager, is striking indiscriminately across Britain. Not only are warriors dying, but the innocent as well.

Okay, I’m going to say this straight out: I think this is a great book. It’s just so much fun! Arthur is almost unbelievable as a real human being, but the wonderful part is that he seems so real. He’s big, blond and intelligent. He’s strong, but gentle. He forgives faults easily in others, and rarely holds a grudge. He is an absolute terror in battle, but he is also an able commander, capable of seeing beyond ‘this battle,’ and onto the next. There is a wonderful line that I must quote for you all, because it is so amazing. Gwenhywvar asked Merlin what kind of fighter her husband was, and if the stories were true. Merlin replies, ‘“The Lord of Hosts formed Arthur for himself alone,” I told her. “When he rides into battle, it is a prayer.” “And when he fights?” asked Gwenhwyvar, delighted with my acclaim of her husband. “Lady, when Arthur fights it is a song of praise to the God that made him. Watch him now. You will see a rare and holy sight.”’

This is the character of Arthur, a man to make other men follow, a man strong enough to offer peace, but also a man who is only his true self on the battlefield. But Arthur cannot be described as brave, or courageous, because to be brave you must feel fear. You must overcome it to be courageous. Arthur feels no fear on the battlefield. There are no words to describe what he feels, because he is such a singular man none could ever match him. This is who Arthur is. This is the man Lawhead reveals to us all, the man we have waited three books to fully see.

The anticipation built up to this point has been tremendous. Even in Arthur we did not truly see enough of him to be satisfied. We see the beginning and the end of the story, but none of what we really want. But in Pendragon, ahhh. We see Arthur, and we love him. We fear for him when he takes risks, because to lose him would be horrible to contemplate. Yet at the same time, we know the end of the story. We know how it will all end eventually. But at this moment, he is wonderfully, gloriously alive.

You can be in no doubt at how much I love this book. I guess I have not given a really unbiased view of this book: even worse than most of my others. I just liked it so much, and there was very very little wrong with. It is very easy to guess that I highly recommend reading it, but only read it in conjunction with the other three books. As much as Arthur was not my favorite, it is necessary to read the books that come before to fully understand these characters.

If I could ask Stephen Lawhead one question about this book, it would be: How did you form the character of Arthur, and how did you conceive him to be the way he is?