Taliesin

This book was so much more than I expected. It really pulled me into the lands and times which it described, especially ancient Britain. I became very fond of the characters and cared deeply about what happened to them. What more could you ask from a tale? The author's treatment of Christianity and belief was pleasantly surprising to me, he did not preach with it, but told it gently and genuinely as it is. Belief and faith are a large part of the Arthurian tale, but rarely treated so well in the stories. I really don't want to read the next books, I know the Arthurian tragedy and there is no getting away from it being sad. As it is, I wept through the last several chapters of this book. However, I enjoyed the writing so much, I may not show more be able to resist. show less

I am not sure where to start with this review, the story gave me a book hangover, left me wanting more from the story, I want to know what next, it drew my emotional connection to the characters, it did its job as a story and drew me in completely and utterly fallen into this book. I am having difficulty moving onto another story and will relish in the story for several days ahead. I have read several books by this author and have enjoyed most however, this one is my favorite story by thus far. I would say it rivals that of Patrick Rothfuss's "The Name of the Wind" but this story was written in 1987 so that would not be a good comparison as Stephen Lawhead wrote his story first. This 486 page paperback is an epic love story and one of show more the best stories I have ever read around the Arthurian legend. You will have to read it for yourself. Very well written and well paced prose. I am looking forward to reading the next in the Series "Merlin".

Spoiler don't read any further.

I have read a few negative reviews and if I trusted their opinion of the book I would not have read it. One review did not like the book for the timeframe connections of Atlantis and the end of the 5th century did not match up on what people have placed on historic and fictionalized time lines, this same person did not like what appeared to be a quick denouncing of Paganism and acceptance to Christianity but I found that again to be superficial after reading the book and it did not happen as they speculated. The book after all is a Fantasy novel about the parents of Merlin and directly related to the Arthurian legend. show less

This is Book # 1 in Stephen R. Lawhead's first series The Pendragon Cycle, yes another re-telling of Arthur and The Merlin. However, this was one has grabbed me. I have also got The Mists of Avalon going(since early December)-the difference, I put that one down and it's hit or miss when I will pick it up again-it's not bad, it just does not pull me in as I want a book to do.

A lot of bru-ah-ah in the reviews on this that Lawhead took too many liberties with time frames(Atlantis was well gone in Plato's mind before Arthur was a glimmering in anyone's eye)-Come on people-just because someone's shelf has it as Historical Fiction, doesn't make it so-it's Fantasy, let it go!

The book begins telling 2 distinct stories-that of life on Atlantis show more and that in Britain. Our female Protagonist Charis, Atlantean princess, the male side from Taliesin, seer and druid Prince. The third section recounts their coming together after the destruction of Atlantis and then birth of their son Merlin.

This author was recommended to me during my search for older fantasy, and I am glad I was able to find the entire series at "Buck-a-bag" book sale! I am anticipating continuing on with the adventure-and I picked up another by this author Hood that I am looking forward too.

Recommended for Epic Fantasy lovers show less

There is no doubting that this book is beautifully written. The beginning to an epic series, it starts slowly and gradually gains your attention so that by the end you are fully immersed into a wonderful, ancient world of violence, magic and adventure. The descriptions of events such as the destruction of Atlantis are conceived and described on a level far higher than most authors could achieve. I will definitely read the next in the series even though the books are far longer than I originally thought. If it were not for the slow beginning, I think I would have rated this a five, but it was hard work in the early stages and I almost gave up at one point because I had other books I wanted to read. So glad I didn't.

I grabbed this book because I generally like Mr. Lawhead's books and I wanted to read more about Taliesin after a trip to Wales. This is not that book despite the title.
In theory, the book is split between Taliesin and Charis, the Atlantean princess and bull-dancer, but the Taliesin sections, especially at the first part, are more about the Celtic settlement he lives in. This is really a story about Charis, and a lot of time is spent on her life and the sinking of Atlantis. Taliesin is more of a minor character, a Celtic bard who she eventually decides to marry after he becomes a Christian.
I know that Christian monks came in droves to Britain after the Romans left, but Taliesin was a druid and there's no indication that he converted in show more any records I've found. It didn't make sense, quite frankly. Mr. Lawhead does a deft job in weaving in the Arthurian legend with the Atlantis story, but sometimes it's a reach. For example, Charis becomes the Lady of the Lake because she was swimming once in a vision. Morgain's character development to the villainess is non-existent. One minute she's a little girl and suddenly she's plotting against her sister.
The writing also seemed more like the book was meant for middle-grade ages than an adult fantasy. I won't go on, but this was a big disappointment. I'll look elsewhere for my Celtic tales. show less

Rating: 2* of five

The Publisher Says: It was a time of legend, when the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. While across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for two thousand years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis.

Taliesin is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the Atlantean princess who escaped the terrible devastation of her homeland, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is the story of an incomparable love that joined two worlds amid the fires of chaos, and spawned the miracles of Merlin...and Arthur the king.

My Review: Ohfagawdsake.

An Atlantean princess? Atlantis, assuming Plato told the truth, sank over 3500 years show more before this book takes place. How old was this broad? How'd she have a kid?

The shuddersome Jesusyness of the book made me itch.

I sent this book on to its reward via Bookmooch. Ghastly.


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. show less

This is the second Lawhead trilogy, which I won't be reading the rest in the series. Lawhead has a reputation for integrating Christian theology into classic hero mythos. This series tackles the Arthurian legend, and he starts all the way back with the birth and coming-of-age of Merlin. He's critiqued by many for being preachy and of all things talking about God in Arthurian mythos, which to me is laughable considering the classic knight's pledge. There are some novel concepts like the way he introduced Merlin and even the theological weavings. My problem is the rest of the book before and after such weavings is so tedious and tiring that by the time I got to something intriguing I was praying to be put out of my misery. Tedious show more conversations and inconsequential matters go on too long and the good bits are glanced over. Imagine Jane Austen redoing the Arthurain mythos with a dash of Christian theology thrown in. I know that sounds like a slight to Jane, I apologize Jane, but it's the one that best comes to mind. Hopefully, his take on Robin Hood will go better. show less