Shadow of the King: Being the Third Part of a Trilogy (Pendragon's banner)

Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly set in post-Roman Britain
Review: I haven't read the first two books in the triology and I was hoping for an invasion by Picts or Scots. However, the story moves through post-Roman Gaul and even Brittany (called Little Britain in the book). Helen Hollick knows she has no skill in telling stories of battles, which are glossed over in a page, so the story is not weighted down by forced writing. Helen Hollick's research into post-Roman horses lets the story down as the horses the Artoriani cavalry rode would have been pony-sized. One doesn't need stirups if one's feet scrape the ground as one rides a pony-sized horse.

Three stars and an extra one for the setting.

Leigh Southern

Rating:
Summary: Terrific finale to a great Arthurian trilogy
Review: In 468 AD, Arthur Pendragon rules over a relatively peaceful Britain. However, to the king, pax is a pox, so he agrees to lead his Artoriani fighters to help the Romans defeat invading barbarians in France. He leaves Queen Gwenhwyfar to run the country and defend his crown.

While Arthur plays soldier on the continent, the Queen has to deal with several threats to her spouse's throne. Adding to the growing danger is the word that Arthur died in battle. As his absence on the home front lenghthens, Gwenhwyfar struggles to abort the attempts of several individuals, including relatives, from usurping the throne. As Arthur recovers with the nursing help of a former lover, he hears rumors that his beloved queen died. It will take more than magic to bring this couple back together atop of the British throne.

The third book, SHADOW OF THE KING, in Helen Hollick's Camelot series is as great as the two previous novels (THE KINGMAKING and PENDRAGON'S BANNER). Fans who enjoy the Arthurian epic need to read these three tales because they are some of the best ever written about Camelot. With novels more like this trio, Ms. Hollick will become a legend in our time.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Great ending to this trilogy
Review: The third and final book in this Arthurian trilogy - see below for the other two books. It took me a while to finish this one because I enjoyed it so much. How did that work? Well, whenever I was putting the book down, I would flip ahead some pages and see what would be happening, flip ahead a few more, etc. So I have to leave myself enough time in between readings to "forget" what I had read so I could be more surprised in what was coming up. Did it work? A little. Well, perhaps a lot - even though I knew what was going to happen (both from my knowledge of Arthurian literature and in what I had skimmed ahead), there were many tears that I shed at the end of it. Very very good trilogy of books.