Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

Well, finally I have come to the end of Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles. It has been a rather bumpy road with varying degrees of quality among the eight volumes. I don’t like to leave things unfinished which is why it is really unusual for me not to finish a book. A series is no different and so sometimes I’ve had to push through the pain to get here.


The Eagle picks up the story where The Lance Thrower left off – Clothar the Frank (the lance thrower a/k/a Lancelot) is at the court of Arthur Pendragon and the two have become close friends. With Merlin often no where to be found, the young king surrounds himself with his friends, consulting them for advice. As the Britons continue to try and hold their land against invaders, Arthur is afraid things are going badly and that his men are losing the heart and the will to fight. The answer, Clothar explains, is perceptions and from this, Arthur’s legendary knights will be born, along with the accompanying rituals and ceremonies.

As various petty kings seek to make alliances with Arthur, he decides to seek one of his own out – in Gaul. Hoping to exchange military knowledge for the development of a prosperous trade agreement, Arthur sends Clothar back to Gaul to make it all happen. As a result, a great deal of the book follows Clothar’s adventures in Gaul and since he is the narrator, much of what is happening back in Britain is revealed to him in letters from Arthur and Merlin. While carrying out Arthur’s instructions, Clothar meets a mysterious old woman who seems to have more than a passing interest in Britain’s affairs…

Although Arthur doesn’t think he has the time to deal with a wife, eventually, he is literally forced to take one. Seeking an alliance with a king in the north who controls much of the area, Arthur agrees to marry his young daughter – Gwinnifer. But Arthur’s new queen doesn’t trust her father and so the two of them come up with a plan to make sure that he never gains control of their kingdom and their relationship is nothing more than one of political necessity. When Clothar finally returns to Camulod, he finds that Arthur was seriously wounded during a battle and when a few years later it becomes apparent to himself that he will not fully recover, Arthur sets into motion the events that will lead to his defeat and the eventual destruction of a united Britain. The truth of course will be misconstrued for centuries after. 

Although I thought this book was better than the last one (The Lance Thrower) Whyte still takes way to long to tell a story. I like historical detail, but there is a point where it becomes overkill and this series has definitely suffered from way too much detail. Arthur is still rather elusive as a character, but I came to like Clothar as a man with great character, dignity and honor. As with the rest of the series, I appreciated Whyte’s take on the familiar legend, providing more than plausible explanations for every part of it and weaving a story that makes you say, “yeah, it could have happened that way”.   The way it was all wrapped up though was disappointing and rather anti-climatic.  In the space of a few paragraphs, it's all over.  After eight books and thousands of pages, I expected more of a "bang".


The nature of men:  “Isn’t that the way things are? People stay home, doing nothing, and then expect the impossible from those who go out and try to achieve something.” Connor mac Athol to Clothar discussing his people’s less than favorable reaction to the trade agreements he set up.

Why a sense of humor is important:  “A man who cannot laugh at himself can never see the humor in anyone or anything else, and that is a tragic flaw. For in the lack of humor lie all the seeds of evil and destruction. People who see themselves as being worthy of admiration and who cannot conceive of themselves as ever being a cause for laughter, are far too serious for their own good, and even worse, they generally believe they have a calling to impress the importance of their beliefs on others. God save us from all humorless men, for they are also merciless and implacable.” Clothar explaining to Connor why it is a good thing Mordred has a good sense of humor and can laugh at himself.

How history becomes distorted:  “When great events are undone by mundane things, people often feel constrained to make the failure larger and somehow more significant by lying about what truly happened as if what actually occurred were too ludicrously petty to have brought about such awe-inspiring and cataclysmic results.” Clothar as he reflects on the wild rumors of Camulod and Arthur’s downfall.

Rating:  Average (2.5 stars)