- This title came to my attention through my friends blog. It was the first series I requested on Paperback Swap. Just now getting around to reading it!
- Here be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
- Green by Ted Dekker
Summary from GoodReads:
An enchanting tale of love and loss, glory and grandeur, set in the twilight of Rome’s power — where the Celtic chieftains of Britain battle to save their land from an onrushing darkness. In this modern classic, Stephen Lawhead presents a majestic retelling of western literature’s most compelling epic. A Druid Prince — Singer at the Dawn of the Age. His song would kindle a vision that would burn forever. Taliesin, oracle of melody. His singing bore the haunting beauty of another world . . . and the spark of a kingdom yet to come. Charis, Lady of the Lake — Driven by the cataclysm that destroyed her home — the scented groves of the Isle of Apples, the coliseums of the bull dancers of Atlantis — she encountered an uncertain future in a barbarous land . . . and the bard who would capture her untamed heart. Their love would bridge two worlds. And like golden threads, their lives would knit the fabric of a timeless legend; that of Merlin the prophet . . . and Arthur the king.
My Review:
The combination of the King Arthur legend, Celts, Britons, magic, faith, lore and Atlantis is pretty compelling. If any of those (or all of them) sparks your interest then this is a book to put on your to-read list, and preferably near the top of said list.
I’ve had my copy of this book for several months now. I kept meaning to pick it up, but then I’d get bogged down in some good, and some not-so-good titles as I tried to keep up with all the new, hot releases. Taliesin is a very good example of why not all good books are new titles. This is a fantastic story featuring two very compelling main characters. I enjoyed each storyline equally, although I admit to being a bit more biased character-wise toward Charis, the beautiful, strong princess of Atlantis.
I will admit to being a bit concerned over the faith aspect of the novel. I wasn’t sure how it would be approached, if it would come off corny or.. even worse, like it was a completely different story forced into the story that was flowing so well. But it was seamless and a beautiful message in and of itself.
Taliesin is a story that I plan to enjoy again and I am definitely glad I made sure to have the following books on hand as well. While I wasn’t so much of a fan of Lawhead’s Robin Hood re-tellings, I think I might have done better to have read these books first.
Check out these review(s):
This is interesting — anything involving the oracle of melody wins for me
I love anything featuring Arthurian Legend. I'll have to look this one up. Thanks!
Oh, I love Stephen Lawhead! His Song of Albion trilogy is among my favourites. I have yet to read the Pendragon Cycle of which Taliesin is the first book. I’ve had it sitting on my shelf for a long while now, but I’ve only just (in the last year-and-a-half) begun to get over a reading-stagnation period that’s lasted me some five years! I’m hoping, if not this year, to be able to read this series next year. Another Lawhead book I’ve read and enjoyed is Patrick – it’s about St Patrick of Ireland. Lovely!
Oh! And have you read Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy? I’ve read the first book, and recently acquired the second. She writes beautifully and the story is fantastic!