I close my eyes and I see them now as they were from my earliest memories. I see them rippling like a golden sea, and in the rustling of the dry leaves I hear again the voices of my people calling to me across the years. Mine is a different path and I must follow where it leads.īut I look out from my high window onto fields of corn ripening to the scythe.

Life is strong in me and I will not grieve for what was or might have been. I have no more tears for my youth in the temple of the brindled ox. I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their water graves. Hopefully, his take on Robin Hood will go better. I know that sounds like a slight to Jane, I apologize Jane, but it's the one that best comes to mind. Imagine Jane Austen redoing the Arthurain mythos with a dash of Christian theology thrown in. Tedious conversations and inconsequential matters go on too long and the good bits are glanced over.

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. There are some novel concepts like the way he introduced Merlin and even the theological weavings.

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. This series tackles the Arthurian legend, and he starts all the way back with the birth and coming-of-age of Merlin. Lawhead has a reputation for integrating Christian theology into classic hero mythos. This is the second Lawhead trilogy, which I won't be reading the rest in the series. I won't go on, but this was a big disappointment. The writing also seemed more like the book was meant for middle-grade ages than an adult fantasy. One minute she's a little girl and suddenly she's plotting against her sister. Morgain's character development to the villainess is non-existent. For example, Charis becomes the Lady of the Lake because she was swimming once in a vision. Lawhead does a deft job in weaving in the Arthurian legend with the Atlantis story, but sometimes it's a reach. 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 any records I've found. Taliesin is more of a minor character, a Celtic bard who she eventually decides to marry after he becomes a Christian. This is really a story about Charis, and a lot of time is spent on her life and the sinking of Atlantis. 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. Lawhead's books and I wanted to read more about Taliesin after a trip to Wales. I grabbed this book because I generally like Mr.

Taliesin stephen lawhead