The Skystone (The Camulod Chronicles) by Jack Whyte

This book is the first novel in the “Camulod” series, a nine book set that encompasses the Arthurian mythos from a historical perspective rather than a “fantasy” perspective.  I had been reluctant to begin, even though I had heard plenty of good things about the entire series.  This was mostly due to the fact that I have read numerous Arthurian accounts, many of them relatively recently, and was unsure of starting yet another one.

So glad I did give it a try though!  Right from the beginning it reminded me of perhaps my favorite Arthurian series, Bernard Cornwell’s "Warlord Chronicles".  That is to say, this book started out with gritty warfare told from the perspective of the Roman warriors on the front lines, down in the dirt and mud, fighting for their legates, their legionnaires, and for the glory of Rome.  The story begins in the final days of the Roman Empire in Briton (~375 AD – 425 AD) and involves several flashback sequences that help establish the two major characters for the novel, Publius Varrus and Caius Brittanicus, both solid Roman soldiers.  A career-ending injury to Publius leads to major changes and we quickly pull back from the day-to-day soldiering and begin to see the larger picture of what everyday life was like for citizens in Roman Briton during that era.  By the end of the book we get to experience even larger issues as we live through what amounts to the abandonment of Briton by the Roman Empire, just after the overrunning of Hadrian’s Wall and the final shake-up of emperors.

  The story is told from Publius’ first person POV as he transforms his life from soldier to blacksmith.  There is not a clue that we are in the Arthurian world throughout the first half of the book…it’s pure historical fiction.  And excellent historical fiction it is.  Well-rounded characters I came to care about and worthy goals I hoped they could achieve.  Publius’ quest for Skystones (meteor rocks) is the central driving force but it is not until the second half of the book that we get some clues that this is taking place several generations before Arthur and the gang’s appearance.  It is fascinating to read how terms such as dragon's nests, the Lady of the Lake and the Pendragon clan are introduced via perfectly natural non-fantasy methods.  No magic what-so-ever in this book.

I suspect this entire series will be a fascinating read.  I expect we will see Whyte continue to incorporate traditional Arthurian names, places and events as well as the names of various historical figures that have been suggested as being the possible basis for the original King Arthur legend. This implies, of course, that Whyte's version of history is the true story that has become distorted over time to become the legend and stories of magic that we know today.  It should be a great ride.