Uther (The Camulod Chronicles #7) by Jack Whyte

It was with great reverence and a bit of trepidation that I returned to my reading of the Camulod Chronicles.  The first six novels of this amazing series form a complete series by themselves and I was a little worried that even though I had greatly enjoyed those novels, this next one might be more of a “filler” novel. After all, it tells the story of Uther Pendragon, a life that was already mostly covered during the events of book three, The Eagles' Brood, where he is shown growing up with his cousin Merlyn. The shear length of the book also added to my concern, weighing in at over 900 paperback pages. So… at the risk of suffering through a lengthy filler novel, I plunged in anyway, tossing my fears aside for the simple reason that I trust this author, Jack Whyte, to provide me with yet another amazing novel, much as he had with the first six books.

And he did just that. Most of the first half of the book was, indeed, a repeat of the events of The Eagles' Brood but while that book was told from the first person perspective of Merlyn Britannicus as he looked back on long-ago events, this book was from Uther’s third person perspective as those events unfolded. It’s quite a different viewpoint because the two characters are so different from another. 

The second half of the book covered Uther’s life after leaving Camulod (Camelot) as he becomes King of Cambria and leads his alliance in an aggressive defense against Lot of Cornwall.  These events were not covered in previous books in the series other than a passive mention of Uther being off doing his thing in the West. So I was happy to fill in these holes. We do know the end result of Uther’s campaigns, of course, and so the second half of the book does read a little like a tragedy. But to read of Uther’s actions, his thoughts and growth as a character, his relationship with Ygraine, their child Arthur, the difficulty with dealing with various allies as Uther tries to counter the devious Lot… all of that was truly awesome.

Historical novels that center on warfare can often get bogged down in endless battles but the battles that take place in the final 200 pages of this book were absolutely intriguing. To watch Uther’s brilliance at overcoming difficult odds, designing a new brand of warfare when desperately needed, and demonstrate ideal leadership qualities was extremely fulfilling. The battles themselves are like a combination of a strategic chess match and well-choreographed action sequences filled with all the bloody horror one would expect from up close and personal sword play, flails impacting helmets, pounding horse hooves, etc. I never once felt bogged down or wished for the plot to speed up even though this is a very long novel. But don’t get the impression this is strictly a war novel. That’s really only a small part of Uther’s life and of this novel.

Once again, a Jack Whyte novel gets my highest recommendation. But definitely start at the beginning of the series (The Skystone) in order to be privy to the numerous interactions and history leading up to the rise of Arthur himself. Only two more books to go in the larger series and I am already dreading the moment when I will have turned the last page.