From Publishers Weekly
In this rousing postcript to Lawhead's bardic Pendragon Cycle (Taliesin, Merlin, Arthur, Pendragon, Grail), such a monstrous evil stalks near-future Britain that an ancient Welsh prophecy will be fulfilled: the Thames will reverse its course, Avalon will rise again from the cold gray sea and Arthur will return. A series of Royals so rotten that the Brits can't wait to dump the whole stinking lot enables scheming Prime Minister Waring to creepAtrick by political dirty trickAtoward Magna Carta II, the abolition of the monarchy. Far in the Highlands, though, former career officer James Arthur Stuart feels destiny stir within him. He is Arthur, come again to exalt Britain and its grand old valuesAgoodness, compassion, mercy, charity and justice. Accompanied by his enigmatic adviser Embries, his boon drinking buddy Calum McKay and the lissome Jenny, James struggles to come into his own, proving his mettle against modern monsters: skinheads armed with pit bulls, the fickle hydra of the press and the redheaded "total dish" Moira, Arthur's old witchy nemesis who destroyed Camelot. By the time James ousts Moira's insidiously treacherous buffalo-wing- and pizza-chomping politicos, Lawhead makes even aristocracy-phobes want to stand up at the skirl of the pipes and cheer on the eternal virtues James represents. In revisiting nearly every romantic Arthurian clich? and playing off snappy contemporary derring-do against the powerful shining glimpses of the historical Arthur he created, Lawhead pulls off a genuinely moving parable of good and evil. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In a near-future Britain, the death of King Edward IX throws the succession into disarray until a young man named James Arthur Stewart discovers his identity as the reborn King Arthur and claims his rightful throne. Aided by his counselor Myrddin Embries, the new king seeks to restore faith in the monarchy as well as a sense of justice to a land beleaguered by despair. The author of the popular "Pendragon Cycle" takes his Arthurian interests one step further as he explores the ramifications of a legend come to life in the modern world. Infused with Christian overtones, Lawhead's latest novel should appeal to fans of Arthurian fantasy. Recommended.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.