Review "The Eagle's Brood" and "The Saxon Shore" by Jack Whyte

These are books three and four in the Camulod series by Mr. Whyte. This is another retelling of the Arthur legend but from a new perspective. Much like Mary Stewart or Bernrard Cornwell it focuses on a semi-historical fiction of Arthur's life and times. The series began with the Roman withdrawal from Britain and continues in these books with Arthur's birth and his being raised by Merlyn.

I enjoy Mr. Whyte's style of historical fiction - his description of the different groups struggling for survival at the time in Britain (Celts, Picts, Angles, Saxons, Danes, Scots, etc.) are very well done. But I do get impatient sometimes for him to move along with the story! After all, the Saxon Shore is book four and at the end of that book, Arthur is about six years old! So if you want a quicker read I would check another version of this legend.

These books are enjoyable reading if you enjoy historical fiction or Arthur legends or both, but the pace is sometimes slow and long sections can be filled with diversions into things like early theological debates or a visit to a leper colony. When I complete the series I think I can make a fair comparison to other series who told the same tale.