Twisted Kingdom

This is the second book in the fantastic Jack Whyte series.

From the back of the book:

It is 395 A.D., and as the Roman armies withdraw from Britain, anarchy threatens the colony that will one day be known as Camelot. Creating their own army and joining with the Celtic people of King Ullic Pendragon, the colonists emerge as a new breed of Britons, ready to forge the government that will be the Round Table and its Knights and to prepare the groundwork for the future coronation of Arthur, first Hight King of Britain.

With all the drama, passion and violence of England's most vibrant history, THE SINGING SWORD continues Jack Whyte's bestselling chronicle of the dream that gave birth to an enduring legend.

I think most people think I am crazy when I tell them I am in love with Jack Whyte. It is his writing I love of course. It is very rare that I can read a book by the same author in a row. It is taking all my will-power to wait until next month to start the next one.

Lots of people look at Jack Whyte as a male-orientated author. I will start off firstly by saying, if you are looking for a romance novel you are not going to find one here. There are a couple brief scenes where their is some action, but I don't think it is enough to attract someone that is looking for a great deal of romance. The majority of the cast of characters are men, which normally would turn me off from the book entirely, because I like to know that women are important. The woman in the novel, as well as book one, though, make it all worthwhile.

The narrator is once again Plautus. He started out with limited beginnings, but then he met Caius, the man who put this new community into action, and suddenly he was someone. I was so impressed with this book because the characters seem so real to me. When something would happen to Plautus, I could feel for the suffering of his wife, Luceiia. She was a strong character, but her husband seemed to bring trouble to himself wherever he went. Plautus, though, would do anything for the safety of this community they call home. I thought he was a wonderful narrator for both novels, but since he is getting older, I am assuming someone else will take the reins in the book 3.

There are so many things that happen in this book that I just can't talk about, because this novel lays so much framework for the story of Camelot and the young king that will one day rule it. You will notice from the blurb I posted above that the Pendragon's are already in position. In this novel, Ullic Pendragon's son marries Plautus's daughter. Then, on practically the same day, Ullic's sister marries Caius's son. So, the union has been struck, the name is in existence, soon will be the time for Arthur to be born. The groundwork has been laid in this novel, as things were explained you could see their bearing on the Arthurian stories you already know.

I think this series is very well-written. It catches my attention and holds on to it for large periods of time. I find myself drawn into this world and that is a good thing because series also end up boring me, I hope that this never happens with this one. I have my fingers crossed that I make it to the end with the same level of wow I start it with. I just can't say enough good things about this series.

4.5/5