Found Not Lost

Book: Pendragon’s Banner
Author: Helen Hollick
Publication Date: August 2009
Pages: 496
Product ISBN: 9781402218897

Summary

Who was the man
… who became the legend
… we know as
KING ARTHUR?

Pendragon’s Banner is the second book in Helen Hollick’s exciting King Arthur trilogy, covering 459-465 A.D. This is not a fairy tale or fantasy. There is no Merlin, no sword in the stone, and no Lancelot. This is the most accurate Arthurian legend ever written, based on historical evidence and meticulous research.

At age twenty-four, King Arthur has the kingdom he fought so hard for and a new young family. But keeping the throne of Britain—and keeping his wife and three sons safe—proves far from easy. Two enemies in particular threaten everything that is dear to him: Winifred, Arthur’s vindictive first wife, and Morgause, priestess of the Mother and malevolent Queen of the North. Both have royal ambitions of their own.

In this story of harsh battles, secret treasonous plots, and the life-threatening politics of early Britain’s dark ages, author Helen Hollick boldly reintroduces King Arthur as you’ve never seen him before.

My Thoughts
If you’re a fan of the Pendragon lore, you will like the spin that Helen Hollick has taken on this story. At first you’ll miss some of the elements that you may have gotten used to, but this tale is so intriguing that you will soon forget that there is no Excalibur or Merlin on this version; but the backstabbing, the political machinations, battles, triumphs and tragedies… they are all still here.

In this version, which is the second installment in the Pendragon saga following The Kingmaking, the newly crowned King Arthur and his second wife, Gwenhwyfar struggle to maintain the kingship while also keeping their growing family safe and their relationship intact. Yes, you heard right, in this version, Gwenhwyfar is the second wife, and yes they do have kids, and yes they do have problems in their marriage. How very human, eh? Arthur’s first wife, besides from his old nemesis Morgause, who is not the lady of the Lake we are familiar with, is also one of the characters conniving to destroy him and claim the kingship for her own son whom Arthur has turned his back on when he divorced the boy’s mother, Winifred.

I know, I know! Confusing! I just love that all the elements of convoluted relationships and kinships is still in this version. I think that’s one of the more fascinating facets of the Pendragon tales; how the characters are inter-related one way or another and sometimes too close for comfort!

This novel portrays the Pendragon tales in a more human and realistic form. This is how the story would have gone in real life.

If you’d like to see what others thought of this book, check out these blogs participating in the Blog Tour: (scroll to the bottom of the list for a chance to win a copy of this book)
The Tome Travellers Weblog (10/12)
A Reader’s Respite (10/12)
Carla Nayland’s Historical Fiction (10/13)
Enchanted by Josephine (10/14)
Fumbling with Fiction (10/14)
Found Not Lost (10/15)
Nan Hawthorne’s Booking the Middle Ages (10/15)
Jenny Loves to Read (10/16)
The Review From Here (10/17)
The Courtier’s Book (10/18)
Chick Loves Lit (10/19)
Love Romance Passion (10/20)
He Followed Me Home… Can I Keep Him? (10/20)
The Impasse Strikes Back (10/21)
S. Krishna’s Books (10/22)
Books Like Breathing (10/23)
Passages to the Past (10/24)
Virginie Says (10/25)
Readaholic (10/25)
Reading with Monie (10/26)
Rundpinne (10/26)
Books & Needlepoint (10/27)
Capricious Reader (10/27)
Books are my Only Friends (10/27)
A Sea of Books (10/28)
Bloody Bad (10/28)
Revenge of the Book Nerds! (10/28)
Booksie’s Blog (10/28)
Devourer of Books (10/29)
Peeking Between the Pages (10/29)
Starting Fresh (10/29)
Historical Tapestry (10/30)
Medieval Bookworm (10/30)
Book Soulmates (10/30)
Susan’s Art & Words (10/30)
Steven Till (10/31)
Café of Dreams (10/31)

WIN THIS BOOK!

Contest Duration: October 15-30, 2009

To enter, comment: Leave me a comment about: Which character in the Pendragon/Camelot tales is your favorite? Make sure you leave a valid email address.

EXTRA ENTRIES
1. After leaving your answer in the comment section, you can gain additional entries by sharing this contest in any social media (e.g. twitter, facebook, digg, reddit, etc) or directory . Just come back and let me know or leave the url where your shared it. You can also win one entry each day you share it on Twitter. Just copy and paste the text below:

WIN! The Pendragon’s Banner @JMom http://retwt.me/X7yl

There is also the ‘Share This’ and ‘retweet’ button at the end of this post for your convenience.

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Rules:
* This giveaway is open to US Residents only
* No PO boxes
* Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
* You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
* This giveaway ENDS ON OCTOBER 30, 2009
 
 

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
and the winner is:

Comment #56, Benita G!

Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway.

Tags: book reviews, Camelot, Giveaways, Pendragon, Sourcebooks