Uther

April 1, 2001
The grim medieval setting of the Camulod Chronicles is no congenial spot like its romantic analogue, Arthurian legend's shining Camelot. In this lusty, brawling, ingenious re-creation, seventh in his popular series, Whyte traces the short, valorous life of Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon, as a parallel novel to 1997's The Eagles' Brood, the story of Uther's cousin and close childhood friend, Caius Merlyn Britannicus. Whyte deftly stage manages Uther's boyhood, adolescence, early manhood and tragically unlucky kingship, revealing, through a host of well-rounded minor characters drawn from both legend and a seemingly inexhaustible imagination, a man whose courage and honor constantly war against his melancholy core. As a young man, Uther succeeds his father as king of Cambria, while Merlyn assumes leadership of Camulod. For most of his life, Uther battles against verminous King Lot of Cornwall, who brutalizes his arranged-marriage bride, Ygraine of Ireland. Having sworn to lead his primitive Pendragon tribes as their king, Uther still yearns for the dignity, civilized values and warm baths of Camulod. But Uther wins Ygraine's heart, affording ample opportunity for juicy sex scenes, vivid and heroic as the flamboyant sword-swinging, hand-to-hand combat and death-dealing cavalry charges. Whyte's Uther may never regain his promised land, but in this rousing and meticulously researched novel, Uther wins a more glorious prize: he sires Britain's once and future king.