The Fort at River's Bend: The Sorcerer, Book 1 (The Camulod Chronicles, Book 5)

Jack Whyte does an amazing job bringing to life the Author tales. Mixing fact and legend gives this version of the tale great color and depth I havn't found in any other books about this topic. While this is the 5th book in the series and talks about the raising of young Author it takes us deeper into the story by using real places in history. I have really enjoyed this book and the series as a whole.

Thank the heavens for Jack Whyte. As a student of the Arthuian legends, I find Whyte's books a fantastic read, especially his new one, "Fort" I'm looking forward to Metamorphosis, and find my self waiting like a child at christmas. To all who may read Whyte or has yet to discover this mans talents, good luck and good reading!!!

It seems fitting that book five of this series should proceed at a measured pace giving the young Arthur time to grow toward becoming the legendary king.

The details of life as it might have been after the Roman recessional continues to hold the reader's interest as do the adventures chronicled in "..Rivers Bend."

Mr. Whyte has done his homework in regard to a couple of key elements of this series. By so doing he bolsters the credibility of other faucets of his work in which the reader might not have detailed knowledge. The iron working techniques described were known to the sword makers of Damascus and might well have been within the ken of such cosmopolitan Romans as Varrus and Britanicus. His assessment of meteoric iron as a superior source of blade steel has some historical precedent. James Bowie's knife was "forged from a piece of a star." The persistence of republican Roman ideals long after the Empire had moved into despotism and decline is quite believable. They could well have provided the same cultural anchor for Camelot as they later did for the 18th Century Enlightenment and the fledgling American Republic.

Not surprisingly, book five of the series is not the place to start reading the Camulod Chronicles. It is however, a very satisfying installment. This reader eagerly awaits the next volume

What a wonderful series! Finally a series about the fabled king arthur that takes the legend and makes it real - so real you can really believe it - steeped in real history, this author takes the legends we've all heard and makes them plausible, makes them breathe with a new life. I'm so impressed and I'll never think of "Camelot" again without thinking of Mr. Whyte's take on the situation. a fascinating series of books... start at the beginning and read all six. you won't be sorry you did!

There's not that much to say. If you've read the first 4 books of this series I'm sure you can guess this is another great Jack Whyte book. It is, this guy is a great writer. His books really bring you into the story.