Jack Whyte, The Lance Thrower

The Lance Thrower

Jack Whyte

Forge, Sep 2004, $27.95, 528 pp.

ISBN: 0312869290

In fifth century Gaul, Clothar the Lance Thrower is raised by his aunt, the Lady of the Lake, when his father is murdered. At the same time, Caius Merlyn raises Arthur to become the future king of England. When she feels the time is right, his aunt sends Clothar to remind Caius that for the new realm to succeed, it must be a Kingdom dedicated to God.

Arthur and Clothar become close friends and the expatriate Frank becomes a believer in the dream of Camulod. As the duo and others begin their quest to make the ideal a reality, a woman enters the mix. This is no ordinary female as both Arthur and Clothar fall in love with her, but will this kind woman inadvertently prove to be the divisor of the "I got your back" buddies?

The eighth Camulod Chronicle is an exciting retelling of one of the great legends of the Round Table saga. The storyline is fast-paced and loaded with action, but as with the original story of Sir Lancelot, King Arthur, and Queen Guinevere, the tale belongs to the romantic triangle. With his emphasis on life in the fifth century, Jack Whyte makes believers out of his audience that Camelot was real.

Harriet Klausner