Grail

The Pendragon Cycle, Book 5

By: Stephen R. Lawhead

Narrated by: Robert Whitfield

Drought, plague, and war have left the Isle of Mighty battered and the beloved King Arthur grievously injured. But astonishingly, the High King lives, his wounds healed by a sacred and secret relic: the Holy Grail. Now, in this time of rampant disease and death, the great king wants to share the Grail's curative powers with all who require it.

But with the Grail, evil has entered the royal court, in the guise of a beautiful maiden who seduces the King's most loyal champion. Confounding both Arthur and the sage Merlin, evil abducts the Grail, along with Arthur's beloved Queen, and carries them off into the dark unknown. Now Arthur faces the greatest challenge of his sovereignty: to recover his lost treasures. It will lead him through realms of magic and the undead, on a trail that winds inexorably toward a grim confrontation with his most foul nemesis - and his destiny.

©1997 Stephen R. Lawhead (P)2001 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Suspenseful...soulful, philosophical...engagingly drawn...Arthurian Britain is invoked with robust verisimilitude." ( Publishers Weekly)
"An exciting and thoughtful addition to the ranks of Arthurian fantasy." ( Locus)

The performance is the story itself.

Absolute joy and enchantment are revealed in the performance of the legend. As if a veil was lifted and the true light of the heavens was set free for all to witness. Share in the witness! Fill your cups with the clearest of water. The most amber of Honey Moon Mead. The boldest of red wine or the blackest of Break Fast stout.
And, enjoy.

Love this saga

This was my last book in this Arthurian series. I have enjoyed each of them .

More epicness and great story telling.

The great stories of Arthur and his faithful Cymbrogi continue to be told in edge-of-seat excitement.

The brilliant conclusion

Grail is the brilliant conclusion to the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead. It tells the tale of Arthur and the Holy Grail, from the point of view of Gwalchavad (Galahad) and Morgian (Morganna). Llenweagh (Lancelot), is bewitched by Morgian's daughter Morgaws, steals the Grail, Arthur's sword and abducted Queen Gwynhyvar. Gwalchavad, Bors and Gereint set out on a quest to regain the Holy Grail and rescue their Queen and King and their fellowship from the clutches of Morgian. A brilliant narration by Robert Whitfield makes this The best listen in the Pendragon Cycle.

A Captivating Tale

I've been reading the Pendragon Cycle in order and enjoyed them all, but I was a bit dubious about this title. I'm not that into the facination with religious relics in general or the grail in particular. However, Lawhead manages to present a new take on this part of Arthurian legend. This was my favorite of the series, so far.

Delightful

A very nice series, Pendragon takes you on a wonderful journey with Merlins family and King Arthur!

Anti-climatic

This book seemed better-written than the previous ones, and should have gotten four stars. Ultimately, though, I had a really hard time getting into it. The fact that the events of the book take place *before* the end of Arthur made it difficult for me to take anything seriously, as I already basically knew the limits of the narrative.

Otherwise the book follows its predecessors well, presenting an interesting adversary and a fresh point of view. It was generally well-read, although at a few times the reader failed to properly portray certain emotions. I overall preferred this reader to the previous books.

Bad accents

The voice actor seemed to have difficulty settling on a voice for Merlin. So he frequently sounded like someone doing a bad Indian accent.