King Arthur, Dragon’s Child - M.K. Hume

The first book of a lengthy trilogy that promises to be an imaginative, entertaining, educational and thorough retelling of the Arthurian legend covers the origins of Artorex from the age of 14, brought up at the Villa Poppinidii in Aquae Sulis (Bath) by Roman foster parents up to his first encounter with the High King Uther Pendragon, his battles with the barbarian Saxon hordes, his ascension to the throne and his coming to an awareness of the destiny that has to some extent already been mapped-out for him.

I'm in no position to question the historical accuracy of the novel - the work has clearly been thoroughly and academically researched - but it as a work of imaginative fiction, the first part of the Dragon's Child Trilogy is tremendously stirring stuff and rather well-written, taking time to establish the historical context of the period, considering the backgrounds of the personalities and making those characters come vividly to life through a number of personal challenges that they have to face. Prophesy and destiny are in this way mixed with history and personality, cutting through the legend to the people underneath, making it all very real and meaningful and thoroughly engaging the reader.

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