"I will weep no more for the lost, asleep in their watery graves. The voices of the departed speak: Tell our story, they say. It is worthy to be told. And so I take my pen and write..."
Thus begins the tragedy of lost Atlantis, extinguished forever in a hideous paroxysm of earth and sea. Out of the holocaust, three crippled ships emerge to bear King Avallach and his daughter Charis to the cloud-bound Isle of Glass.
Here is another world, where Celtic chieftains struggle for survival in the twilight of Rome's power, where the enchanting beauty of Princess Charis kindles a love that links two kingdoms. One heroic figure towers over all, the Prince Taliesin, in whom the sum of human greatness emerges—grandeur and grace, meekness and majesty, beauty and truth. This is a tale that spans two worlds, a vision that sings in the heart, and a love that spawns the miracle of Merlin... Arthur... and destiny that is more than a kingdom.
– Back Cover Blurb from a Crossway Books edition
"They were going to kill Arthur. Can you imagine? They would have killed him too, but I put a stop to it. The arrogance! The stupidity!"
Thus begins the story of Merlin who, like his father, the Bard Taliesin, has a great mission. But his is the more difficult. Where Taliesin imagined the Kingdom of Summer in song, it falls to Merlin to actually bring it into existence.
But how? This Merlin must discover through a series of grave trials that tax his spirit and nearly destroy his body and mind. Yet there's a purpose behind it all. Merlin is being readied for his life-work: to prepare the coming of the Pendragon, Britain's great ruler, Lord of the Summer Kingdom, and Lion of Logres.
Here is a Merlin unlike any other. More suffering servant than conquering hero, this Merlin grows in wisdom and honor till at last. he leaves his mark on the minds and hearts of the people and changes the course of history forever.
– Back Cover Blurb from a Crossway Books edition
"'Are you certain, Myrddin?' Arthur whispered anxiously. 'Everyone is watching. What if it will not work?'"
"'It will, as you say, "work." Just do as I have told you.'"
"Arthur nodded grimly, and stepped up to the great keystone where the sword stood, its naked blade stuck fast in the heart of the stone.
Thus begins the third and final book in The Pendragon Cycle, bringing to a close Stephen R. Lawhead's grand vision of Britain's greatest monarch, revealing a new side to the dearly loved tales of King Arthur.
In order to bring about the Summer Kingdom—the reign of peace and prosperity forseen by Taliesin—Arthur must first unite the petty British kings under his banner as High King and Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty. A period of intense warfare and considerable treachery follows with Arthur narrowly prevailing, greatly aided by Merlin's guidance and counsel. But that is only the beginning....
Wave upon wave of barbarian troops, traitorously assisted by some of the defeated British kings, batter Arthur's depleted forces. Once again, following an epic struggle against terrible odds, the High King prevails. Peace reigns, the Summer Kingdom flowers, but only for a season. Soon Arthur will face his greatest test—a deadly trap set by the sorceress Morgian with his beloved Queen Gwenhwyvar as the bait!
– Back Cover Blurb from a Crossway Books edition
Arthur is King—but darkest evil has descended upon Britan's shores in many guises. Fragile alliances fray and tear, threatening all the noble liege has won with his wisdom and his blood.
In this black time of plague and pestilence, Arthur's most trusted counseler Myrddin—the warrior, bard, and kingmaker whom legend will call Merlin—is himself to be tested on a mystical journey through his own extraordinary past. So Arthur must stand alone against a great and terrible adversary. For only thus can he truly win immortality—and the name he will treasure above all others: Pendragon.
– Back Cover Blurb from an Avonova Fantasy edition
Drought, plague, and war left the Isle of the Mighty battered and its heart, the beloved Arthur, grievously injured—until a secret relic is brought before the dying King: a Holy Grail that heals his wounds and restores his vigor.
But soon evil enters the royal court in the guise of a beautiful maiden; a soulless, malevolent force capable of seducing the King's loyal champion, confounding the sage whom some call Merlin, and carrying the sacred Grail—and Arthur's adored Queen—off into the dark unknown.
And now Arthur faces the greatest challenge of his sovereignty: a quest of recovery that must lead the noble liege 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.
– Back Cover Blurb from an Avon Fantasy edition
(Some contend that Avalon is the sixth part of the Pendragon Cycle; others that it's standalone. I list it as both.)
For untold centuries the promise has endured: that, in the time of Britain's greatest need, King Arthur will return to rescue his people...
The hour foretold has come at last! Edward the Ninth, reprobate King of England, is dead and a proud and venerable institution is to be buried with him. A new political order—encouraged by an ambition Prime Minister and supported by a public wearied by a succession of royal scandals—is about to render the old obsolete. With signed abdications of all potential claimants already in P.M. Thomas Waring's hands, it is a near-certainty that the British monarchy will not survive the twenty-first century.
But in the Scottish Highlands, a young man makes a remarkable discovery that will change the seemingly unaltered path of his beleaguered nation. For Captain James Arthur Stuart is not the commoner he has always believed himself to be, but rather the scion of an obscure branch of the royal family, raised in ignorance of his true station. Even more astonishing, the monarch-to-be does not merely share the name of the legendary King of Summer—he is, in fact, King Arthur reborn!
Claiming a throne, however, is one thing, while holding it is quite another, as James—now ruling the land as Arthur II—turns to those most beloved and most loyal for support, guidance, and assistance: his adored wife, Jennifer; his best friend, Calum; and his enigmatic and mystical advisor, a certain Mr. Embries... better known as Merlin. Their road will be rocky and perilous, and there are powerful enemies arrayed against them—not only Prime Minister Waring and his ruthless political machine, but the forces of an ancient, far more potent, destructive evil. For Arthur is not the only one who has returned—and Merlin's magic is not the only sorcery that has survived the centuries...
– Dust jacket blurb from the Avon EOS hardcover