A magnificent historical novel about the early life of the man who would one day be known as St. Patrick
In the summer of the year AD 405, Irish raiders under the command of King Eochaid attack the western coast of Wales, setting fire to towns and farms, stealing cattle and grain, and carving a fiery swathe through the peaceful countryside. Many of those who survive the attack are rounded up and carried back to Ireland.
Among the survivors is a 16-year-old boy named Succat—the impulsive and willful young scion of a British noble family—who is sold in the slave market to a merciless ruler. When Succat is gravely punished after a foiled attempt to escape, he comes to the attention of Cormac, a novice Druid eager to practice his healing skills. Succat learns to respect the Druid's lore and love of learning and is given a new name, Patrick, the Celtic word for nobleman.
What follows is the story of Patrick's "missing years"—years of calamity, defeat, and crushing disappointment that form him into a bard and advisor to the High King of Ireland, and lead to the mission for which his name will be remembered throughout history.
– Back Cover Blurb
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
Here, in the story of a great gift and an even greater journey, is summoned all the magic and splendor, the brutality and the innocense of a lost era—the not-so-Dark Age when faith ruled men's hearts.
Aidan is a scribe in a remote Irish monastery on the far, wild edge of Christendom. He was born to rule, but his future was lost with his father's kingdom, to the fierce Danes. Behind the walls of Cennanus na Ríg, Aidan is secure and sheltered by monastic life, dividing his time between prayer and work, contemplation and the dreams of the wider world that stir every young man's mind.
Then a miracle bursts into Aidan's quiet life. He is chosen to accompany a small band of monks on a quest to the farthest eastern reaches of the known world—the fabled city of Byzantium, where they are to present a beautiful and costly hand-illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, to the Emperor of all Christendom.
Thus begins a journey beyond his wildest imagingings, by sea and over land, from Ireland's gentle hills across the storm-tossed Narrow Sea, to the blue waters of the Mediterranean; from the peaceful solitude of contemplative life, into the vast corrupt and glittering heart of the Holy Roman Empire.
On this expedition, Aidan becomes, by turns, a warrior and a sailor, a slave and a spy, a Viking and a Saracen, and finally, a man. He sees more of the world than most men of his time, becoming an ambassador to kings and an intimate of Byzantium's fabled Golden Court. And finally this valiant Irish monk faces the greatest trial that can confront any man in any age: commanding his own Destiny.
– Dust jacket blurb from the HarperPrism/Zondervan hardcover
Someone was messing with Spence's mind.
Every morning, Dr. Spencer Reston, dream-research scientist on space station Gotham, woke up exhausted. His head felt like an overripe cantaloupe ready to burst, and he had the nagging feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Only later, with all of civilization hanging in the balance, does Spence find out that he has become a vital link in a cosmic coup materminded by a mysterious creature known as the Dream Thief.
– Back Cover Blurb from a Crossway Books edition