The Oak above the Kings (The Tales of Arthur) - Hardcover

Patricia Kennealy-Morrison

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0451453522 ISBN 13: 9780451453525

Publisher: Ace, 1994

Synopsis

In the sequel to The Hawk's Gray Feather, the lost prince, Arthur, finds his way to his long-prophesied destiny by overthrowing the Archdruid, Edeyrn the usurper, who holds all of Keltia enslaved with his evil magic.

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Reviews

Lively and colorful, this second volume of Kennealy-Morrison's version of the Arthurian legends (following The Hawk's Gray Feather ) is again set on the planet Keltia. The Counterinsurgency, led by Arthur, the heir to the last lawful king, here triumphs over the tyranny of the Archdruid Edeyrn. In the final battle, Edeyrn incapacitates Merlynn, Arthur's teacher and chief adviser, before perishing himself, leaving the liberated realm without its wisest counsel. Arthur and his first cousin Gweniver are chosen co-rulers and are wed in name, but maintain a personal antagonism. Then Arthur sets out with his foster-brother and brother-in-law, the bard (and narrator) Taliesin, to punish other planets that had supplied mercenaries to Edeyrn. On his voyages the king encounters Majanah, queen of Aojun, who bears him a child. Intimations of civil war in Keltia draw Arthur back after seven years. He quells the disturbance and forms a true marriage with Gweniver when further signs of disaster loom. Kennealy-Morrison writes superior sword-and-sorcery fare, vividly depicting an idealized, vibrant and dominant Celtic society with equality of the sexes and a practical and pervasive magic.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another of Kennealy-Morrison's (previously billed simply as Kennealy) Keltiad yarns and the second installment of a trilogy, the Tales of Arthur (begun with The Hawk's Gray Feather, not reviewed). The idea is that the Danaans left Ireland in the fifth century in a fleet of spaceships led by Saint Brendan the Astrogator, to found the space empire of Keltia. Not surprisingly, Keltia's history resembles reworked stories from the age of Celtic myth. Arthur's story is narrated by the bard Taliesin; Arthur's sister, whom he will marry for reasons of state, and whom he loathes, is Gweniver. Together they lead the Counterinsurgency against the evil Theocracy of the powerful druid-wizard Edeyrn. Intriguing stuff--if you can tolerate the author's ghastly blend of pseudoscience, fantasy, myth, gnarled prose, absurd plotting, and general air of self-importance. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

A group of counterinsurgents led by Arthur and Gweniver Pendreic, the rightful sovereigns of the planets that make up the Six Nations of Keltia, challenges the oppressive rule of the Archdruid Ederyn, only to discover that their apparent victory contains the seeds of future turmoil. Kennealy-Morrison continues her epic saga of Celtic adventurers who settled the stars during the Earth's Dark Ages. Her plausible and ingenious retelling of the Arthurian myth helps to expand the story begun in The Hawk's Gray Feather (ROC, 1993). Familiarity with other titles in the Keltaid series is helpful though not necessary.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ace
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0451453522
• ISBN 13: 9780451453525
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384