The first instalment in the five book Pendragon Cycle, Taliesin tells the story of an Atlantean princess and the famous seer and druid prince, Taliesin.
For the first part of the book chapters alternate between life for the princess in Atlantis and life for Taliesin and his tribe in the closing years of the Roman occupation of Britain.
To summarise, the princess escapes the devastation of Atlantis and finds herself in Britain where she meets Taliesin. The two fall in love, marry and have a son. The book ends with the death of Taliesin.
While this is the essence of the story it goes no way towards explaining the complex world building and character development that takes place within the pages. The descriptions of the fabled Atlantis and its society and customs are thoroughly drawn and completely convincing. The Atlantean princess is a wonderfully developed character with a past that gives coherence to her actions. The Britain described sounds accurate and the actions of its inhabitants believable within the context of the times in which this story is set.
A kind of prequel to the bulk of Arthurian folklore, of which I am so fond, this story takes the basic ‘facts’ of the legends and weaves from them a very enjoyable, and quite believable, story.
With the stage so beautifully set I look forward to reading the next book in the Pendragon Cycle.-Lynn
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