The Pendragon’s Banner Trilogy by Helen Hollick (Books 1-3)
Requirements: .epub Reader | 3.6Mb | Version: Retail
Overview: Helen Hollick escaped London in January 2013 to live in North Devon – but was born in Walthamstow, North East London in 1953. She began writing at the age of 13. Desperately wanting a pony of her own, but not being able to afford one, she invented an imaginary pony instead, writing stories about our adventures together at every spare opportunity. In the seventies turning to science fiction – this was the age of Dr. Who, Star Trek and Star Wars.
She has no qualifications, nor have been to college or university, although studied part-time for a Medieval History Diploma and passed with honours.
Genre: Fiction » Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Book 1 – The Kingmaking
In this first volume of what promises to be a monumental historical trilogy, rookie British author Hollick depicts Arthur’s rise from A.D. 450, when he was a 15-year-old boy of hidden parentage, to A.D. 457, when he took his place as the King Arthur of legend. The story combines private emotions and public statecraft as marriages, alliances and enemies are made and unmade to suit the politics of the era. Hollick mixes elements from fifth-century history, myth, early romances, contemporary fantasy and other novels about Arthur, adding her own inventions for good measure. The treatment of Gwenhwyfar and her love for Arthur (depicted here as star-crossed even without Lancelot’s help) is especially vivid. Though the novel contains no supernatural aspects, with its exotic setting, passionate characters and epic battles and intrigue, it still should appeal to the fantasy fans to whom most Arthurian adventures are addressed. The language, too, is influenced by genre fantasy, especially in its dramatic descriptions and reliance on archaisms; but this big-hearted novel’s historical speculations alone should make it of interest to the non-fantasy reader as well.
Book 2 – Pendragon’s Banner
This colorful second installment of Hollick’s King Arthur trilogy (following The Kingmaking) continues the bloody legend as the young king of Britain tries to keep his throne amid traitors, rivals and deadly treachery. This is a period of savage brutality, deceit, feud, greed and lust for power, with Arthur, the Pendragon, as merciless and cunning as his challengers.
Arthur is 24, married to his second wife, the beautiful Gwenhwyfar. His hostile first wife, Winifred, schemes to unseat Arthur and put her own son on the throne, but other women are also pregnant by Arthur, and familial royal murder plots abound. When Arthur is not bedding his wife, mistress, prostitutes or female spies, he is busy chopping up foes with sword and battle-ax, while doing his own scheming to outwit and destroy his arch enemy, Morgause, who harbors a bitter hatred for Arthur and his family and is the only enemy Arthur fears. Refreshingly, Hollick’s Arthur is no Hollywood hero; he’s a vicious opportunist, devious and manipulative, a lusty master of expedient decision and action.
Book 3 – Shadow of the King
In the final volume of Hollick’s Pendragon Banner trilogy, King Arthur finds himself restless in his new role as ruler of a peaceful kingdom. Missing the clash of swords and the glory of the battlefield, it doesn’t take much to lure him from his quiet life in Camelot. After Arthur departs for war-torn Gaul, his kingdom, watched over by Gwenhwyfar and the high council, stands vulnerable. When Arthur is mistakenly presumed dead and Britain’s future lies in the balance, the vultures descend, viciously vying for the throne and the power it represents. Of course, when the rumors of his demise prove false, the real complications—both personal and political—begin. Because Hollick adds her own unique twists and turns to the familiar mythology, Arthurian devotees will be eager to see how she wraps up her version of the legend.
Download Instructions:
http://gestyy.com/w6iD0t
Mirror:
http://gestyy.com/w6iD0p
