The Skystone

Tor

The Skystone
Jack Whyte
1992

The Summary
"We all know the story--how Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, how Camelot came to be, and the power struggles that ultimately destroyed Arthur's dreams.  But what of the time before Arthur?  What were the forces that helped create him?

"And how did the legend come to pass?

"Before the time of Arthur and Camelot, Britain had become a dark and deadly place, savaged by the warring factions of Picts, Celts, and invading Saxons.  The Roman citizens who had lived there for generations were suddenly faced with a deadly choice.  Should they leave and take up residence in a Roman world that was corrupt and utterly foreign?  Or stay and face the madness that would surely ensue when the Roman legions--Britain's last bastion of safety for the civilized--leave?  For two Romans, Publius Varrus and his friend Caius Britannicus, there can be only one answer.  They will stay, try to preserve what is best of Roman life, and create a new culture out of the wreckage.  In doing so, they will plant the seeds of the legend.

"For these two men are Arthur's great-grandfathers and their actions will shape a nation...and forge a sword known as Excalibur."

The Good
I actually picked The Skystone up at my local library.  It, along with several over books in the series, were available for only fifty cents a piece.  Of course, I couldn't simply pass up buying the whole thing and diving into the series.  It was a random purchase that, under normal circumstances, I probably wouldn't have made if I hadn't been prowling through the books one day.

And I'm pretty glad that I picked it up.

I love history.  I've always been a little fascinated by Roman history, and I've always been a fan of British history; however, much of my knowledge was sequestered to a handful of emperors and incidents in Rome.  I knew virtually nothing about England during the fourth and fifth centuries, so The Skystone was as informative as it was fascinating.

I learned a lot about British and Roman history, culture, and everyday life.  Not that I can remember any of it now, of course, but I feel like I learned quite a bit and I enjoyed a pretty great story in the process.  Personally, I really liked listening to Publius Varrus' story.  He was an interesting, capable character who took unexpected adventures that seemed to lead him from one place to another.

I thought he was unexpectedly eloquent for a soldier, but that's probably why I liked him.  He was pretty relatable.  I mean, he was basically just another person trying to survive in a world that (quite literally) wanted him dead; he's just your average soldier in the Roman Empire.  And yet his story was an adventure, and he did a wonderful job of telling me everything that happened.

Granted, I may not have liked his temper--and I certainly didn't like where it eventually led him--but I loved how his story involved a host of historical figures and culminated with the Lady of the Lake.  While there's no magic involved and, honestly, I pretty much expect magic in anything that stems from Arthurian legend, I was enchanted by how Arthur's legacy begins in The Skystone.

Jack Whyte's novel grounds Arthur and Excalibur in reality.  Like I said, there isn't any magic involved, but the way that Whyte carefully crafts a realistic world in which the magic of Arthur can grow--the way he so craftily plants the seeds for the legend throughout his story--is captivating.  I loved it.  I loved being able to find those subtle clues, and I can't wait to learn more about Arthur's heritage.

The Bad
It took me a very long time to get through this book.  Varrus is a thoughtful and engaging narrator, and I found his story fascinating.  I loved learning about the culture and history of Britain during the time of the Roman Empire; I loved the detail and depth of the story; I loved the intricately described places and characters.

However, I often lost myself to other things.  While I liked Varrus, he did have a habit of droning on and on.  More to the point, his story is a long one--and this book is only a tiny piece of his life.  He's writing at the end of his lifetime, but he's only telling us a part of his story from his time as a Roman soldier to the eventual creation of the Colony.  (I don't think I'm ruining anything by saying that; rather, I think it's pretty obvious what happens from reading the cover.)

It's maybe half of his life, and it feels like it takes ages to get through his story.  Like I said, it's a great book, but it does take a while to get through it.  I often found myself distracted by other books and different projects, so it took me many months to finish this book when it probably should have only taken a couple of weeks.

The Ugly
I have to admit, The Skystone is a bit graphic and slightly explicit.  If it's not local Picts and Celts slaughtering invading Roman soldiers, it's some disease or another wiping out a community; if it's not Publius Varrus' memories of war, it's his more tender moments with his lovers, and then his wife.  It's a hard look at what real life might have been like in a particularly tumultuous time in Britain's history.

It's a fascinating and engaging novel, but it might not be for everyone.