# What's a good book about the legends of king arthur? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2005, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232 "2005-12-12T08:03:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/21 "2005-12-13T22:06:31Z")
> [@Sgt.Pepper](#): > > Another interesting take is Jack Whyte’s “A Dream of Eagles” series. I think it’s called The Camelot Chronicles in the US. Essentially, it’s all build up leading to Arthur being coronated. It starts with the a few guys who forsee the Roman’s leaving Britain and they start a military colony to protect themselves when the Roman’s leave. That colony is called Camelot. Oh hell, it’d be easier to link to it, then to try to summerize it. > > Anyway, the latest book is Clothar The Frank, which is Lancelot’s tale. Basically him growing up and going to Britain. It finishes when he meets Arthur and the next book is still to be released. The series tries to explain the legends through practical means with no magic. > > [Amazon link](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812551389/qid=1134482295/sr=8-3/ref=pd_bbs_3/002-9524927-6786461?n=507846&s=books&v=glance) > > That link is for the first book, for more info search Jack Whyte and read up on the other books. I also see that one title has been changed for the American release. I strongly endorse this, at least up to the sixth book, the last we’ve got. Among other virtues, it picks up on the _Restitutor Reorum Romanorum_ concept, which is key to understanding **why** the Arthur stories captured imaginations and survived through 1500 years. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/22 "2005-12-13T22:23:19Z")
I went through an Arthur phase in high school and [Arthur Rex](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440303621/qid=1134512424/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-9788210-7485464?s=books&v=glance&n=283155) was by far my favorite. Very, very readable yet tells the arthur legends (and associated legends) in great detail. It’s our of print now but it’s easy to get a used copy. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/23 "2005-12-13T22:56:25Z")
Aside from many already mentioned, I enjoyed the first three books of the [Pendragon Cycle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendragon_Cycle) when I read them in High School, back when it was just the Pendragon Trilogy. I can’t vouch for the subsequent books as I haven’t read them. ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/24 "2005-12-13T23:57:51Z")
Only thing I can add is that _ **Bullfinch’s Mythology** _ touches on many of the tales. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/25 "2005-12-14T01:50:47Z")
> [@Manatee](#): > > Really, though, I’d just dive in to a complete edition of Malory. Seconded. Start there and then expand into the contemporary stuff. When I was 16 and (we were on our family summer vacation in a motor home going from SoCal to British Columbia/Alberta and then back down the Rockies and back to SoCal - 3 weeks total), I spent half my time with my head in **Le Morte D’ Arthur**. The old english was rough to understand at first, but when I started understanding it as I kept reading, I felt like I was witnessing Malory’s writings firsthand. And there was a WHOLE lot of smiting going on… ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/26 "2005-12-14T13:45:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > White’s other stuff is well worth going into, too,. His **The Bestiary** is a translation (with commentary) of a 12th century Book of Beasts, and it tells you much about the Medieval mindset. His **Mistress Masham’s Repose** fantasy based on _Gulliver’s Travels_. Some of his short stories are wonderful - \*‘The Black Rabbit’ \* (A boy’s encounter with Pan), \*‘Soft Voices at Passenham’ \* (A genuinely scary ghost story) and \*‘The Point of Thirty Mile’ \* (A foxhunt catches a werewolf) - are some of my favourites. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/27 "2005-12-14T14:04:52Z")
> [@Boulter's Canary](#): > > Some of his short stories are wonderful - \*‘The Black Rabbit’ \* (A boy’s encounter with Pan), \*‘Soft Voices at Passenham’ \* (A genuinely scary ghost story) and \*‘The Point of Thirty Mile’ \* (A foxhunt catches a werewolf) - are some of my favourites. Got some collection titles, please? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/28 "2005-12-14T22:42:57Z")
Already noted by others above, but I’ll add my votes for: Best Arthurian movie: _Excalibur_, dir. by John Boorman - Visually stunning. Great use of Wagner and Orff in the soundtrack. A nice blend of mysticism and realism. You’ll never see a better Merlin, and there are very early appearances by Gabriel Byrne, Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson. =Sigh= If only they had more money to do the final battle scenes right (but that’s a small quibble). Best Arthurian book: _Arthur Rex_, by Thomas Berger - By turns thrilling, funny, sexy and deeply moving. I first read this in high school, and come back to it again and again. Simply outstanding. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232/29 "2006-01-09T17:54:45Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Got some collection titles, please? 🙂 The three stories I mentionded can all be found in \*\*‘Gone to Ground’ \*\* - detals here: [http://www2.netdoor.com/~moulder/thwhite/gtg\_b.html](http://www2.netdoor.com/~moulder/thwhite/gtg_b.html) Sadly, long out of print. The good news is that they (and several more of his best stories) can be found in **‘The Maharajah and Other Stories’** - a sort of ‘best of…’ compilation which can still be found fairly easily - at least in Europe. I’m not sure about The States. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-good-book-about-the-legends-of-king-arthur/335232.md?page=1)