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House Of Pendragon #2
The Recruit
Sequel to the EPPIE-nominated The House Of Pendragon, Book The Firebrand......In the long-anticipated second novel of her original House of Pendragon series, Debra A. Kemp continues the extraordinary story of King Arthur's estranged daughter, Lin. Adjusting from her life as an orphaned and abused slave to that of Arthur, the Pendragon's daughter does not prove an easy task for young Lin. She struggles to adapt and find her place within the sumptuous palace walls of Camelot. Her mother, Queen Gwenhwyfar, expects Lin to conform to the life of royalty and the duties of a princess, including an arranged marriage. But having survived the cruelty of life as Modred's slave, Lin wants more than a tedious life of weaving and gossip within the world of women. Rejected by her cold, unloving mother, Lin seeks the role of training to become a soldier. Her fighting spirit meets resistance at every turn. Can Lin prevail as a recruit in the Pendragon's army? Or will her past return to haunt her?
- GenresArthurian
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
49 people want to read
About the author
Debra A. Kemp
2 books19 followersEver since seeing the movie Camelot in the mid-70s, Debra A. Kemp wanted to write her own version of the Arthurian legends. She could hardly disobey when King Arthur himself commanded: "Don't let it be forgot…" The idea of her main character was conceived that very night. She just wished she could remember the specific date of that important moment in her life. But what started as an innocent evening at the cinema turned into Debra's obsession. She read everything she could find on the topic, slowly building her now-extensive Arthurian library and quirky collection of artwork, movies, toys and figurines.
Before Debra took up her fountain pen to write however, she earned a nursing degree from Indiana University, married and raised two children. Originally from Highland, Indiana, Debra’s husband’s career in the United States Air Force sent the family to Louisiana, England, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. While in England, Debra felt a special connection with the land and especially a few sites that played key roles in her novels and stories.
Debra A. Kemp passed away on Sunday, February 8, 2015. She was 57.
Before Debra took up her fountain pen to write however, she earned a nursing degree from Indiana University, married and raised two children. Originally from Highland, Indiana, Debra’s husband’s career in the United States Air Force sent the family to Louisiana, England, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. While in England, Debra felt a special connection with the land and especially a few sites that played key roles in her novels and stories.
Debra A. Kemp passed away on Sunday, February 8, 2015. She was 57.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 14, 2012
Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com
Lin was raised as a slave, and it wasn't until she was twelve that she learned the truth: she is the long-lost daughter of King Arthur, whom everyone believed died at sea as an infant. Her aunt, Queen Morgause, had kept Lin as a slave and allowed her son, Modred, to torture and rape the girl as he pleased.
Now, Lin is free and reunited with her father.
The homecoming does not go as Lin would have liked. Her mother, Gwenhywfar, had given Lin up to Morgause many years earlier, and still seems disinterested in her only child. Lin is an immediate disappointment to her mother, partly because she is unskilled in the needlework that ladies in King Arthur's court engage in. The girl makes an effort, but must put her foot down when Gwenhywfar announces that Lin should soon be married to one of the insufferable high-born young men who visit the castle.
What Lin really wants is to join her father's army, which she would have been able to do if only she'd been born a boy.
Unexpectedly, Arthur allows his daughter to begin training with the boys who wish to be soldiers. Lin must work harder than anyone else to prove herself. She also has to deal with four of Queen Morgause's sons who are serving at Camelot. Lin had known them all while enslaved to their family, but they had never paid enough attention to a mere slave to recognize her now. Lin must hide both her true identity and her hatred for them in order to succeed in her training.
THE RECRUIT is an excellent second installment in the series about a young girl who learns that she is much more than just an orphaned slave. Like the first book, it should appeal to readers who are familiar with Arthurian legends, as well as those who are not. The characters are well-drawn and the situations are compelling.
Lin is a likeable heroine who faces her many challenges head-on. She stands by her convictions, but is not afraid to admit her mistakes and learn from them. Hints of the illicit relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's queen add an extra dimension to the story that should appeal to all readers, whether or not they know what that relationship leads to.
Like Book #1, THE RECRUIT might not be appropriate for younger readers because it contains adult themes, including rape and drunkenness. Fortunately, this book seems to have overcome the biggest problem with THE FIREBRAND. In that first novel, Lin's agony as a slave continued throughout most of the book, as things just grew progressively worse for her.
Here, Lin's problems are tackled and beaten one at a time. Her mother is nearly as cold and cruel as Morgause had been, but Lin is not forced to live under Gwenhywfar's thumb for very long. She is now a free person with powerful allies, so she can move on and confront other challenges. There is no shortage of difficulties for Lin, but her strength and intelligence keep her from being trapped by any of them for very long.
This highly recommended book is an exciting continuation of Lin's story as she struggles to follow in her father's footsteps. Hopefully, future books will continue her journey. She is a character who seems to have much more to say.
Lin was raised as a slave, and it wasn't until she was twelve that she learned the truth: she is the long-lost daughter of King Arthur, whom everyone believed died at sea as an infant. Her aunt, Queen Morgause, had kept Lin as a slave and allowed her son, Modred, to torture and rape the girl as he pleased.
Now, Lin is free and reunited with her father.
The homecoming does not go as Lin would have liked. Her mother, Gwenhywfar, had given Lin up to Morgause many years earlier, and still seems disinterested in her only child. Lin is an immediate disappointment to her mother, partly because she is unskilled in the needlework that ladies in King Arthur's court engage in. The girl makes an effort, but must put her foot down when Gwenhywfar announces that Lin should soon be married to one of the insufferable high-born young men who visit the castle.
What Lin really wants is to join her father's army, which she would have been able to do if only she'd been born a boy.
Unexpectedly, Arthur allows his daughter to begin training with the boys who wish to be soldiers. Lin must work harder than anyone else to prove herself. She also has to deal with four of Queen Morgause's sons who are serving at Camelot. Lin had known them all while enslaved to their family, but they had never paid enough attention to a mere slave to recognize her now. Lin must hide both her true identity and her hatred for them in order to succeed in her training.
THE RECRUIT is an excellent second installment in the series about a young girl who learns that she is much more than just an orphaned slave. Like the first book, it should appeal to readers who are familiar with Arthurian legends, as well as those who are not. The characters are well-drawn and the situations are compelling.
Lin is a likeable heroine who faces her many challenges head-on. She stands by her convictions, but is not afraid to admit her mistakes and learn from them. Hints of the illicit relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's queen add an extra dimension to the story that should appeal to all readers, whether or not they know what that relationship leads to.
Like Book #1, THE RECRUIT might not be appropriate for younger readers because it contains adult themes, including rape and drunkenness. Fortunately, this book seems to have overcome the biggest problem with THE FIREBRAND. In that first novel, Lin's agony as a slave continued throughout most of the book, as things just grew progressively worse for her.
Here, Lin's problems are tackled and beaten one at a time. Her mother is nearly as cold and cruel as Morgause had been, but Lin is not forced to live under Gwenhywfar's thumb for very long. She is now a free person with powerful allies, so she can move on and confront other challenges. There is no shortage of difficulties for Lin, but her strength and intelligence keep her from being trapped by any of them for very long.
This highly recommended book is an exciting continuation of Lin's story as she struggles to follow in her father's footsteps. Hopefully, future books will continue her journey. She is a character who seems to have much more to say.
February 28, 2014
The Recruit is the sequel to The Firebrand. The readers return to Lin's epic tale of her childhood and life, as she recounts to her family the past she has covered up for years.
I still am not a big fan of the way Kemp book-ends the story, beginning and ending it with Lin as an adult and after the fact of everything. My full rant about that can be found here in a previous review. I will say for this second book it was much smoother than the first one. I was grabbed in right away by the story and finished it quickly. Some of this I can account to knowing where and what was going on in the beginning before the real story got started. In the first book I was just lost and as a reader I was doing a lot of 'help! where am I?' until the story finally got started, especially with the triple beginning (Lin after battle, Lin older with children, and then finally FINALLY Lin as a child with the proper beginning of the tale). In this novel however it starts right where the last one left off so I was on solid ground as a reader. When the story launched in fully I was geared up for the ride.
In retrospect, I suppose one could say that the way the story is set up mimics how stories were told back then: through oration to a group.
For all my issues with the set up of The Firebrand, I was still interested in its sequel and i was not disappointed. I really like Lin's character and I like the theme of her story. She is so firey and she will never back down. For being modeled after Arthurian lore, the story is rather feminist in the respect of Lin and her need to do what her heart pleas for, even is that means donning pants and fighting. I also really like the twist Kemp did in making this story. The series is worth the read, especially for The Recruit. I hope to read another book in the series and finish Lin's story. However it has been about 7 years since this lst book's publication so I'm not sure I should be holding my breath.
I still am not a big fan of the way Kemp book-ends the story, beginning and ending it with Lin as an adult and after the fact of everything. My full rant about that can be found here in a previous review. I will say for this second book it was much smoother than the first one. I was grabbed in right away by the story and finished it quickly. Some of this I can account to knowing where and what was going on in the beginning before the real story got started. In the first book I was just lost and as a reader I was doing a lot of 'help! where am I?' until the story finally got started, especially with the triple beginning (Lin after battle, Lin older with children, and then finally FINALLY Lin as a child with the proper beginning of the tale). In this novel however it starts right where the last one left off so I was on solid ground as a reader. When the story launched in fully I was geared up for the ride.
In retrospect, I suppose one could say that the way the story is set up mimics how stories were told back then: through oration to a group.
For all my issues with the set up of The Firebrand, I was still interested in its sequel and i was not disappointed. I really like Lin's character and I like the theme of her story. She is so firey and she will never back down. For being modeled after Arthurian lore, the story is rather feminist in the respect of Lin and her need to do what her heart pleas for, even is that means donning pants and fighting. I also really like the twist Kemp did in making this story. The series is worth the read, especially for The Recruit. I hope to read another book in the series and finish Lin's story. However it has been about 7 years since this lst book's publication so I'm not sure I should be holding my breath.
June 9, 2008
It took me several pages to get into "The Recruit", the second book of "The House of Pendragon"; but I found that shortly after I entered the flashback that made up 99% of the book, I was well and truly hooked. And while I would generally write the prose off as over-wrought, the tone of the language really wound up working for me.
I haven't read the previous book in the series, and Chapter 1 seemed to dump me into the deep end with characters and events I had no connection to, details of the Arthurian story I didn't remember or recognize. But this is a what-if, and things have moved beyond Arthur's reign. Lin is the daughter of King Arthur and Queen Gwenhwyfar, fostered to Arthur's sister Morgause; in this fosterage, her true identity was kept from her and she was raised as a slave to Morgause and her sons (I'm ignoring the framing story here, whose point I'm not really getting, which is many years later where Lin has her own children and is coming back to Camelot in disrepair).
"The Recruit" is a proper mid-story arc, where Lin begins to come into her own. She's brought to Camelot; her nightmares, if not behind her, are kept private (between herself and her "foster brother" Dafydd). But coming from slavery, she's not ready to be a princess (another form of slavery to her); she enjoys some of the privilege at first, but ultimately pledges herself instead as a recruit to her father's army. Lin is driven to out-perform against odds and preconceptions, and while her past does continue to haunt her she comes out the stronger for it.
For all its darkness, "The Recruit" is an uplifting and empowering story that pays homage to the Arthurian myth but also tells its own story, and brings both the Arthurian myth and its time period home in a much more real manner than I've read elsewhere.
I haven't read the previous book in the series, and Chapter 1 seemed to dump me into the deep end with characters and events I had no connection to, details of the Arthurian story I didn't remember or recognize. But this is a what-if, and things have moved beyond Arthur's reign. Lin is the daughter of King Arthur and Queen Gwenhwyfar, fostered to Arthur's sister Morgause; in this fosterage, her true identity was kept from her and she was raised as a slave to Morgause and her sons (I'm ignoring the framing story here, whose point I'm not really getting, which is many years later where Lin has her own children and is coming back to Camelot in disrepair).
"The Recruit" is a proper mid-story arc, where Lin begins to come into her own. She's brought to Camelot; her nightmares, if not behind her, are kept private (between herself and her "foster brother" Dafydd). But coming from slavery, she's not ready to be a princess (another form of slavery to her); she enjoys some of the privilege at first, but ultimately pledges herself instead as a recruit to her father's army. Lin is driven to out-perform against odds and preconceptions, and while her past does continue to haunt her she comes out the stronger for it.
For all its darkness, "The Recruit" is an uplifting and empowering story that pays homage to the Arthurian myth but also tells its own story, and brings both the Arthurian myth and its time period home in a much more real manner than I've read elsewhere.
May 28, 2010
Book review for readersfavorites.com
At the end of the first book, we left Lin free from slavery and she has discovered that she is Arthur’s daughter that had been believed dead. In the second book Lin is back in Camelot to meet her mother and the kingdom will never be the same. Her first time with the woman who birthed her was not the most pleasant. Soon enough her stubborn nature had her in trouble with the queen. Needles and giggling girls will never do for the young slave so terribly abused by her own half brother, Modred. The queen is cold and shows no emotion toward her, which hurts Lin deeply. All the queen wants is a proper princess that knows her place. That would require Lin to marry to form alliances to help foster peace in her father’s kingdom and she must call men “lord.”
Lin, after being whipped by the queen’s priest, chooses a life quite different from that which her mother the queen expects. However, her Father, Arthur, is well pleased with her choice and encourages her. She soon realizes that the life the queen wanted for her would have been easier than the one she chose for herself.
Her foster brother is with her and life is better for him, but the princess, who wants to be more than just a girl in a world of men, struggles to take place at her father’s side. No being able to win her mother, Lin only lives to make Dafydd, her foster brother, and Arthur proud of her. She carries many self-doubts and the shadow of Modred on her shoulders, but her Father, Dafydd, and one of Morgan’s sons help her at every turn to become whole.
This book is another page-turner and a very well done book for adults. It was hard to put it down and I can’t wait for the next one.
At the end of the first book, we left Lin free from slavery and she has discovered that she is Arthur’s daughter that had been believed dead. In the second book Lin is back in Camelot to meet her mother and the kingdom will never be the same. Her first time with the woman who birthed her was not the most pleasant. Soon enough her stubborn nature had her in trouble with the queen. Needles and giggling girls will never do for the young slave so terribly abused by her own half brother, Modred. The queen is cold and shows no emotion toward her, which hurts Lin deeply. All the queen wants is a proper princess that knows her place. That would require Lin to marry to form alliances to help foster peace in her father’s kingdom and she must call men “lord.”
Lin, after being whipped by the queen’s priest, chooses a life quite different from that which her mother the queen expects. However, her Father, Arthur, is well pleased with her choice and encourages her. She soon realizes that the life the queen wanted for her would have been easier than the one she chose for herself.
Her foster brother is with her and life is better for him, but the princess, who wants to be more than just a girl in a world of men, struggles to take place at her father’s side. No being able to win her mother, Lin only lives to make Dafydd, her foster brother, and Arthur proud of her. She carries many self-doubts and the shadow of Modred on her shoulders, but her Father, Dafydd, and one of Morgan’s sons help her at every turn to become whole.
This book is another page-turner and a very well done book for adults. It was hard to put it down and I can’t wait for the next one.
April 15, 2008
The House of Pendragon Book II: The Recruit is the second book in the The House of Pendragon series. This series shares an alternative Arthurian tale. In this version, Arthur and Gwenhwyfar had a child, Helin. However, through treachery Gwenhwyfar was convinced to send her young daughter away to be fostered. At the time, she no doubt felt that the child would be well cared for and safe but she was deceived. While everyone thought the child had died, the young girl Lin was brutally beaten and tortured as a slave by her own kinsmen. The House of Pendragon Book II: The Firebrand recalls Lin's early life as she survives this hell and comes to realize that she is the daughter of King Arthur.
The House of Pendragon Book II: The Recruit focuses more on what happens after Lin and her foster-brother are freed from slavery and safely returned to Camelot. Lin immediately bonds with her father. He seems to instinctively understand what she has gone through and loves her for the strong woman that she has become. Gwenhwyfar and Lin's relationship seems troubled from the start. The Queen sees Lin's behavior as that of an unruly child who needs to be disciplined. The situation only gets worse when Lin becomes determined to become a warrior in her father's army.
I was lucky enough to have reviewed the first book in this series when it first came out. Ever since then, I have been eagerly awaiting this second installment. I was not at all disappointed. Although it had been a few years since I read the first book, it only took a few pages for me to get right back into the action. Then, I couldn't stop reading until I had finished the last page.
The House of Pendragon Book II: The Recruit focuses more on what happens after Lin and her foster-brother are freed from slavery and safely returned to Camelot. Lin immediately bonds with her father. He seems to instinctively understand what she has gone through and loves her for the strong woman that she has become. Gwenhwyfar and Lin's relationship seems troubled from the start. The Queen sees Lin's behavior as that of an unruly child who needs to be disciplined. The situation only gets worse when Lin becomes determined to become a warrior in her father's army.
I was lucky enough to have reviewed the first book in this series when it first came out. Ever since then, I have been eagerly awaiting this second installment. I was not at all disappointed. Although it had been a few years since I read the first book, it only took a few pages for me to get right back into the action. Then, I couldn't stop reading until I had finished the last page.
March 22, 2009
Lin was the much-beaten, untamable slave of the sadistic Modred. Now she has been revealed as the legitimate daughter of King Arthur. She has no grounding in the behavior of fine ladies, but she has the opportunity to decide how to repay the cruelties of Modred and his family. Sequel to THE FIREBRAND, both books were EPPIE finalists. A fast read, a coming-of-age story without the impact of THE FIREBRAND. I think an impact level that was an average between these two books would be ideal. http://www.reviewers-choice.com/the_r...
February 22, 2011
Lin is reunited with her family and enters Camelot a princess. Her mother wants her to be a lady and a pawn to be married off. Lin decides to be a soldier. A very good follow up to The Firebrand.
Very well written. Left lots of unanswered questions though.
Very well written. Left lots of unanswered questions though.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews