What do you think?
Rate this book
Arthor #2
The Eagle and the Sword
While training Arthor, the Eagle of Thor, to lead the Celts in victory, Merlin realizes that his pupil is a naive and bloodthirsty boy who revels in killing, and Merlin must race against time to find the sword of goodness and light to release Arthor from his urge to kill. Reprint.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
20 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
A.A. Attanasio
47 books360 followersI’m a novelist and student of the imagination living in Honolulu. Fantasies, visions, hallucinations or whatever we call those irrational powers that illuminate our inner life fascinate me. I’m particularly intrigued by the creative intelligence that scripts our dreams. And I love carrying this soulful energy outside my mind, into the one form that most precisely defines who we are: story.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 18, 2023
Unpopular opinion time.
Well, maybe unpopular.
I think this is a much better Arthurian legend retelling than White's Once and Future King. It's better than Mort De Arthur. It's better than Mists. Hell, it's better than all the rest of the old Arthurian legends.
Why, under the great world tree, would I say this?
Because it captures my imagination in a way that all the other books could not. Not only is the core re-imagined and intertwined masterfully with a ton of well-researched old mythologies, but Attanasio is very, very creative. The core Arthurian legend continues in this book with a young Arthor (Arthur), Morgan Le Fae, Merlin, as well as the fae, multiple tribes with clashing religions, and monsters and demons living in the World Tree.
The sword in stone is first and foremost, as is the setup for Arthor's future tragedy, and I'm all excited. We have such great setup.
Best of all, this is written in the modern epic fantasy style, popular in the early days of Jordan and Goodkind, and it is easily on the same level.
Loving it.
Well, maybe unpopular.
I think this is a much better Arthurian legend retelling than White's Once and Future King. It's better than Mort De Arthur. It's better than Mists. Hell, it's better than all the rest of the old Arthurian legends.
Why, under the great world tree, would I say this?
Because it captures my imagination in a way that all the other books could not. Not only is the core re-imagined and intertwined masterfully with a ton of well-researched old mythologies, but Attanasio is very, very creative. The core Arthurian legend continues in this book with a young Arthor (Arthur), Morgan Le Fae, Merlin, as well as the fae, multiple tribes with clashing religions, and monsters and demons living in the World Tree.
The sword in stone is first and foremost, as is the setup for Arthor's future tragedy, and I'm all excited. We have such great setup.
Best of all, this is written in the modern epic fantasy style, popular in the early days of Jordan and Goodkind, and it is easily on the same level.
Loving it.
June 26, 2018
To be honest, I didn't quite finish, but I read the majority of it and want it to count towards my yearly goal!
I'm super sad about putting this down. I was enjoying this series immensely - loving the characters, the uniqueness of the plot and the world, Attanasio's writing style. But I came across a scene that got steamy and explicit real quick, and now I'm scared to go on. You can never unread what you've read. There's one character in particular who persistently has a sensual, suggestive manner, and I know she'll keep showing up. So, in obedience to the Spirit's prompting, I'm saying au revoir to this Arthurian series.
(Addendum: I do highly recommend Attansio as a writer. He is incredible. His diction is so rich without being overdone. And in his first book, I appreciated that he could suggest something sexual without being vulgar. The Dragon and the Unicorn is one of the best books I've ever read.)
I'm super sad about putting this down. I was enjoying this series immensely - loving the characters, the uniqueness of the plot and the world, Attanasio's writing style. But I came across a scene that got steamy and explicit real quick, and now I'm scared to go on. You can never unread what you've read. There's one character in particular who persistently has a sensual, suggestive manner, and I know she'll keep showing up. So, in obedience to the Spirit's prompting, I'm saying au revoir to this Arthurian series.
(Addendum: I do highly recommend Attansio as a writer. He is incredible. His diction is so rich without being overdone. And in his first book, I appreciated that he could suggest something sexual without being vulgar. The Dragon and the Unicorn is one of the best books I've ever read.)
September 7, 2025
Young Arthor finds himself as supernatural forces battle over the sword in the stone. This book is amazing. Go ahead and skip the first one if you need to and read this!
March 9, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.
This is the second book in Attanasio's Arthurian series, following on from The Dragon and the Unicorn. It is somewhat different in character than the first book, which was very much involved in the spiritual aspects of the Arthur-myth; now that Arthor has been born, the emphasis is far more on the human characters who will be carrying out the drama.
Arthor has been hidden away from the machinations of his half-sister, Morgeu, until he is old enough to take the throne. In his early teens, he grows up to be a formidable fighting machine devoid of fear or any human emotion, driven by the psychological need to show himself worthy of his foster father, the cheiftain Kyner.
As the time for him to assume the kingship approaches, Merlin goes in search of Arthor. He leaves behind him, to manage the cheiftains gathering at Camelot, my favourite character from the book. The mason Hannes, who helped Merlin build Camelot, extracted a promise from him to grant any one wish. What Hannes asks for is that he would be able to work magic, and Merlin reluctantly grants this wish, telling him that the responsibility will be far greater than he expects. Hannes has no time to get to learn hiow to use his magical abilities, and a lifetime of deferring to aristocratic clients makes it difficult for him to overawe them.
Arthor has been sent by Kyner to return a Saxon named Fen taken hostage by the Celts to his tribe. The Saxon tribe involved is particularly fierce, and Fen doesn't expect either of them to survive (they would consider Fen a coward for being captured rather than forcing his enemies to kill him).
The tribe has also captured a woman named Melania, who has control of a pair of spiritual beings, lamias, who live on the fresh blood of horrifically slaughtered human beings. In rescuing her, Arthor releases one of the lamias who posesses Fen in a rather complex way, forcing him to chase them to have a chance of getting rid of the creature.
I enjoyed the book. Though it lacks the sweep of The Dragon and the Unicorn, it spends much more time on the characters and gains in a different way through that. It's certainly easier to get into; the vast prologue in the earlier book makes very difficult reading.
This is the second book in Attanasio's Arthurian series, following on from The Dragon and the Unicorn. It is somewhat different in character than the first book, which was very much involved in the spiritual aspects of the Arthur-myth; now that Arthor has been born, the emphasis is far more on the human characters who will be carrying out the drama.
Arthor has been hidden away from the machinations of his half-sister, Morgeu, until he is old enough to take the throne. In his early teens, he grows up to be a formidable fighting machine devoid of fear or any human emotion, driven by the psychological need to show himself worthy of his foster father, the cheiftain Kyner.
As the time for him to assume the kingship approaches, Merlin goes in search of Arthor. He leaves behind him, to manage the cheiftains gathering at Camelot, my favourite character from the book. The mason Hannes, who helped Merlin build Camelot, extracted a promise from him to grant any one wish. What Hannes asks for is that he would be able to work magic, and Merlin reluctantly grants this wish, telling him that the responsibility will be far greater than he expects. Hannes has no time to get to learn hiow to use his magical abilities, and a lifetime of deferring to aristocratic clients makes it difficult for him to overawe them.
Arthor has been sent by Kyner to return a Saxon named Fen taken hostage by the Celts to his tribe. The Saxon tribe involved is particularly fierce, and Fen doesn't expect either of them to survive (they would consider Fen a coward for being captured rather than forcing his enemies to kill him).
The tribe has also captured a woman named Melania, who has control of a pair of spiritual beings, lamias, who live on the fresh blood of horrifically slaughtered human beings. In rescuing her, Arthor releases one of the lamias who posesses Fen in a rather complex way, forcing him to chase them to have a chance of getting rid of the creature.
I enjoyed the book. Though it lacks the sweep of The Dragon and the Unicorn, it spends much more time on the characters and gains in a different way through that. It's certainly easier to get into; the vast prologue in the earlier book makes very difficult reading.
February 29, 2016
Having an interest in Authurian history and mythology I was excited to read this author's take. After a few pages I realized I had to come at this one differently. No doubt a ton of research went into this volume but the main focus was on the magic. Merlin isn't truly a man. Spoiler alert- he's a demon. Not the Christian version but a demon made man nonetheless. Arthur becomes the warrior of legend but it's a painstaking process. He's sullen and sort of, well, nasty really. I enjoyed the transformation of angst ridden youth to devout warrior. All the characters and creatures were vivid and completely fantastical.
The writing style is very lyrical. At the first I found it over the top but soon became absorbed in the story.
It's a series (do I read any other kind?) and I'll assuredly have my eyes peeled for the following volumes.
The writing style is very lyrical. At the first I found it over the top but soon became absorbed in the story.
It's a series (do I read any other kind?) and I'll assuredly have my eyes peeled for the following volumes.
October 18, 2012
The 2nd in The Perilous Order of Camelot series, young Arthor is being fostered by Lord Kyner as an unwanted child of rape, his true parentage being unknown to either of them. He becomes a very skilled horseman and swordsman, and through his self-loathing has learned to love battle and killing, and becomes Lord Kyner's "war hammer". Discreetly manipulated by Merlin, he has encounters which teach him lessons in humility and compassion to better prepare him for his future kingship.
Read
May 1, 2020The second of three parts of Attanasio's retelling of the Arthurian legend. Hardly remembered twenty years after I read it, what I do recall is that it read more as a history of a gruelling military campaign than a fantastical story of a legendary, magical time. And, the memory is of a good, solid entertaining read.
September 27, 2007
I also loved the second book in this series. I've been left hanging though, as I have yet to get a hold of the third and fourth books in the series. I really love this take on Arthur.
February 27, 2009
Anyone who loves stories about King Arthur will love this book
October 2, 2012
:) New spin on King Arthur and Camelot. fun read.
April 7, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. Like the others by A.A. Attansio, it takes a bit to get moving but once the story begins to take shape, it's easy to keep reading.
April 21, 2013
Pretty decent read.
December 27, 2013
Attanasio continues his Arthurian exploration with a bizarre mythology no other wind could conjure up. Onto the next instalment and assured of a skein of historical accuracy.
April 24, 2018
Maybe not quite as great as the first one but still a riveting read. Arthurian legend plus quantum mechanics equals a wild tale. If you don't mind using the dictionary every few pages you'll love it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews