The Last Companion

Albion #1

by Patrick McCormack

Ten years after the Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur was slain, Budoc the hermit waits for death in the Sacred Wood, his world crumbling into darkness. Raiders roam the coasts of Britain in wolf packs, burning crops and slaughtering villagers. Among them is an Irish war party in search of a magical chalice, accompanied by

Genres: Historical Fiction, Arthurian, Fantasy

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 25, 1997

Reviews

[Sara Jesus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Já muitas releituras da lenda do rei Artur foram feitas. As mais conhecidas são da Marion Zimmer Bradley e de Bernard Cornwell. Já li a trilogia "As brumas de Avalon" e me encantei por todo aquele ambiente pertencente as sacerdotisas.
No entanto "O último companheiro" (primeiro livro da trilogia Albion) é completamente diferente da versão de Marion. Por narrar a história no período depois da morte do rei Artur. Quem recorda a lenda do imperador ( rei Artur representa um imperador semelhante aos romanos) é um dos seus companheiros, que escapou da morte e agora é um infeliz ermita atormentado pelas sombras do passado.
Para além do ermita, o jovem saxão Ceolric, a rapariga da aldeia Eurgain e o jovem scotti Nai são outras das personagens fascinantes deste livro. Principalmente Nai, que no início pensei ser uma rapariga, apesar de toda a atmosfera de terror é um jovem bastante sensível e um dos poucos que acredita no regresso de Artur.
Alguns factores podem dificultar a leitura: os termos das tribos ( muito semelhantes entre si), os nomes estranhos das personagens, e alguns factos novos na lenda como o facto de não haver nenhum Lancelot ou Merlin e a esposa de Artur aparecer pouco. Ela continua a ter um papel fundamental nos acontecimentos, percebe-se que é apaixonada por Artur mas ao longo da história são poucos as referencias que o autor faz dela.
No geral, "Albion - O último companheiro" foi uma das melhores versões que li sobre esta maravilhosa lenda. Agora apenas falta-me ler "O rei de Inverno" para entender se Bernard Cornwell escreveu algo de extraordinário como este livro.

[Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ib recent years historians have ceased to call the years following the Roman withdrawal from Britannia and the Norman Invasion 'the Dark Ages'. This is because a lot of light has been thrown on the Anglo Saxon occupation of England, the Danish invasions etc. However, (as the author of this book acknowledges) there is little that can be known about the 5th and 6th centuries due to the lack of written information. . Gildas wrote his De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae but in many ways this is a polemic in which he blames the Britons for their sins and criticises kings and the clergy. He doesn't mention Arthur, however. Neither does the next history, that of Bede from the late 8th century. The story of Arthur, the Round Table etc didn't surface until the 12th century . The field is therefore wide open for modern fictional accounts of the time, of which this book is one. It's historical setting is the late 5th century/early 6th. At one part a character refers to the time as being 15 years since the deposition of the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, which took place in 476. Its main story consists of events 10 years after the death of Arthur at the Battle of Camlann, the date of which is unknown, even if it actually took place. The time line in the book does dodge about between the last years of Arthur and the later period which can get a little confusing. However, we have a 20th century (the book was first published in 1997) view of Arthur. There is no Round Table, no Knights thereof and no Camelot. We have groups who still hanker after the days of the Roman occupation which is still remembered. although the towns and villas are falling into disrepair. Arthur and his band of friends are clearly Romano-British still and attempting to stem the tide of Saxon invasions in the east and raids from the Irish in the west. Names are not modernised - Guinevere is spelt as Gwenhwyvar for example. The country has fallen into a division between a number of petty kingdoms. Most of the action, for example, takes place in Dumnonia, modern Devon and Somerset. Refernce is made to Elmet, which anyone who has travelled up and down the A/M1 as I have on many occasions will recognise from signposts toe Sherburn in Elmet. In short, the book is a good attempt to make some sense of the Arthur legend in the light of what is known from modern scholarship.

[Simon Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took some time to get into it. Re read it twice, spent years searching for the third book. Author posted it as a pdf when bizarrely lost book deal.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it, going to read more.

[Poovy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has to be the best interpretation of the Arthurian legend I have ever read. A very engrossing read that I highly recommend.

[Steven Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent version of what happened to Authur's companions after Camlan.