Taliesin

The Pendragon Cycle, Book 1

By: Stephen R. Lawhead

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a time of legend, as the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. Meanwhile, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis.

This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds amid the fires of chaos, and spawns the miracles of Merlin, and Arthur the king!

This is the first book of The Pendragon Cycle.

©1987 Stephen R. Lawhead (P)1995 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Highly recommended... Reminiscent of C.S. Lewis." (Library Journal)

"A fine storyteller, he brings the Arthurian characters to life without sacrificing any of the haunting pleasures of the legends." (Omaha World Herald)

Needs a different reader

I absolutely adore this book. I have bought and given away more copies than I can count. Unfortunately, the nasally reader using a terrible Indian accent has disheartened me more than I could imagine as I had hoped to listen to the story each night before bed. I can but hope it will be rereleased with a different person reading.

Very well written

The first thing you need to know is that Lawhead writes historical FANTASY not historical FICTION. This means he takes several eras of history, mixes them with legend, and puts together a unique story all his own. In this story we see Minoan culture, Atlantean myth, faery myth, Celtic myth and history combined. This is not strict history that could have happened like in the works of Louis L'Amour. This is a fantasy work that loosely daws on historical fact and established legend for setting and form.

Lawhead is a great writer. I liked the way the story unfolds and the characters grow. Lawhead muses philosophically through his characters which gives more meaning to the story. The writing and story are really beautiful. He puts the reader or listener into the world perfectly. I liked his Albion series, but this one seems more cleverly thought out.

The book is more about other characters who later get to know Taliesen. I wish Lawhead wrote more about him because I really don't understand who Lawhead wrote him to be. Lawhead made an interaction between the old and new religion, Paganism and its Deities, powers, and manner of worship versus Christianity, Judeo-Christian morality, and God. Lawhead wrote a fantasy epic with mystical, supernatural power of paganism on one side and Judeo-Christian concepts of morality and monotheism with God as the Creator of all things on the other. The end of the story seemed to show that paganism had greater power over creation than Christianity which made Lawhead's story fall a bit flat at the end. I did not understand why the ending happened the way it did, nor did I understand Taliesen's choice not to use his Druidic powers. If they exist in reality, in the world God made, how then was he forbidden its use while others were not? Why was the power of magic shown to be stronger than the power of God? This is the difficulty I had understanding Lawhead's world. He showed that the power of God was better for a moral life and hopeful future, but the power of God did not overcome the pagan magic system, good falling prey to it in the end. At least that was the implication at the end of the story. Was this what Lawhead intended to say? Who was Taliesen really? guess part of the charm of the book is that these questions are not really answered. Maybe he intends us all to ponder this or maybe more information will be given in subsequent works.

I am listening to Merlin now so maybe Taliesen's story will be more fleshed out in the second book. I am not sure. It is amazing that I am even giving Merlin a chance since I really do not usually enjoy Arthurian legend. The stories are so sordid and fatalistic. But Taliesen was not really about Arthur nor was it particularly sordid. And though there is great tragedy, Taliesen did end on a hopeful note. The last few lines about grief and hope were ones I have felt in my heart for many years. In this, Lawhead clearly articulated feelings I have had inside but never really myself expressed verbally. The discovery one character makes about grief was the gem of the book and made the entire work worth the listen.

I did not mind the reader. I cannot comment on dialect or pronunciation of Welsh. I thought she was fine. I enjoyed the listen and probably will purchase the text version as well as the Audible version. I will say one thing. These books were recorded 30 years ago. They are definitely good enough to be rerecorded by different voice actors. The quality sounds as if it were first made on cassette tapes. The story needs and update but is still a great listen.

Perfect

I liked it from the start but by the end I was in love. I will be listening to the next immediately.

A Good Introduction

This is a good book and well read however it does suffer from being slightly slow in places. Those reading wishing to be thrown straight into the world of arthur may be fustrated and the first third of the book does not help, being slow. The middle third is a lot better, however the third part in more like the first. However if the reader/listener keeps at it then they will found a book that provides a good introduction and provides a lot of depth to later books.

Great story. Great narration.

What made the experience of listening to Taliesin the most enjoyable?

Nadia May has an excellent touch for this kind of material. I'm very sad to see she won't be reading the rest of the series! I cannot imagine anyone else doing it, frankly.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charis. So strong and so vulnerable all at the same time.

Which character – as performed by Nadia May – was your favorite?

She does all manner of "wild" warriors and "rough" men extremely well. I enjoyed her rendition of them. Cual (sic?) - King Elffin's right-hand man - in particular.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reactions (I'm too old for that), but a very pleasurable sense of awe and depth at a good and ancient story well-told.

Any additional comments?

It takes a special kind of courage to re-tell the Arthurian cycle. It's been done so many times, and the field is a kind of literary mine-field for the serious author. Stephen Lawhead did very well indeed with this rendition.

Disappointed

I have read several of Lawhead's books and have enjoyed them greatly however this is not one of them. They reader was wonderful however. To be honest I cannot put my finger on why I did not enjoy the story I jut did not. I will not be reading the rest of the books in the series.

Great story, better than I remembered

Being a lifelong fan of King Arthur stories this book series was an early favorite of mine. It was fun having it read to me for the first time. I think the narrator did a great job with one small caveat.. when she was speaking with a formal voice she spoke with what sounded an awful lot like an East Indian accent not Celtic. While I wish it was a better match it was actually kind of amusing and still brought the right character and intonations to the storyline. I wouldn't avoid this book for that reason but it was kind of funny.

Enjoyable prelude to the Authurian era.

A fun melding of the Authurian and Atlantean legends. Sets the stage well for the next book.

Outstanding!

I felt obligated to give a 5 star review for this book because it absolutely deserves it. I feel the rating is weighted down due to the heavy Christian elements especially towards the end, and perhaps it rubs non believers the wrong way, but you know... whatever.

The writing is superb. It is like reading a dream and poem at times, but very accessible, engaging and towards the end it is packed with unbelievable suspense, romance and drama. Absolutely exquisite. I have read plenty of books from the classics like war and peace, grapes of wrath to newcomers like Brandon Sanderson and the way of kings. Taliesin seems to somehow merge these two types of styles into something really special. (I loved all the above mentioned books by the way)

It's always fun when u spend a credit not really expecting much and end up being totally floored. I have not read the rest of the series yet but have already purchased Merlin with my next credit.

narrator is fantastic as well. reminds me of Davina Porter. I enjoy listening at a slower speed .80 because you can soak in the story better that way imo, but obviously that's a personal preference thing.

Bravo Stephen Lawhead!

Mamouth!!!

I loved this book until the last 15%, then, for me, it went off the edge. A silly, vindictive girl messes things up just to work some more suspense into the plot. Made me crazy.