The Dragon and the Unicorn

The Perilous Order of Camelot Volume 1

By: A. A. Attanasio

Narrated by: Pippa Rathborne

The first volume of the Arthurian fantasy series, The Perilous Order of Camelot, The Dragon and the Unicorn answers the mythic question, "Who were King Arthur's parents?" Legend says mortal enemies: the British warlord Uther Pendragon and Ygrane queen of the Celts. Merlin brought them together. But who is Merlin? And how did his magic unite such ill-starred lovers to bring forth the world's most legendary king?

The demon Lailoken, as old as time, is tricked by angelic powers, the Fire Lords, and trapped in a human body. He becomes Merlinus, a wandering wise man expert in magic, destined to work for good among humans, opposed by the Furor, Odin. An encounter with the unicorn - a spirit similarly earthbound - brings him to Ygrane, queen of the Celts, and she sets him a task to find her king, a man seen in vision and fated to be her love-match. Merlinus-Lailoken seeks and finds him: Theodosius, a stable worker. But Ygrane has commanded the demon-wizard to bring her a king, so Merlinus sets to work making one.

©1996 A. A. Attanasio (P)2015 A. A. Attanasio

Poetic & Dramatic

This is the beginning of an Arthurian epic that is very poetically written but too overdramatized by the narrator. I've read & listened to over a hundred of the Arthurian novels and this is the most poetic Arthurian novel I've encountered. Enjoy!

Poetic and Enthralling

The best telling of the Arthurian legend I have ever read. I love the inter-dimensional nature of the writing about all the worlds and how they relate. Great book!

Great take on a classic tale

A little verbose sometimes, but I love how everything ties in together: space, time, energy, religions, peoples. I think the story does a wonderful job intertwining them into each other. Good narration.

wow! awesome mind candy...

A beautiful journey. Don't give up on it. It often seems like it is going to get boring, but just wait five minutes or have a glass of wine, it will soon pull you back in with awe inspiring force. Lastly, if all religions could adopt the perspectives illustrated in this epic, we would have no foolish fundamentalism.... yet extremely devoted worshippers....

One of my favorite series of books

I loved this book when it came out in 1996, and it’s been over 20 years since the last time I read it. I knot a lot now, so I listen to more books than I read so I can continue knitting. There were a few moments early on in the recording (first few chapters) where you can hear an ambulance in the background, but outside of that, it was well read.