Seven years of war with the Saecens are followed by an Vandali invasion while the country reels from drought and plague. Arthur's tired host defeats the Vandali but Arthur is seriously injured. The wounds are great and he is taken to Ynys Avallach where Charis, a queen of the fair folk resides. It is hoped that her nursing skill may help him. There a miracle occurs and Arthur survives. That miracle is the Grail brought from its hiding place to heal the Pendragon. Arthur realizes that the Grail is a holy relic that could bring peace and health to Britain and builds a great shrine for it. And, as Arthur has predicted friends and enemy alike come to view and be healed by the Grail. Meanwhile, Morgian schemes to lure Arthur's champion, Llenlleawg, to become her spy and help bring about the fall of the Pendragon, his queen, Gwenhwyvar, and Myrddin, his bard and counselor. Her goal is to destroy all of Britain and kill the three. Her minions steal the Grail, murdering both guardians and pilgrims in the process. Knowing that his arrogance was the root of this problem, Arthur falls into a deep depression. Myrddin at last is able to bring Athur to his senses and the host pursues Morgians's followers in the hope of recovering the Grail.The final battle occurs in a place of Morgian's choosing, Llyonesse, where her powers are strongest. Arthur and his host have no recourse but to take up the challenge. Thus begins the major action of the tale as Arthur and his men travel through Llyonesse where Morgian uses her evil magic to raise dead warriors, beasts and create horrible illusions to defeat the host. For me, the first part of the book seemed to be disjointed and to drag an but when the Grail is stolen, the author seems to hit his stride and the story flows rapidly to the end. From that point, I could not put the book aside unitl I finished. The narrator is Gwalchavad, Lord of Orcady, with parts prefaced by the words and thoughts of Morgian, the Queen of Air and Darkness. All in all, the book is worth your time!
Last book of the "Pendragon Cycle" series, "Grail" shows more of the story from the evil side of things. I feel the same way about this one as I did about "Pendragon", because they are out of sequence, and there isn't a real clear timeline, I found myself thinking, "was this before this event??" So I really liked it, though I loved Taliesein, Arthur, and Merlin. I was kind of hoping that this one would solve the mystery of what happened to Arthur, but I guess, we will never know. That is part of the appeal of the Legend. Lawhead is a gifted writer and I enjoy his books. Like Tolkien, never light reading, you have to know you are in for the long haul and that you will have to keep your mind sharp. No casual reading here. As a series, I loved it! This is by far my avorite series about Arthur and I love the legend, partly due to the fact that Arthur, his men, and Merlin are all followers of Jehu, and the whole affair between the queen and Lancelot is missing. For "Grail" as a stand alone, again great, as part of the series not my favorite one, but still a wonderful part of the Arthurian Legend. I give it 4+ stars.
What do You think about Grail (2008)?
Los dos anteriores libros de esta saga se me habían hecho bastante pesados. Batalla tras batalla interminable, siempre contra un enemigo más fuerte y numeroso que el anterior pero por suerte este fue totalmente diferente. Volvió un poco al espíritu que tenía Merlin donde la magia está presente. Morgian por fin toma protagonismo y nos muestra de lo que es capaz. Gwalchavad me gustó como narrador, le agregó algo distinto a la saga, siendo su voz muy diferente a la de los demás narradores que tuvimos.Siento que con este último tomo la saga se redimió. Muy recomendable!
—Laura
I listened to the audio book edition of this story and really enjoyed it. It's hard following the names when listening, but that was the only complaint I had. The story was so different than the usual Grail sagas, I found it intriguing. Stephen Lawhead writes great characters with a lot of depth and color. His battle scenes are always very graphic, but I think pretty realistic to the ways of fighting in that age, in a word - brutal. This series of books has presented the whole Arthurian Legend in a rather unique way, where events that seem ordinary in their day could be embellished over the centuries to the mythic proportions they have today.
—Debbie
Book Five of The Pendragon Cycle, which fumbles to a close amidst a mumbo-jumbo of mysterious fogs, forest, and phantom fighters who attack the good guys (Arthur and Company) as they attempt to recover the stolen Grail. The Grail is the hero of the day, but with the wrap-up of the series in just a couple of pages, is curiously ignored.I think it comes back with them to the home of the lost Atlanteans, where the story would then dovetail into the end of the third book, where Arthur is wounded in combat and "goes away", while the Grail is safely hidden on the Island of Avalon with the Fisher King of Atlantis.Yeah, it goes like that. In all, the series started strong in the first two books, and raised my hope that it my continue to crescendo to a great finale. It didn't.
—Todd Stockslager
