Product Description

A story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal, EXCALIBUR begins with the failure of Lancelot's rebellion and the ruin of Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. The Saxons, sensing the disunity of the Britons, seize the chance to destroy Arthur. The climax of the war comes with the legendary triumph at Mount Badon, and Arthur`s great victory. But the promises he made then come back to haunt him after the years of peace and glory.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1427 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

About the Author
Bernard Cornwell is the author of many historical thrillers, including the SHARPE series which was a highly successful television drama. He was born in London but now lives in America.

Customer Reviews

Outstanding conclusion to a brilliant series
I haven't read any other books by Bernard Cornwell and only read these because I'm interested in this period of Britain's history. Absolutely magical, to compare it with Tolkein is perhaps irrelevant but it may help the prospective buyer so here goes... In a nutshell, where The Lord of The Rings is a fantasy story based in a 'realistic', but unfamiliar, history, the Warlord Chronicles are realistic stories based in a familiar period of history that conveniently leaves few written records. A number of the 'shock' moments in these three books simply wouldn't have happened either in LOLR or most other fiction. Excalibur ties up the story, giving it a reasonably satisfying ending but leaving you wondering what then happened in the years between the end of the book and Derfel's arrival at the monastery. These books are as near perfect as possible: pretty close to being my favourites of all time. Cornwell is a genius.

Quite superb!
I found this book to be a great conclusion to an already great series. The book concludes in such a way that it makes you want to know more, even though the book has come to a satisfactory end.
I was very impressed in the way how Cornwell managed to write about a period in history where very little is known and is often associated with fantasy. Cornwell changed this and managed to write a perfectly plausible book on the events that happended, apart from the mild fantasy element.
The outline of the story is different from Cornwell's usual so it makes for orginal material if you are used to the normal Cornwell setup. The character narrates and the character has to overcome many personal challenges and tribulations.
Overall, i would say that this is Cornwell's masterpiece. I often say that Sharpe's Sword was the best but after reading excalibur, I have changed my opinion. THe state of my Excalibur book reflects this!

A fine farewell to a rare trilogy
Yes, it has finally happened. Derfel Cadarn's tale of his Lord Arthur has finally ended, Excalibur has been laid to rest, and the Last Enchantment has been cast. Giving the previous two books 4 stars, I look upon this book, and noting the fact that it had me gripped for longer than the two preceeding books, I feel that I must justly award this book a full pledged 5 stars. This book is filled with battles, which some may say drag on for too long, but they replace the long drawn out 'empty' scenes which were to be found throughout the previous two stories. But, the battles are good, and enchanting, and purely exhillerating. I found that I could not put the book down towards the end, and feel rather empty now I have read it. Truelly marvellous, slightly better than the previous two, and not at all dissapointing. Onto Stephen Lawhead...