"The Warlord Chronicles" by Bernard Cornwell

Arthur...a King, a legend or just a Man? Though he might not existed at all he does it on people’s minds and on the pen’s of writers, as a decent man, a fighter for peace and union, doing the right thing for the great Britain, a nation built from many kingdoms. “The Warlord Chronicles” is not a history book, it’s just a novel with some loose ends, which might overlap with some facts from ancient books. It tells the story of a young Man, a young Arthur bound to an oath to the High King Uther Pendragon, his own father, to protect his kingdom till his grandson Mordred comes of age to rule. Arthur goes through the books, growing, overpowering and fighting, all for his vision of Britain, fighting quarrels , the Saxon’s invasions, the Christians, the Pagans, all intertwined in a plot that is addictive to the reader. The story is told by Derfel Cadarn, one of his spearmen, who tells not only Arthur’s tale but his own on a first person basis, with very psychological density. Fate is inexorable for all and it’s important to realize how countries were made, how vicious some decisions were, so many battles and bloodsheds…though in the end it’s a story of rulers, it’s a story of men and how their lust, corruption and desire can ruin a man’s dream…the dream of peace. In history we’re just pawns in the game, and it’s striking how the future is built like a chess game, how a move can be so crucial and so deadly. But in the end it’s in the power of oaths, in the allegiance of man and their courage that we hold on as we smile at the end of last page, when we go back to reality after such an adventure.