The Skystone by Jack Whyte was an Audible read. It is a fantasy novel and is the first in a series of nine novels.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. Unfortunately, it simply had too many words. I would be bored listening to the book and would cut the dogs walk short just so I could get home. I kept trying and trying but it was just an unmitigated disaster.
If you are going to reimagine and retell the most famous myth of the English people than you have to write an epic tale as gripping and riveting as the original. This is where this book just falls apart. I’m bored. Hours and hours and hours of boring Roman names and military skirmishes was just tedious. It was all backstory that honestly added nothing to the overall book. I never managed to get anything with the remotest hint of King Arthur, other than a half-hearted allegory as to what Excalibur is eventually made from.
The writing wasn’t bad but the story telling was atrocious. How can the backstory to King Arthur be so mangled and convoluted that it puts readers to sleep? Honestly, the constant switching between Roman and non-Roman names for places was confusing, and I have a minor in British history!
One star out of five for being boring and for utterly failing to engage the reader. I will not be picking up the remainder of the series, even if they eventually actually contain the story of Arthur, Excalibur, Lancelot, and Camelot.
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