Book one of The Pendragon Cycle, in which the tale is told of the "twilight of Atlantis--and of the brilliant dawning of the Arthurian Era!" Lawhead sometimes writes down to the level of romantic pseudo-historical fiction, but sometimes rises to higher levels along the lines of Tolkien, threading into the "retelling" of the Arthurian legend an explicitly Christian message.

This is the first book I read following my ear surgery to restore my hearing, and while sometimes overwrought, it did flow quickly and help the time pass.

Book two in the series: Merlin (The Pendragon Cycle , Book 2)

A great introduction to King Arthur. Lawhead definitely takes a different approach on telling the story of King Arthur. Taliesin is a great introduction into the background of Merlin. This book tells about his Druid father and is mother from Atlantis and by learning their background yo get the beginnings of the mystical magician Merlin. If you are a fan of King Arthur's story. This book along with the other four in the series make a great telling of Arthur and his reign.

Mr. Lawhead is by far one of my favorite authors! This Pendragon series of books belong at the top of the Arthurian legends. I love that he brought it back to the realness of the story and not the added affair and all. I love that Merlin has his powers but they came from God. Simply the best story ever. Thank you Mr. Lawhead!

Stephen Lawhead has written two genre-spanning series which are fantastical retellings of historical legends: The Pendragon Cycle (King Arthur) and The King Raven Trilogy (Robin Hood). I didn't like The Pendragon Cycle as well as I liked The Song of Albion, and King Raven which were later and better works. The story was too slow for me and the writing was not nearly as polished.

However, there are a lot of fans of this rendering of Arthur, I think because Lawhead does a lot of research, which makes his worlds believable. He is particularly good with Celtic lore. ~FanLit.net

I love the entire Pendragon Cycle because of this first book, Taliesin. It's beautiful: The history of Atlantis, the early prophecies, the life of Charis and the baby boy Taliesin wrapped in seal fur. The characters are deep and rich; Lawhead creates the perfect foundation to this legend.