![The Void Place (The Swithen Book 3) by [Telek, Scott]](https://images-fe.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51RGEacTuGL._SY346_.jpg)
The epic tale of the legend of King Arthur, Merlin, and the Knights of the Round Table continues in this third instalment of the series. Uther Pendragon is the High King in this book, and his biggest problem seems to be that he feels that while he may be the king, his rule is determined primarily by the knowledge given to him by Merlin. As time goes on, he begins to see himself as no more than a pawn who is doing Merlin’s will without any choice in the matter of his own. He has come to believe that even his decisions were predetermined by the man who knows all that is to come and all that has come before. As such, is he really the king? How can he have free will if Merlin already knows everything he will do?
Doubting himself, he begins to resent Merlin and all that he represents. And he finds himself wishing to be free of the devil’s son to rule things as he would rather than in the manner that he believes was predetermined for him. Learning that the greatest achievement during his reign that he will accomplish is to hold the place for a great king to come, one he will never have the chance to meet, begins to send Uther into a state of depression from which it seems he is doomed to remain in until the end. After all, if he is meant to be nothing but a placeholder for someone else, how can any sort of greatness be his own?
But then he meets Igraine, the wife of one of his loyal knights. Igraine comes to represent everything that Uther wants but cannot have. She is truly in love with her husband and supports him in every way possible. Uther comes to believe that he can never be happy without her. He must have her love or he will surely perish. His obsession with the honorable wife of one of his knights nearly tears the kingdom apart. And for those familiar with what happens next in the legends surrounding Arthur’s conception, there is little surprise in how it comes to pass.
The actions and thoughts of the characters are very well portrayed in this book and certainly the best part of the story being told. We gain great insight into all of them and how they react to the circumstances surrounding their actions. I greatly enjoyed seeing how they played off of each other, as well as how they handled the feelings of being controlled and manipulated by those surrounding them.
There is a great deal more to this tale that I don’t want to spoil for you, for it is well worth reading. I have long loved reading stories about King Arthur and the rest of the round table, and this book as well as the series as a whole thus far is no exception. Arthur may not make an appearance until late in this story, but he will be a major part of the next book in the series. I am looking forward to seeing where Mr Telek takes this tale next on his journey through his series. It has been a very enjoyable tale thus far, and one that seems to improve with each book he adds to his series.
I have heard that Mr. Telek has an extensive 25 book plan for this series, and if the rest of them are as enjoyable as the three that I have been fortunate enough to read thus far, it should be quite an impressive series. I look forward to seeing where it goes from here as each successive book does seem to improve on what has gone before.
I hope you will give this one a chance, especially if like me you enjoy Arthurian tales. I know I’ll be waiting impatiently for the next book in the series to be released.
Product Description
Merlin destroyed two lives to create one. But that one—is King Arthur. The classic legend is now a shocking, emotionally devastating psychological thriller, as the main character of our series is finally born.
“Makes the Arthurian legend readable and relatable for us.” —Alex S., Amazon Review
A striking modern take on the original legend, this novel remains faithful to the shocking events that begin the Arthurian legend with a cannon shot, while also offering a surprsingly modern recontextualization that confronts the gender and power issues inherent in the story. Far from any kind of pleasant fable of noble kings and lovely ladies, this is a nail-biting psychological thriller and a juicy, twisted love story rife with vicious hatreds, unforgiveable crimes and unexpected tenderness, set against a backdrop filled with magic and court intrigue.
“The Swithen series is an exciting new addition to modern Arthurian fiction. Too often, Arthurian characters become stick figures in modern retellings, but that is far from the case here.”
—Tyler Tichelaar, author; “Children of Arthur”
Merlin has taken over King Uther Pendragon’s life, leaving the king struggling to find his own voice—or if he has any control over his life at all. After an attempt at making his own decision fails spectacularly, Uther falls into obsession over the lovely (and married) Igraine, believing that only her love can fill the gaping hole in his life. What neither of them realize is that they are both falling right into Merlin’s devious plan, a plan that will leave both of their lives devastated, tear the young country apart—and give Merlin what he wants: a child born of nobility that he can mold into the future King Arthur.
The Swithen series is committed to remaining faithful to the actual Arthurian legend from 800 years ago, so you will know that as you read, you are learning the real stories of King Arthur and not some made-up tale. What the series does is add in the psychology of the characters and critically re-examine the morality of the time in a way that makes the story shockingly resonant in the present day.
“Between the [first] two books we can start to see how the author is tilting the story even as he remains faithful to the legends, and what he’s doing is creating credible—and very shaded and sometimes dark—psychologies for each of these people that bring them to life and make them relatable, while also supplying all the majesty and grand sweep we expect from King Arthur stories.” —Judy J., Amazon Review
You do not need to read books 1 and 2 in order to jump right into the riveting story of Arthur’s birth. This novel sets up the conflicts that will resonate throughout the rest of the Arthurian legend (and this series) and adds a surprising layer of suspense to events we thought we knew. You will meet future sorceress Morgan Le Fay at ten years old and her sister Margause, and find out why they vow to avenge their mother by destroying King Arthur in the decades to come. You will meet a young King Lot and see why he will make war on Arthur 15 years from now. And you will learn the heartbreaking tale of Ulfius, loyal friend to the ailing Uther, and future mentor to his son, the young Arthur.
Finally, you will experience an engrossing tale of lust, power, war and passion as we witness the fall of a king and the destruction of a lady, victims of Merlin’s single-minded focus on creating a man that will bend the country to his will—and become the greatest king Britain will ever know.
“Different than most [Arthurian literature]… rather than the typical magic and sweep of history and all that, this just shows them as real people. This is a very personal story, and one of the cool things about it is that you just get involved with the characters, and then you realize that THAT is MERLIN.” —RC., Amazon review of Book 1
“Makes the Arthurian legend readable and relatable for us.” —Alex S., Amazon Review
A striking modern take on the original legend, this novel remains faithful to the shocking events that begin the Arthurian legend with a cannon shot, while also offering a surprsingly modern recontextualization that confronts the gender and power issues inherent in the story. Far from any kind of pleasant fable of noble kings and lovely ladies, this is a nail-biting psychological thriller and a juicy, twisted love story rife with vicious hatreds, unforgiveable crimes and unexpected tenderness, set against a backdrop filled with magic and court intrigue.
“The Swithen series is an exciting new addition to modern Arthurian fiction. Too often, Arthurian characters become stick figures in modern retellings, but that is far from the case here.”
—Tyler Tichelaar, author; “Children of Arthur”
Merlin has taken over King Uther Pendragon’s life, leaving the king struggling to find his own voice—or if he has any control over his life at all. After an attempt at making his own decision fails spectacularly, Uther falls into obsession over the lovely (and married) Igraine, believing that only her love can fill the gaping hole in his life. What neither of them realize is that they are both falling right into Merlin’s devious plan, a plan that will leave both of their lives devastated, tear the young country apart—and give Merlin what he wants: a child born of nobility that he can mold into the future King Arthur.
The Swithen series is committed to remaining faithful to the actual Arthurian legend from 800 years ago, so you will know that as you read, you are learning the real stories of King Arthur and not some made-up tale. What the series does is add in the psychology of the characters and critically re-examine the morality of the time in a way that makes the story shockingly resonant in the present day.
“Between the [first] two books we can start to see how the author is tilting the story even as he remains faithful to the legends, and what he’s doing is creating credible—and very shaded and sometimes dark—psychologies for each of these people that bring them to life and make them relatable, while also supplying all the majesty and grand sweep we expect from King Arthur stories.” —Judy J., Amazon Review
You do not need to read books 1 and 2 in order to jump right into the riveting story of Arthur’s birth. This novel sets up the conflicts that will resonate throughout the rest of the Arthurian legend (and this series) and adds a surprising layer of suspense to events we thought we knew. You will meet future sorceress Morgan Le Fay at ten years old and her sister Margause, and find out why they vow to avenge their mother by destroying King Arthur in the decades to come. You will meet a young King Lot and see why he will make war on Arthur 15 years from now. And you will learn the heartbreaking tale of Ulfius, loyal friend to the ailing Uther, and future mentor to his son, the young Arthur.
Finally, you will experience an engrossing tale of lust, power, war and passion as we witness the fall of a king and the destruction of a lady, victims of Merlin’s single-minded focus on creating a man that will bend the country to his will—and become the greatest king Britain will ever know.
“Different than most [Arthurian literature]… rather than the typical magic and sweep of history and all that, this just shows them as real people. This is a very personal story, and one of the cool things about it is that you just get involved with the characters, and then you realize that THAT is MERLIN.” —RC., Amazon review of Book 1
