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King Arthur The Last Companion: A Novel of Arthurian Britain by Patrick McCormack $25 / Carroll & Graf / 2004 It is ten years after King Arthur fell on the field of Camlann, and his remaining companions have aged as the tenuous peace they had imposed on the quarrelsome factions in Prydein becomes a distant memory. Arthur's leadership was naught but a temporary local substitute for the order the Roman Empire had imposed on the land and its various peoples. And now that both have literally crumbled into dust, every petty warlord and invader is fighting for his piece of tillable land, with the peasant farmers and fishermen bearing the brunt of their territorial disputes. One ambitious king, Vortepor of Dyfed, decides that if he can acquire the talisman that legitimized Arthur's rule, he can become sovereign over all Prydein. So when Vortpeor discovers the talisman is hidden in a sanctuary watched over by a hermit, he sends a notorious Irish pirate to retrieve it. Unfortunately for the town's peasants, the rich land near the sanctuary is coveted by both Saxon invaders and local warlords, and guarded by ancient spirits. The skillfully drawn characters from these different groups converge on this idyllic estuary to fight in an attempt to stave off the impending Dark Ages that are rapidly engulfing the British Isles. The pacing of this well-written tale is exceptional. Information germane to the plot is revealed in flashbacks. Unusual for this genre, these backstories enhance rather than interrupt the narrative. While the names, origins, and loyalties of the characters are confusing at first, a helpful glossary sorts them out. The author also presents an overview of what little sixth-century historical records remain in an appendix, lending a measure of historical accuracy to a book that could stand proudly as a work of pure fiction. The Last Companion is supposedly the first of a trilogy, and after reading the book, fanciers of Arthuriana will be waiting eagerly for the next installment. —Amanda Kirk

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