Island Dragon Book Reviews

Island Dragon by Mark Hawkes Book Summary

In 410 AD, after four centuries of occupation, the armies and administrators of Rome that had brought civilization to the island of Britannia, abandoned her. In the Dark Ages that followed, a series of great leaders, including the semi-mythical King Arthur himself, struggled to maintain order and hold off the growing threat of invading Germanic tribes. After the death of Arthur, another great warrior arose to seize the title of High King of Britain and continue the fight to unify the land against the Saxon invaders: Maelgwn of Gwynedd, the Dragon of the Island.

What we know of Maelgwn comes mainly from the writings of one of his contemporaries: a monk named Gildas Sapiens--Gildas the "Wise". Gildas is exceedingly harsh in his criticism of Maelgwn's lifestyle and behavior, branding him "first in evil" and accusing him of committing a multitude of sins ranging from oath-breaking to familial murder. Island Dragon portrays the real man behind the "bad PR": a man torn between his passions and his intellect, just as his country is torn between the order of Rome and the chaos of lawlessness.

From his carefree youth in what would later become northern Wales, the novel follows key years and events in Maelgwn's life; the personal losses of his first battle, his struggle for power against his usurping uncle, his sojourn in a monastery in search of answers, his early conflicts with Saxon warriors and some of his own countrymen who do not share his vision of a united Britain and block his path to High Kingship, his loves, his hates, and his final confrontation with the invading Saxon King Ida in the northeast of Britain.

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Island Dragon (Mark Hawkes) Book Reviews 2024

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