Jack Whyte (Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1939) is an author and writer born and raised in Scotland, but living in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada since 1967. Whyte's major work to date is the A Dream of Eagles series (as it is titled in Canada, but known as The Camulod Chronicles in the United States and elsewhere). This series of historical novels presents the tale of King Arthur set against the backdrop of Roman Britain. This retelling of the popular legend eschews the use of magic (as in T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone) to explain Arthur’s ascent to power and instead relies on the historical condition (with some artistic license) of post-Roman Britain to support the theory that Arthur was meant to counter the anarchy left by the Roman departure from Britain in 410 AD and the subsequent colonization and invasion of Britain by various peoples from Northwestern Europe, including the Saxons, Jutes, Franks, and Angles). Whyte incorporates both traditional Arthurian names, places and events (albeit in gaelic or latin form) as well as the names of various historical figures that have been suggested as being the possible basis for the original King Arthur legend. The tacit implication is that Whyte's version of history is the true story that has become distorted over time to become the legend and stories of magic that we know today. Jack Whyte served as the official bard of The Calgary Highlanders and performed several tracks of poetry and song on the 1990 album Eighty Years of Glory: The Regimental Pipes, Drums and Bard of The Calgary Highlanders.[1]
Contents |
Camulod Chronicles
A Dream of Eagles (Camulod Chronicles)
- The Skystone
- The Singing Sword
- The Eagles' Brood
- The Saxon Shore
- The Sorcerer Part 1: The Fort at River's Bend
- The Sorcerer Part 2: Metamorphosis
The two volumes The Sorcerer: The Fort at River’s Bend and The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis were written as a single volume entitled The Sorcerer but were split for publication.
Golden Eagle (companion mini-series)
- Clothar the Frank (titled The Lance Thrower outside of Canada)
- The Eagle
Other
- Uther, stand alone novel that primarily takes place during the events occurring in The Eagles' Brood. The book answers many questions left lingering after reading "The Eagles' Brood". However the book covers much more as Whyte develops the character of Uther Pendragon from infancy up until the end of events in "The Eagles' Brood". This novel nicely ties together loose ends as it follows Uther and some other main characters as they grow up and wage war on Uther's main Enemy, Guhlrys Lot, King of Cornwall.
The Templar Trilogy
- Knights of the Black and White (Released August 1, 2006 in Canada)
- Standard of Honor (Released August 28, 2007 in Canada)
- Fall of Baphomet (Release date unknown, presumably August 1, 2008 in Canada)
New Series on Scottish Heroes
At a public reading in his hometown of Kelowna, British Columbia, on Thursday, November 8, 2007, Jack Whyte announced that he had, earlier that day, signed a contract for a new series of books on the heroes of his Scottish homeland including William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. He'll start the series following completion of the Templar series which is still underway.
Short Fiction
Though primarily a novelist, Whyte has also written and published at least one short story:
- "Power Play" in Paradox Magazine, issue 8 (Winter 2005-2006), an exploration of the nature of power, set in Roman Jerusalem.
References
External links
- Official website for Jack Whyte. Includes biography, bibliography, book excerpts, radio interview transcripts, and an active fan forum.
- Archived scan from web.archive.org for Jack Whyte's now defunct blog at the penguin.ca website. Includes questions by readers and Jack Whyte's answers to those questions, as well as general observations by Jack Whyte.
