Stonehenge: 2000 B.c. - Hardcover

Cornwell, Bernard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060197005 ISBN 13: 9780060197001

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2000

Synopsis

The original construction of the ancient English monument of Stonehenge forms the backdrop of the story of three men, brothers and rivals--Lengar, a bloodthirsty tyrant and patricide; his bastard brother Camaban, a sorcerer whose madness taints Stonehenge with human sacrifice; and Saban, who must reverse the horrors of the past to realize the vision of Stonehenge. 125,000 first printing.

About this title

Review:

From the earliest times, human beings have looked at the sun and the moon, and at life and death, and have imagined gods who control such things, and looked for ways to control those gods. In Stonehenge, Bernard Cornwell, famous for his novels about Rifleman Sharpe's adventures in the Napoleonic wars and for a sequence of brutally realistic Arthurian novels, considers the men and women who built Stonehenge and Avebury. These stone circles are impressive enough today; but all the more so if you imagine shifting stones from Wales to Salisbury Plain by raft and roller, dressing them with burning fat and grindstones, hauling the lintel stones up tiers of platforms.

"The oxen were goaded again, and, finger's breadth by finger's breadth, the huge stone eased forward until half of it was poised and then the oxen tugged once more and Saban was shouting at the beasts' drivers to halt the animals because the stone was tipping at last. For a heartbeat, it seemed to balance on the ramp's edge, then its leading half crashed down onto the timbers, then the great boulder slid down the ramp to lodge against the hole's face."

It is the story of Saban, made architect against his will; of his brothers Lengar, the aspiring conqueror and Camaban, the cripple-turned-magician. It is the story of Derrewynn, princess-turned-witch, and Aurenna, sacrifice-turned-priestess queen. Stonehenge is an epic tale of people as smart as us, inventing religion and mythology and forcing their wills on the world and each other. --Roz Kaveney

Review:

‘An epic story told with a master’s skill. Bernard Cornwell now burrows into prehistory to suggest an answer to the puzzle of why and by whom Stonehenge was built. The result is an epic story told with a master’s skill, presenting powerful personalities, high dramas and terrific climaxes with colour and pace.’
TLS

‘A fantastic story of intertribal rivalries, Machiavellian scheming by rival sect leaders and fierce battles over talismans’ NEW YORK TIMES

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0060197005
• ISBN 13: 9780060197001
• Binding: Hardcover