Serpent and the Grail

by A.A. Attanasio

Book Overview

The narrator is Rna, a clan woman 90,000-years-old. She is eldest of the Nine Queens of Avalon. The place is Roman Britain, A.D. 491 on an alternate Earth, where Camelot is a monumental quantum gate... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061073407
• ISBN13: 9780061073403
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: HarperPrism
• Length: 354 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Reality (?) bites.

Finally, a multi-faceted, richly textured, thought-provoking and deeply woven and embroidered series of "tales" from a rather masterful story-teller who treats his readers as cogent listeners capable of keeping the various skeins of this historical, cultural, psychosociological and demi-religious tapestry flowing. As an avid and voracious reader with somewhat eclectic tastes, I find Mr. Attanasio's spinning of the threads of these tales to be highly intelligent, deeply fascinating, richly image-evocative and teleportational. So much more so than the typical Freudean psychic-cleansing pap that many current editors seem to qualify as saleable fiction. Yes, life is not easy and we all have our "crosses" to bear; however, can't we have a little more story-telling and a little less Freudean-couch revelations? Occassionally, as with any modern-day story-teller, he has to fall back into reiterrations in order to keep those not willing or able to invest the time and/or money in the preceding tales up with the mulitlayered goings-on in these tales; and yes, he sometimes strays across to "New Age-Feel Good" whining or carping. Yet, his characters for the most part are so fully fleshed and "real" that I feel I'm standing, next to, or even looking out of the eyes of, each narrating character.To be honest, I haven't watched TV since I got hooked on the first book of this Middle Earth adventure, nor even listened to the stereo, as the lyricality of this writing, and the characters, both human and demiurge (sometimes even animal) has enraptured all of my senses, especially my own little dreamworld. He has also led me into new forays through the almost-forgotten magical pleasures of my local library, seeking further illumination on Celtic, Drudic, Christian, British, magical and other tangential gems tossed out as asides in his tale. What an extra-special, unexpected treat! Challenge yourself to reasses your own "reality". Wrap yourself up in these tales.

Arthurian Legend ..... retold (?)

I picked up the first book of this series because I am an Arthurian legend fan. At that time I had never even heard of Attanasio....I am now an avid Attanasio reader. The Serpent and the Grail is a hard-to-put-down book and continues the fantasy world of Arthur's rule started in the earlier books. The only problem I have with this book is that this is still not the end of the series (I hope!). As an Arthurian fan, I hope that Attanasio will continue telling this story until the end of the legend and that the next book in the series comes out before I forget the characters again (that's another problem ... the wealth of characters!). If you're already familiar with the legend then reading this series is as if you've never heard of Arthur and Camelot before .... very refreshing.As an Attanasio fan, this is another example of the diversity of Attanasio's vivid epic-telling talents. You need to read other Attanasio's works to appreciate what I mean (personal recommendations: The Last Legends of Earth, The Dark Shore)My advice to all would-be readers .... get all the books in the series and read them straight through from the first to the last, in sequence. It won't be easy reading, but it will be worth it.

Odin vs. the Industrial Revolution

The Wolf and the Crown, The Eagle and the Sword, The Dragon and the Unicorn, The Serpent and the Grail, so far... Don't know what to make of these well-written but tiresome and confusing books with all the gods and demons and faeries and elementals; mysticism and visions of our industrial future; God (she) as a hermit, Lucifer as a noble exile, the 10000-year-old ladies of the lake; big-bang theory and the sleeping dragon under the earth; Furor (Odin) and Christian monks, the surprisingly civilized poet-king Wesc of the Saxons, and of course Merlin who is the demon Lailoken reborn in the womb of St somebody or other, a nun. (In effect he raped his mother and became his own father; and Morgan la Fay reincarnates the soul of HER own father King Mark into Mordred, the offspring of an incestuous union with her half-brother Arthur -- not exactly wholesome reading for the family -- you get the flavor of this series). Worth reading if you are into this sort of stuff. Stay tuned.It is, however, beautifully written, no matter how absurd and confusing the plotting is.

The Legend continues....

I have just finished reading the serpent and the grail and I must say that it was again one of the best books I have ever read! Just like the rest of the Arthurian books he has out it was in one word...beautiful. The way this author writes is incredible. It is almost like reading poetry. The book taking place after Wolf and the Crown,finds the young king once again in a quest to save Britian. This book was one of the best i've read in the series and hopefully not the last. This book is a must read for A.A. Attanasio fans. But if you've just discovered the author and the series i recommend picking up his first book in the series The Dragon and the Unicorn.

Best Arthurian account ever!

I was so amazed by this book that I read the whole series. Attanasio keeps the reader in suspense, and does not disappoint. Mixing science and folklore and Norse gods, this is better than Tolkein