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    Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC
    Unavailable
    Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC
    Unavailable
    Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC
    Audiobook (abridged)6 hours

    Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC

    Written by Bernard Cornwell

    Narrated by Tim Pigott-Smith

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    Bernard Cornwell’s new novel, following the enormous success of his Arthurian trilogy (The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur) is the tale of three brothers and of their rivalry that creates the great temple.

    One summer’s day, a stranger carrying great wealth in gold comes to the settlement of Ratharryn. He dies in the old temple. The people assume that the gold is a gift from the gods. But the mysterious treasure causes great dissension, both without from tribal rivalry, and within.

    The three sons of Ratharryn’s chief each perceive the great gift in a different way. The eldest, Lengar, the warrior, harnesses his murderous ambition to be a ruler and take great power for his tribe. Camaban, the second and an outcast from the tribe, becomes a great visionary and feared wise man, and it is his vision that will force the youngest brother, Saban, to create the great temple on the green hill where the gods will appear on earth.

    It is Saban who is the builder, the leader and the man of peace. It is his love for a sorceress whose powers rival those of Camaban and for Aurenna, the sun bride whose destiny is to die for the gods, that finally brings the rivalries of the brothers to a head. But it is also his skills that will build the vast temple, a place for the gods certainly but also a place that will confirm for ever the supreme power of the tribe that built it. And in the end, when the temple is complete, Saban must choose between the gods and his family.

    Stonehenge is Britain’s greatest prehistoric monument, a symbol of history; a building, created 4 millenia ago, which still provokes awe and mystery. Stonehenge A novel of 2000 BC is first and foremost a great historical novel. Bernard Cornwell is well known and admired for the realism and imagination with which he brings an earlier world to life. And here he uses all these skills to create the world of primitive Britain and to solve the mysteries of who built Stonehenge and why.

    ‘A circle of chalk, a ring of stone, and a house of arches to call the far gods home’

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 15, 2005
    ISBN9780007220618
    Unavailable
    Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC
    Author

    Bernard Cornwell

    BERNARD CORNWELL is the author of over fifty novels, including the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales, which serve as the basis for the hit Netflix series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.

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    Reviews for Stonehenge

    3.5/5

    30 ratings16 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Good solid storytelling based on an interesting theory of why Stonehenge was built. Of course we don't know why, but archaeology has given us insight into how Stonehenge was built and Cornwell does a credible job building a world in which this extraordinary labor could have taken place. Vivid details and compelling character round out the action and plot.
    • 4/5
      An interesting proposition about the origins of Stonehenge. Particularly taken by the time everything took 'in those days' and the nicely illustrated human search for a better life, albeit in a time when the judgement fro fearful fellow humans could be swift and brutal. Did take a little while to get into but was worth sticking with it and was ultimately quite gripping.
    • 5/5
      When I visited Stonehenge, I tried to imagine what life was like for those who built it. Cornwell did a much better job of it than I did. Great story.
    • 3/5
      Two-dimensional characters struggle for power and survival against a bronze age background that is only marginally believable. The author did research (based on the historical note) but little of it came through in this fictionalization of the creation of Stonehenge.
    • 4/5
      Stonehenge: A Novel is a stand-alone adventure from the fascinating and ever surprising mind of Cornwell about the creation of Stonehenge. Cornwell realistically captures, imo, the time and travails of the various people who created Stonehenge. A remarkable read, although not quite chock full of the blood and guts as his usual stories are, but nevertheless engrossing. Not for those who believe only a peaceful matriarchic fantasy filled society created the stones.
    • 5/5
      In my opinion one of Cornwell's best efforts yet. Trully excellent characterisation and, arguably unusually a well developed major female character, possibly following on from Nimue in the Warolrd Chronicles. It is a quite plausible narrative of the origins of Stonehenge and a highly probable characterisation of life in ancient Britain. Any fan of the Warlord Chronicles series should love this book.
    • 3/5
      Interesting but dragged and plot twists I didn't totally believe
    • 3/5
      I like this better than the Sharpe Series, and certainly better than the "Copperhead" books by Cornwell. As an attempt to explain the famous monument, and it's several forms over the centuries I think it's a fine bit of work. I wish he had done more of this kind of thing. It shows, the mutability of human endeavours, and BC's gift of nuanced character creation.
    • 4/5
      A stranger appears one day at an old unused temple near Ratharryn. He is not a member of any of the local tribes. He is also injured, and with a little help from the two who found him, soon dies from his wounds. This stranger carried gold with him and it is this gold that will bring forth a feud that will tear brothers apart, inspire religions, and cause war among the local tribes.Brothers Lengar, Saban, and Camaban have little in common. Lengar is strong, defiant, and always willing to fight; Saban is the peacemaker and builder; and Camaban is unacknowledged by his father and cast out of the tribe because of a deformed foot. Lengar uses fear and brutality to eventually take over the tribe, overthrowing his father and virtually enslaving his own people. He casts Saban out but is unaware of a plan by Camaban to keep him safe until he can return to rule the tribe. In the end, it is Camaban who cleverly uses religion and sorcery to inspire the building of Stonehenge and bring about the near destruction of his people. Saban, who unwillingly shares his brother's vision for the temple, is the one that is able to finally bring it to fruition and peace to his people.As with most Cornwell novels I have read, there is usually a long list of characters and this one is no exception. There are several tribes, sorcerers, gods, and places to keep track of in this book. He manages to blend the stories of the different people well and it feels cohesive even when several events are taking place at the same time.I put this book down at one point and wasn't sure if I would go back to it. Eventually I did and once a certain character was out of the picture, I found I liked the book much more and found the remainder quite interesting. The building of the temple was fascinating --- the way the stones were moved, fashioned, and positioned was a story unto itself. The religious aspect and invoking of several gods was also intriguing. The superstitions and rituals were so ingrained in the characters that it felt very natural for some of the events to take place even if they were barbaric and not something one would consider necessary for religion.I didn't like this book as much as other Cornwell books I have read but found it rather interesting in terms of the religious aspects portrayed here and how the societies were torn apart by gold and gods. Cornwell's imagining of the building of Stonehenge is engrossing and made me want to find out more about it in the end.
    • 3/5
      A fictional account of how the iconic prehistoric stone structure may have come to grace the Salisbury Plain in England. Although I'm quite interested in learning more about Stonehenge, I found this particular account to be somewhat of a slog. Lots of harnessing oxen to sledges to pull big stones, lots of bloody warfare and violence, and some dopey romance combined to make me feel more relieved than inspired by the end. The main thing I learned is that I want to read a good nonfiction account of Stonehenge at some point.
    • 4/5
      I really like historical fiction especially those that follow one person through their life and trials. This is great conjecture on why and how Stonehenge was built-the tribes and gods that were involved
    • 4/5
      Written with Cornwell's usual impeccable historical detail, research and biting vision, Stonehenge is a vision of how the great henge may have come to exist, richly embroidered with believable characters, political machinations, and religious fervour.As always Cornwell's writing is lean, and his plotting searingly tight.Recommend highly for the lover of good historical fiction.
    • 2/5
      Stonehenge is a pretty interesting book, in terms of surmises about how the henge was built and the reasons for various things being there and so on. Unfortunately, as a novel it didn't work for me. The writing style, for a start, is very simplistic. I've read and enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's writing before -- namely the Warlord Chronicles -- which unfortunately made me notice that characters are very much recycled. It's easy to see some of Ceinwyn in Aurenna, and a bit of Nimue in both Aurenna and Derrewyn. Saban isn't quite Derfel, but it's close, and I can see a bit of Arthur in him too. Camaban is Merlin, and Camaban's goals are just about the same as Merlin. Aurenna's betrayal is the same as Guinevere's, and not even as interesting and heart-wrenching.

      Easy to read, reasonable to curl up with and just relax, but it doesn't have the same life in my head as the Warlord Chronicles, and I'm not keeping it.
    • 1/5
      I'm a huge Cornwell fan, but this book is pretty bad. It's hard to keep track of which charicter is which, and is just not written like his other books. Stick to the Sharp books.
    • 3/5
      A fairly enjoyable romp through Mr Cornwell's vision of a possible building of Sronehenge, with sorcery and violence, sacrifice and blood, slavery and whelping. In my view it would have benefited from less B-movie-esque females and some rather more bronze age dialogue sans modern English sensitivities. The historical note at the end is welcomed.
    • 4/5
      An entertaining read, that kept me interested right to the end.